Fall 2022 Senior Pet

Sassy Wurschmidt  (“Miss Sassafras”)

Born 12/1/2010

Message from owner

We obtained Sassy from an Orangevale breeder when she was 10 months old. She had grown too large for the breed to use as a show dog so was available as “companion dog.” We had been looking for a puppy, but when we met Sassy and she came right up to me and put her paws in my lap, “that was that!”

We soon discovered, however, that having lived out in the country for her first 10 months, she was unused to the sounds of the city. She was totally afraid of traffic noise, school playground noises, etc. When we first went out our front door for a walk, she froze and just laid down, wouldn’t cross the street without being carried. It has taken years to get over her fears. It helped, early on, to wrap her in a “Thunder Shirt” for car rides and especially during fireworks. She is still shy, but has become an excellent watch dog and travel companion. She has always followed us from room to room during the day, wanting to be near.

Sassy gets along with other dogs and cats. She looks forward to getting brushed daily, and she LOVES treats!!

Sassy will be 12 years old this coming December.

Message from Dr. Raymond

Sassy is very sweet and very well behaved always!  We have had the pleasure to know her and help the owners care for her for almost 11 years. She enjoys daily walks and daily grooming and she always looks beautiful, every day is a good hair day thanks to her daily brushing!!  During her Senior check up this summer all her organ are doing well, except she had an elevated cholesterol level.  This is not common in dogs like it is in humans, but Shelties are a breed that can have challenges with it.  We switched Sassy to a lower fat food to help control this. We also found a large marble sized mass on her gums.  When she had her teeth cleaned and the mass removed, we discovered it was the result of a tooth underneath this mass that had a dissolving root.  The dental xray was quite dramatic, but the mass and that tooth was removed and she did great!