This pretty girl came to OCAS from another animal shelter. She's a sweet gal. She's older and has osteoarthritis (OA). With appropriate management, dogs with OA can and do live a normal life expectancy. It is important to remember that their activity and play may have to be adjusted to accommodate their changing bodies. She'll need her adopter to follow up with a full-service veterinarian for more information.She has also been diagnosed with heartworms, and OCAS is treating her. In North Carolina, it's unfortunately common to see many dogs that are infected with heartworms (they are transmitted by mosquito bites). Heartworm disease may cause severe lung disease, heart failure, or other organ damage in dogs. It's usually fatal if left untreated. Heartworm treatment is costly. With your support, OCAS can help more dogs with this disease - resulting in healthier dogs that are even more likely to get adopted. Please consider donating to our GoFundMe campaign.Insights from her adventure buddies and foster friends:Patricia is the perfect companion. She is super cuddly and sweet and just wants to be close to her humans. Itâs so surprising to me that she has not been adopted. Sheâs an older lady who loves comfort. She gets little bursts of energy and want to walk around but mostly likes laying with us. She definitely is a velcro dog and loves to follow you around the house. Sheâs curious, and sweet to anyone she meets. Honestly, the perfect dog for families or individuals.If you went on a Dog Day Out, what did you do?We went on a walk around the neighborhood, sat outside on the deck, watched some tv, and took a nap in the bed. She is so loving. She wants to be around you at all times and doesnât go far. So easy to be around and friendly to strangers. Most curious girl ever.``Patricia is a doll! Although sheâs 10 years old, she has just as much spunk and life as any other dog. Sheâs very friendly to all people and seems to be unfazed by cats as well. Patricia does well in the car and seems to be house trained. She LOVES to cuddle, especially smushing her face up next to yours! I know Patricia would be a lovely addition to any family ready to help this girl live out her golden years in style. My favorite thing about Patricia is the love and excitement she greets you with when she comes home! I also adore the way she presses her face against yours to cuddle. She truly is the biggest love bug!``Patricia is such a sweet girl! She is just so happy to be around you. Because she is older, she walks a little funny, and slower than most dogs, but she has a lot of pep in her step and happily trots along on a leash. She doesnât pull, and is a very good walker. She didnât bark once! She really enjoyed stopping to sniff everything, but didnât try to eat anything she shouldnât. She would make a great addition to any family willing to give her the attention she craves. Her favorite activity is being as close to you as she can, specifically making sure her face is as close to yours as physically possible. She is happy to go on walks and adventures (not too long because she is older), or just exist next to you while you work. On our Dog Day Out, we went to the Chapel Hill Community Park and walked around. We explored the garden and Patricia enjoyed smelling all of the flowers. After walking around we sat in the shade by some picnic tables and Patricia enjoyed being pet while people-watching. She loved watching the kids play on the playground. After awhile, I took her back to the car and she drank some water, and cooled down with the AC. She was very cuddly in the car and just wanted me to hold her the whole time. On our way back, I took her for a pup cup, but unfortunately she was not at all interested. She much prefers attention and love over food! My favorite thing about Patricia is how much she loves being around people. Unlike most dogs, she is less food-motivated, and more love-motivated. She absolutely loved to push her face right up to mine and just stay there for as long as possible. She is such a sweetheart and I hope she finds her forever family soon!``Patricia is an old lady which is super cuddly, loves to be pampered and shows affection by wanting to stay close to you. She knows how to demand affection with her paw and gentle growls when needed, which is really fun. When she sees you after a while, she gets excited and even gets jumpy, which was a nice surprise and a bit unexpected given her age. Overall, she is amazingly well behaved and doesn't make any kind of mess in the house. She also holds well pee/poop until you take her for potty walks. I did like 4 potty walks a day and that was fine with her. Also, despite her hip issues, with patience and care, she is able to climb stairs without major issues, but I can see how many stairs for a long-term adoption prospect might not be ideal. Everything, Miss Patricia is extremely lovable and cuddly and well behaved. She knows how to earn the heart of people and for me was extremely heart-breaking to return her to the shelter. For now given my situation is impossible to adopt her, but if possible, I'll try to have her for sleepovers during weekends at least, because you can't have enough of Miss Patricia!!We absolutely love her and think she deserves the world! Sheâs been great with my dogs and 4 yr old. Only took a few hours for her to properly settle in. She eats well but doesnât appear to be food possessive and is very gentle in accepting treats. Chicken treats are her favorite. Even though she has OA, she walks with spunk! She enjoys going outside and following us around the house. She also enjoys snoring while I work!`
