Pet of the Month

Jamie & Gretchen Mehle (aka - The Wild Girls) - July 2010 Pets of the Month

After a bit of a hiatus, we are very pleased to announce that Jamie and Gretchen Mehle are the Winter Animal Hospital Pets of the Month for July.

Sheila Mehle, Jamie and Gretchen's caretaker, has kept up the the wonderful tradition of speaking for her wonderful dogs. She shares with us the wonderful story about her dogs.

A special thank you to Sheila for rescuing Jamie as well as standing by and comforting Jamie and Gretchen as they experienced a variety of medical problems. Animal lovers are a special breed of people, Sheila is the epitome of that type of person!

Jamie, a lab/pointer mix, came to live with us in January 2001 as a rescue. Our previous dog was a German Shepherd who was very easy to train, very calm, sweet and loving. So I thought, how difficult could this tiny little dog be? What an understatement!! She had two speeds – wide open and worn out. Plus, a mouth that was always open or biting. In her first year, she had two knee surgeries and never slowed down. After the first knee surgery, Dr. Greg mentioned that it might take a few days before she wanted to put any weight on the leg. Well, she came out putting her toes on the floor! At home, she had to be restrained to keep her from running.

Since I couldn’t seem to get a handle on training her and thought she wasn’t very smart, I decided puppy classes would be good for both of us. Well, after a few classes, the trainer said we should put her on medication to calm her down. We decided not to medicate her and she didn’t graduate from puppy class. As Dr. Greg said – she is “high spirited” and “Miss Personality”. And, it turns out she was a lot smarter than I thought! She is alpha dog in the household and has managed to train us and gets her way with almost everything!

Jamie due to her “personality” has many nicknames – Peanut, Wild Dog or Wild Willie and sometimes even Little Cute Girl or Momma’s Girl. She is always happy, loves everybody and makes friends easily. Fetch with any toy is probably her favorite game, but Jamie loves to play with anything and everything. She plays with her treats – tossing them in the air and pouncing on them. One of her favorite toys is a towel (or rag). One of her games is to hide things in the towel and then shake the towel around with her mouth. When the things fly out, she pounces on them. If towels are involved in her baths at WAH, I’m sure she is very happy, but not so sure the WAH staff is thrilled with this. Jamie is also very inquisitive and wants to inspect (sniff) everything! She loves to go anywhere and is surprisingly a good travel companion – riding elevators in hotels and making herself at home where ever she goes. She doesn’t bark a lot instead she uses grunts, her front paws, and her face to communicate. And, she can certainly communicate her every wish this way!

When Jamie was about 5, she started having seizures. After many tests, Dr. Greg diagnosed her with Epilepsy and started her on medication. Luckily, Jamie’s seizures have been controlled with the medication. Although, the medication does slow her down some, she is still “high spirited” most of the time!


Floppy eared Wild Girl Jamie - 2001	Jamie the beach dog!

In 2003, we decided that Jamie needed a playmate and companion. So, we brought Gretchen, a German Shepherd, to live with us. Jamie was not exactly pleased with the new member of the family. At first Jamie was bigger and could win at every game. As Gretchen grew, Jamie was no longer able to win all their games. But, Jamie still thinks she is alpha dog and Gretchen lets her be the alpha dog or at least lets Jamie think she is! Gretchen is content to let Jamie get most of the attention and always looks to Jamie for “instructions”.

Gretchen is very sweet and loving – hence her nicknames of Sweet Girl, Pretty Dog, and Mamma’s Baby. She is cautious around people, so, she does not immediately make friends. Gretchen prefers to sit back and watch things before deciding what she should do. And, like a good shepherd, she tries to herd everyone, including Jamie, into the same place where she can keep an eye on things.

Gretchen always watching (September 2009)

Although Gretchen isn’t very big on playing, she loves to carry her toys around the house. Her favorite toy is a rope and she constantly carries it around. Gretchen acts like she wants to go places, but she only enjoys the ride and not the destination. As soon as she realizes she isn’t at home, she wants to get back in the car. Gretchen communicates mostly by barking and whining, sometimes very loudly. When I pick her up from a day at the WAH spa, she makes so much noise you can’t carry on a conversation. Hopefully, she doesn’t “talk” to them all day!!


Gretchen with her rope, resting after chemotherapy (October 2009).	Gretchen after finishing first round of chemotherapy (December 2009).

In May 2009, Gretchen was diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer. Dr. Greg recommended that we consult with Southeast Veterinary Oncologists in Orange Park. Between WAH and SEVO a chemo protocol was established. After her first treatment, the cancer was in remission. In December 2009, Gretchen completed her first 25 week protocol. We were hopeful that the cancer would not return. Unfortunately, in April 2010, it was back. So, once again it is a 25 week chemo protocol. In the beginning, the treatments are weekly and then it is every 2 weeks. Gretchen tolerated the 1st round in 2009 with a few minor health issues. This time, it has been harder on her system and we have made a few extra trips to WAH and the emergency vet on weekends. However, the treatment recently switched to every two weeks and she seems to be doing much better. She is currently in remission and we hope that continues to be the case.

Gretchen has been cooperative with all the tests and chemo treatments. She seems to take it all in stride and has been stoic about the whole process. This demeanor can sometimes make it difficult to know how she is really feeling. Her most recent nickname has become “Trooper”.

Jamie and Gretchen are very lucky to have such great friends at WAH and to receive excellent treatment and care from all the staff. Dr. Greg has always been very patient and understanding when having to deal with whatever our current crisis seems to be. Many thanks to Dr. Greg, Lee, Shannon, John, and all our other friends at WAH!!!

Check out Recent Pets of the Month and Previous Pets of the Month.

Page updated: 07/12/2010