News

Baby Girl gets a bath

Baby Girl is getting more sociable. [PHOTO COURTESY OF MARY CERVINI]

By Bill Moss, Published: August 3, 2015

Mike and Mary Cervini, who caught the "town dog" Baby Girl five weeks ago and arranged for surgery to remove a large tumor from her belly, reported new progress for their celebrity rescue. She had a bath, is getting more sociable and is switching from a nocturnal to a daytime schedule.

Timid but resourceful, Baby Girl lived for 10 years or longer in the Grove Street area, cadging free meals from the many friends who fed her, avoiding traffic and generally staying clear of humans. The Cervinis had followed Baby Girl for many years but didn't worry about rescuing her until the animal developed the basketball-sized tumor. They caught her and, with donations from the dog's friends, arranged the veterinary care. Now she lives with the Cervinis and their eight other dogs on top of a mountain.

"The girl had her bath," Mary Cervini reported in an email on Monday. "It went really well. I had to carry her into the shower .. but the rest went pretty smooth until she was ready to be 'done'. She then started barking .. and barking .. and barking. Thank Goodness I was close to the end .. so quickly rinsed her off and put her out on the porch for her to get some towel-drying and sun drying.

"Several other dogs also got a bath so the porch had 4 other dogs on it. Baby Girl looked around at them and figured it was all okay.

"Today is Week 5 since we caught her. It is amazing how far she can come. She starting not going in our out of the house to now coming in and out on her own. She likes to stroll thru the house and then return to her room to sleep. She really likes resting out on the porch and in the yard under a bush. She makes a lot of eye contact now and let's us brush her and kiss her.

"She is on melatonin at night to get her sleep schedule in sync with ours (right now she sleeps during the day and stays up all night). This is working out good. She slept 6 hours straight last night .. and outside and on the move most of the day.

"Thanks for everyone for all of your prayers, love, calls and donations for her. She is amazing!!"