The Puppy Hope

Hope continues to improve and gain strength and mobility. She can limp around to most places in the house now and enjoys short exploration excursions. We are keeping our eye on an area in her sutures that has had some drainage from it, but she's still taking her antibiotics and getting bacitracin applied to the suture site as well.
We removed her drain today and she handled that remarkably well. She either has the highest pain tolerance of any creature I've ever met, or she knows we're helping her and is willing to endure the pain. And, this is a big evening for her, since we both work the overnight shift in the ER tonight she has to ring in the new year at home by herself (with the cat and other dogs to keep her company,...) So, we fixed up a special dog crate for her, with her bed and a potty pad, her toys and a blanket that she likes. I'm very anxious to leave her but I really have no reason to be. I'm positive she'll be fine until we return home and then she can take her rightful place back on the bed with us while we sleep. She's probably at home dreaming about the new year and hoping it is better than 2009 for her! New Year's photos and wishes will be sent tomorrow!

Keeping Hope calm

Hope is obviously feeling better, and consequently become more of a challenge.  I'm not concerned that she'll pull out her sutures, but her wound is becoming itchy as it heals.  I'm sure the sutures and the drain is also itchy.  Quite frankly, I don't know how she can stand it, and it amazes me that she's handling everything so well.  But the dressings are becoming more for a challenge as we have to discover new ways to wrap it so she will not scratch them off, and today she actually did get ahold of them and chewed a peice of gauze in half before I could stop her!  I was made aware of some dog "Jammies" so a pair are being ordered for her and hopefully will help keep her from scratching and biting at the bandages.  A "Cone of Shame" collar really isn't an option since the sutures on her neck would be irritated by a collar,...  So, we're hoping we can come up with creative distractions until the Jammies arrive and that by covering all the bandages with the fleece Jammies it will help protect them from sharp puppy teeth!

She loves her Chewies and Stuffies and I change them out a couple times a day to always give her something interesting to occupy her time.  She is still making progress with walking, and will now slowly limp around the two bedrooms and down the hall to the family room to follow us or her favorite cat, Trillian, as she moves around the house.  We haven't let her interact with our other dogs alot yet, as we're afraid they'll be too rambunctious with her, but our cattledogs, Fanny and Kes, and our Tollers Cara and Mars have all met her and she seems to be friendly to them and wag her tail.  It's hard to believe she's not terrified of bigger dogs after all that's happened to her.  I'm constantly amazed at her spirit and sensitivity.  She is absolutely an angel!

12/29/9 A Quiet Day - Getting Stronger

Pretty quiet day for our family. We did have to leave Hope for a couple hours while we went to a Dr. appointment. Although I was worried,.... she didn't seem to be, it looks like she just slept on the bed while we were gone.

Her sutures look awesome her other open wound looks clean and is granulating in more every day (healing from the inside out) the swelling is getting better and her PenRose drain is draining less. I think we'll probably end up taking the drain out tomorrow! She is walking longer distances to explore around the house. She's still very slow about walking, and limps very tentatively on the right front leg, but she has improved soooooo much. She really enjoys her chew toys and she now has a Kong toy to play with that is stuffed full of Cheese, she thinks that's the best toy ever!
All in all her little steps toward healing have been astronomical.
I am continual amazed at her tenacity and obvious love of life.
Again thank you everyone for your warm thoughts of love and support for this little girl.

Busy day for our family and Hope today. We had the last of our family Holiday gatherings with a drive to Terre Haute, Indiana to visit some of Ben's family. Hope sat on my lap the whole way and played with her toys or napped. She's a very good traveler, and has now logged more miles this week than most dogs her age! She did very well visiting family, staying most of the time on her doggie bed or the cool tile floor. When we left the room to have dinner though she came looking for us. We had just sat down for our meal and Hope had been sleeping on her bed, so I thought she'd probably stay there. I was wrong, in about 3 minutes she came toddling in to the Dining room looking for us and following the sound of our voice. So, her bed was quickly moved to sit beside Ben's chair, and she was quite happy to fall back asleep there. Maybe she knows she's found people who love her and she doesn't want to risk letting us out of her site.

She was sleepy after this day of adventure and slept the whole way back home. Once at home she was wide awake and wanting to play and eat. We've discovered her favorite food so far is rotisserie chicken. She will eat her BilJac frozen dog food, and even found some of my adult dog's kibble on the floor and ate that, she isn't nearly as enthusiastic to eat it as the chicken. So, after we got home I stayed with Hope while Ben made a run to the grocery to pick up a chicken. Then, as Ben fed her, I ran to PetsMart to buy her some chew toys and another stuffed toy, and some puppy food for tomorrow. She's now happily laying on the couch with my husband playing with her new Chewies and Stuffies.

She is noticeably more active today, she wants to get up and walk around more. Which is a challenge for us, I want to try and balance her new found ability to walk and get some exercise with her resting quietly to allow her sutures to heal properly. She's had some very deep muscle damage to her shoulder which is now sutured so she needs to let it heal some before too much activity. So, she is doing short limping walks to follow us and then we find a quiet activity to lay down. This balance seems to be working well for now, but I can foresee trouble slowing her down in the very near future!

Today was a big big day for little Hope. Her first surgery was today. We made the drive down to Bloomington, Indiana to meet Dr. Joanna Jones and her tech Sara at 1pm. Both Sara and Joanna took their own time, on a day off to come in and help Hope. The surgery went extremely well! We didn't have to sedate her very much, she tolerated the gas very well and the wounds were quickly prepped for surgery (Shaved and cleaned) Joanna started with the largest and longest wound on Hope's left side. We originally thought this wound not be closed today but that we would just start closing the edges and leave the middle open until the next surgery. This didn't end up being the case, Joanna was able to close it completely. Hope has age on her side, puppies have lots of looser extra skin around their neck, so it was easier to work with than we originally anticipated. There was a lot of scar tissue and thickened skin at the very top of the wound close to her withers, so we ended up debriding and incising some of that away to get a better closure. Ultimately, it was opened completely to the neck wound on the other side to make one long suture line from her right lower neck all the way across her withers and down to the armpit area of her left leg. A Penrose drain was put in on the left side. Then we turned her and Joanna debrided and sutured the Right sided neck laceration, which included some sutures in the deep muscle of her shoulder about her right scapula.
She did an absolutely phenomenal job, and the suture site looks better than I could have imagined!
The last wound, the large round wound on her right side will stay open until her next surgery in 2 weeks. We decided that if Joanna sutured if close today it would put too much tension and pull of the other wound, esspecially the deep neck wound.
Her are the photos of the completed work while she is still on the operating table.

Right side:

Left side:

Then Hope was extubated and moved to the recovery kennel:

She woke up very well, but at one point she did chomp down on the towel and held it in her mouth:

Then her eyes opened and she began trying to sit by herself.  She was still pretty woozy but doing well and even gave my hand a few licks when I talked to her:

We moved her to the exam room to finish cleaning her up and dress the wounds.  At this time we took a couple more photos:

We are still applying the Honey and Telfa dressing to the one remaining open wound, but only covered the suture sites with gauze wrap and loose VetWrap.  I know when she wakes up more she'll appreciate the less restrictive bandages, but I might have to come up with some creative ways to keep a little cattledog puppy still while she heals!

Long car ride home in a snowstorm,...  She slept the whole way

But as soon as we got home and back on the bed she was wide awake, sitting up, wagging her tail and looking around.

I think she's asking Joanna exactly "how" still she has to be,....

I want to thank Joanna and Sara for taking their time to help this little girl, I can't tell you how much it means to me, my family, and ofcourse to Hope.  I will never be able to thank you enough!!!

Thank you to Bianca and all the girls at FACE animal hospital for being there for Hope when she was first brought in to you last Saturday.  So much has happened for this little girl in 8 days!  Did you ever think you'd see her sitting up like this?  Aren't those cute little perky ears?   

Thank you to Kathy B.B. for fund raising the money for Hope's surgeries and therapy bills.  To Jenny P. for initially making me aware of this little puppy and of the help she desperately needed.

And Thank you to all our friends (those we know and those we have yet to meet in person) for asking about her and supporting her throughout this week.

Hope has jumped a huge hurdle today and I'm even more optimistic than ever that she'll make a full recovery and be up playing in the snow in no time!

Thank You!!!!!!!
 
 
 
  

Out of the OR!

 

Hope's First Surgery - Going In

Hope is getting ready to go into the OR.  She is in very good hands at Canine Companions in Bloomington, IN.  We will keep you updated on her condition as more information comes in.  Please keep this little pup in your thoughts and prayers.

Another day of little improvements for this little girl. Hope was very happy to see us when we picked her up this morning from "Grandma's" she had already eaten breakfast and was laying on the floor next to my dad while he had his coffee and read the paper. When she saw us walk in she actually stood up, a monumental effort for her, and took a few steps toward us, wagging her tail the whole time. Mom has made Hope a little doggie shirt that has a high collar to go over her bandages so hopefully the bandage on her neck will stay in place better and she won't be as likely to scratch at them. We came home and changed her dressings and the new shirt seems to be helping. We also changed how we put the dressings on a little bit, we decided not to use the diaper this time, since the ammount of drainage is decreasing, and it was very bulky, esspecially around her neck and the edges would irritate that wound. So, we have a less bulky dressing of Honey, Telfa pads, Gauze wrap and then VetWrap, with her little "turtle neck shirt" over that. I think she approves.

So, we slept most of the morning, since we both work night shifts, and little Hope slept between us on the bed.  Around 10am, she scooted her way up to my head and woke me up.  She was pawing at me, and whining, so I put a potty pad down and put her on it, she had to go!  What a good girl for waking me up and letting me know.  She happily fell back asleep then.  Another dressing change this afternoon, I like the new system of gauze wraps, and I know she does too, because she's been moving around more today. She's been moving her way around the bed to sleep in different spots, and even got up to steal Ben's pillow when he got up at one point.  She has been chewing on her toys more today and trying really hard to be playful.  She wants more than anything to play and explore and run around through the house like a typical puppy her age, but her injuries make that impossible for her.  I feel bad that she can't do all the things that every puppy wants to do, but am absolutely thrilled that she's more active today and feels like playing at all!  6 days ago I didn't think I'd ever see her chewing on a toy,...

Hope's first surgery is tomorrow.  Please keep her in your thoughts, and thank you for all your support and prayer.
 

Hope wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas!
Hope had a very good day. She slept through the night well, without getting too uncomfortable and restless. I think she was dreaming of sugar plums :-)
Then we woke up and she watched everyone unwrap presents. She had a few things of her own in my stocking. She got a Booda Cow, a Kong Wubba fleece toy, and a package of chicken vitamin chewies. She immeadiately wrapped her little paw around the cow and started chewing on his head. What a good little Cattledog!

We went to Grandma's house for Christmas lunch and she slept in her doggie bed under the Christmas tree most of the afternoon. Ben and I both work tonight, so Hope had to stay with my Mom for the night. So, after going over all her medical needs and medications with Mom we said goodbye to Hope and headed off to the hospital where we work. Hope has only lived with us for 5 days but I felt like I was missing something when we left her. She's been such a huge part of our life for those 5 days, and wherever we go she goes also along with her bed, and towels, and puppy pads, and medications, gauze, VetWrap and diapers in a little doggie "diaper bag." It's like having a newborn baby, and we felt like parents who were leaving their child at the grandparents house overnight for the first time! But I've already called Mom a few times and she assures me that Hope is doing well. She said she whined a little when we first left, and became restless, but quickly calmed down when she held her. Now she is laying in her doggie bed on the floor at her feet as she sews her a fabric dog shirt to go over her bandages and help keep them in place.
Mom has instructions to call me at anytime tonight if she has a problem or concern with Hope, and Ben and I will be back after our shift ends at 6am to pick her up and bring her back home with us,...
We are completely ridiculous aren't we? :-) But we love this little girl!

Hope's first few days of recovery

Hope is a 3 month old Australian Cattle Dog puppy who was turned in at FACE animal clinic in Indianapolis on Saturday December 19th, 2009.  She was brought to the clinic by two kids who stated that they had found her in a carrier on the front porch of an abandoned house.  Upon exam the Veterinarian and Techs found her to be severely emaciated, dehydrated, and covered in puss draining from several wounds on her shoulders and neck.  They said they could smell her before they saw her, the stench from her draining wounds was so bad.  They believe the wounds are from a large dog bite.  The area of town that FACE is in is a very low income, high crime area,... one of the worst places in our city.  It's also known to be an area where dog fighting is common.  In the last few years there have been several dog fighting busts and confiscations of fighting dogs from this area, and there was recently even a semi truck found that had a dog fighting ring and seats set up in the trailer.  Ofcourse, we'll never know what happened to Hope, or how she came to be found in this condition, but I do have a theory,...  I wouldn't be surprised if she had been used as "bait" to teach a fighting dog to be more aqgressive to and bite other dogs.  There have been several known cases where dog fighters will make a young puppy squeal and offer them to their dog to heighten the dogs aggression and prey drive.

My husband and I work as Nurses in a large Emergency and Trauma center in Indianapolis.  We were working all weekend, so I didn't read the original emails to the Australian Cattle Dog lists that I subscribe to on Saturday.  Apparently the Veterinarian that was filling in to help out at FACE animal clinic graduated Vet. school with my very good friend, Joanna.  She knew Joanna had Australian Cattle Dogs and had emailed photos and info to her to ask if Joanna thought she was a purebred, and Joanna in turned sent an email for help to the Cattledog lists.  By Sunday evening, while I was working, I received a private email from a concerned individual in Minnesota that had read about this puppy on the email lists and knew I lived in the area.  This email had the photos attached of her wounds that are shown in Ben's "About Hope" post under "Hope Info" to the right.  This puppy's story really upset me and I became physically nauseated to see her wounds, me a seasoned ER nurse who has seen humans with Decubitus ulcers, Scalp avulsions, massive Abscesses, and horrific traumas became nauseous.  Who could do this to a puppy, or if it was in fact an accident that she was injured who would let her stay in that condition and abandon her in freezing temperatures outside?  I was angry and heartbroken at the same time.  I had to do something!  I had to help this poor injured creature, and I felt that I could help her.  I know how to change dressings and have helped patients with more complicated dressing changes than this puppy would need,... I thought.  So, it was just a matter of my husband agreeing to help her also.  I went to the area my husband was working in that evening but he was busy, so I told him in passing that I had to talk to him later and pulled up my email with the photos on the computer I knew he was working at, and went back to work.  I recevied a phone call from him about 5 minutes later, "Where is this puppy and when are we getting her?" 

So, one Monday December 21st I went to FACE clinic to pick her up.  The Veterinary Technitions that work there are amazing.  They were so concerned about the puppy and had her in their front office to watch her and offer her food and water as often as she would accept it.  I'm not really sure what I expected this puppy to be doing when I arrived, I assumed, like any 3 month old Cattledog puppy that she'd be exploring or playful and therefore would need to be contained in a crate.  She was not, this pitiful creature was laying on some blankets in the corner by the heat vents.  She was bandaged from the back of her ears to the middle of her back with bulky gauze dressings and neon pink VetWrap.  She didn't wag her tail or even look up at me, her eyes did move around to follow my movement but other than that she didn't even acknowledge my prescence.  My 10 year old step-son was with me and had been told the story, I thought,... this puppy isn't going to make it through the night, how am I going to explain that to Nick when she dies?  The girls at FACE clinic gave me all her medication and bandages, along with puppy pads and diapers and a bottle of sugar,... Sugar?  They described her dressing changes and that they had taken her to the Emergency Vet clinic and were told she would require surgery on the wounds at some point when she was stronger and that she did not need wet to dry dressings as I had expected but she should have sugar applied to the wounds and dressings to help draw out the moisture and drainage and help fight the infection.  The diapers were to go over the wounds to keep the sugar on them, then the diaper was wrapped in gauze and VetWrap to keep it in place.

She rode home on my son's lap, and I texted my husband who was in class to let me know we were on our way home with the puppy.

When Ben got home from class we changed her dressings for the first time:

   
 

We were all very emotional, the puppy was in pain and whined and cried during the whole process.  Ben and I were very sad and I was on the verge of tears, Nick watched but didn't want to come too close and he had to leave the room for a while.  Nick has never seen wounds like this, and never seen such an injured dog, he was very upset.  But we all made it through this rough start and got her tucked into her new doggie bed.

 
 

At that point, Nick and I decided to call her Hope.

Hope couldn't stand, and had trouble stretching her neck down to drink or eat.  We started out with giving her water from a plastic lid because we could hold it under her mouth and tilt it to make it easier for her to lap up, and she had to eat from a spoon or our fingers.  She was moved to a puppy training pad on the floor to urinate and she could not stand or squat to pee.  She laid down and stretched her back legs out a little to urinate.  And she still had not deficated (3 days after she was found) but who knows how long she'd been without food.  But the good news was, the wounds were pink and moist, and although there was some necrotic tissue and dead skin to slough off we could tell most of the necrotic tissue that we'd seen in the original photos was gone now.  She is on two different antibiotics and a pain medication, so after taking her medicine she fell asleep for the night.

The next day, December 22nd, was better for everyone.  We knew a little more about what to expect when we changed her dressings, and we discovered she likes soft Bil-Jac dog food and chicken meat.  She was lifting her head to drink more and we started giving her water from a tea cup.  She did well with that and her mucous membranes became more moist and had a better pink color throughout the day.  In the evening she stood for about 30 seconds while we changed her dressings.  She quickly became attached to us and began watching us as we moved about a room, and would acknowldge our arrival in a room by wagging her tail a few times.  And we all received our first puppy kisses from her.  Before bed that night I put one of the cat's Christmas collars on her to snap a photo:

She seems as thrilled to be wearing it as the cats are!  She sleeps on our bed between myself and Ben.  (We tease that the dogs are always coming between us)  and that night was a restless night for us all.  She had trouble getting comfortable in her pink bed, and finally scooted her way out of it to lay between out heads and use our pillows or our shoulders for her pillow.  If one of us got up in the night though, she would scoot to face the door and cry and whine until we came back into the bedroom.

December 23rd was a big day for Hope.  We made the hour and a half drive down to Bloomington, Indiana to see her new Vet. Joanna.  Joanna and her staff were excited to see her, since they knew all about her story and had seen the original photos of her injuries.  Hope did very well during the exam, she weighed in at 9 pounds while most 3 month old Cattledogs weigh around 15 pounds.  She stood on the exam table for a long time so we could see and photograph her wounds.  Joanna was very optimistic that the wounds could be closed sooner than we had anticipated and we set up her surgery for the Sunday after Christmas.  We got a different prescription for pain medications to add to what Hope was already taking, and changed her dressings.

She was wiped out after all that and slept all the way back home in her dog bed.

Later that evening we went to the first of our three family Christmas gatherings, and Hope sat in her doggie bed on the couch while we opened presents.  She got some chicken and roast beef to eat, and we finished the evening laying in front of the fireplace for a little nap.

December 24th, a pretty laid back day for us all.  We spent most of the day spending family time with Hope on the couch and bed.  She watched as we wrapped presents.  And made a few small but significant steps to recovery.  This morning she actually stood on her own without being lifted up, she took a few steps and repositioned herself on the bed to be closer to Ben and his pillow.  She really likes to lick his beard also.  When he went to the pharmacy to pick up her medications and get new non-adherent dressings for her she laid on his pillow.  When he walked back in the room her tail went wild and she became very excited to see him, she sat up and wiggled all over and when he leaned closer he got a complete face washing from Hope. 

She also played with a toy for about a minute, she was laying with the toy and started chewing and moving it before resting her head back down on it to use it as a pillow.

She ate much more today, although I would like to see her drink more.  She would take a few laps of water when I asked her but didn't seem very interested in really drinking like she was yesterday.  And after a large meal of chicken she finally had a bowel movement, 5 days after she was found. 

She's now sleeping on the bed and waiting for Santa to arrive,...