Cautiously Optimistic...

First, a correction to the information in the last post.  The 11 dogs that were surrendered were only the first group.  The next day, the lady was back with 20 more.  It was a full-blown puppy mill operation. 

When I first saw Callie, (as I have decided to nickname her) I was a little shocked.  The pictures that I posted yesterday were actually quite flattering.  She looked worse in person.   The shelter definitely down-played the severity of her condition.  As I sat in the parking lot of McDonald's where I met the shelter director, picking the dying fleas off of her recently insecticide-coated body, I actually wondered what I had gotten us into. She stood in front of me, wobbling back and forth on her weak, decrepit legs.  She was a mess.  Her left rear paw was swollen and red and obviously painful.  She tried not to put weight on it, but the other rear leg was too weak to hold her up on it's own.  So, she swayed.  She spread her legs out as far as she could to try to keep her balance and not fold to the ground.  Her head had two oddly shaped scars, one on top, and one between her eyes.  One of her eyes had a clouded glaze over it, resembling a cataract.  And she seemed completely indifferent to everything that was going on around her.  These were my initial observations.

When we got her home, we didn't concern ourselves with dog introductions.  It was clear that she was in no shape to be around the others.  Instead, we made up the "guest room" for her.  As I showed her the dog bed, and she looked at me expressionless, I realized that it was likely the first time she was ever given a soft bed to lay on.  Perhaps the first time she was given a quiet, cool room to sleep in too. 

In the morning, we realized that she had thrown up her dinner and I couldn't convince her to eat breakfast either.  My worries were increasing.  Our appointment was at noon.

The looks on the faces of the vet and techs told me that they shared my fears.  This is one sick dog.  Dr. Butler immediately listened to her heart and discovered that her heart rate was extremely slow.  Her body temperature was low as well, which was hard to believe on an 84 degree day.  That told us that she isn't getting very good circulation.  We did a full blood work-up, expecting to confirm the worst.  To our surprise, the blood work came back pretty normal, especially for a dog in her condition.  Good news.  Under the light of the scope, the doctor discovered that the cloudy eye was caused by a scar on her cornea.  I assume it happened at the same time as the rest of her head injuries.  That is actually good news too.  She can see out of it, and unlike a cataract, it won't get any worse.  As far as the rear legs go, there is little that can be done diagnostically until she gains some strength back.  Unfortunately, it could be neurological, but, it may just be extreme weakness and muscle decay from lack of nutrition and being cooped up in a kennel her whole life.  If she starts to gain weight, and is still lame,  X-rays and more testing will need to be done.  She is too sick to handle the antibiotics for her swollen foot, so that will have to wait too.  Dr. Butler found a couple of small masses that will need to be biopsied and removed, eventually.   The list just goes on and on.  Before we get to that point, we need to get some weight on her.  I have a few different medicines and some vitamins to help.  She needs to make it through the next two weeks.   When we go in for our recheck, they will be able to give a more accurate long-term prognosis. 

If she can make it through the physical disaster that she has become, I think she will be a great dog.  She isn't really afraid of people, just unsure.  She doesn't understand affection.  She doesn't back away, she just stares.  She has a blank look on her face almost all of the time.  I know her personality is in there somewhere, she just needs the chance to find it.  There is a quote that I read just the other day, referring to what becomes of dogs forced to live in cages for long periods of time.  It's from the new Book "The Lost Dogs" , by Jim Gorant, which is the complete story of the Michael Vick dogs. 

"They are no longer Kinetic, but each is simply potential energy now, a possibility, a hope, a dog waiting to happen"

That is Callie.  She is a dog waiting to happen.  We will give her every opportunity.  She will be made comfortable here.  No matter the outcome, she will never go to bed hungry or thirsty again.  She will be loved.

Introducing Calista.

Our new foster baby arrives today.  Her name is Calista.  She was taken from a "breeder," along with 11 other small dogs when the "breeder" could no longer care for them.  Although it appears to me as though she never did.  Her rescuer, ironically, is originally from Forest Lake, MN!  She runs a shelter up in a small town called Leslie, about two hours north of Little Rock.  Her and I talked only briefly on the phone this morning, but I could tell that if we lived closer together, we would be fast friends.  Like me, she was initially shocked, and now just angry at how dire the situation is for so many animals in this state.  She tries her best not to adopt any dogs out within AR and works with other rescuers in MN to try and get the dogs to a State where people have a better understanding of how to properly take care of their pets.  She and I are meeting today at noon. 

I am told that Calista has gained 10 pounds since she was surrendered, but she is still very weak.  She also appears to have had some head trauma in her recent past.  God only knows how that happened.  She has severe food aggression toward the other dogs (no surprise there) but other than that, is a friendly girl.  I'm anxious to meet her!

Inspiring story

I wish I could make a difference like she is.  Whether the law passes or not, she is getting a clear message out to the law makers and making thousands of people aware of a major problem.  Good for her! 

Here is the link...

http://www.tonic.com/article/chained-to-doghouse-on-steps-of-state-capital-to-save-abused-dogs/

Long Road Home.

On Saturday morning, long before sunrise, we were awake and getting Laila ready for the long trip to her new and final home.  At about the same time, John and Mary were getting ready to leave Minneapolis to meet us half way, in Kansas City.  After some early morning play time with Dixie and Jax, we loaded up, coffees in hand, and headed North.  It rained hard for quite a while, through most of Arkansas.  (I thought it was kind of weird because it was also raining really hard when we first picked her up from the shelter back in July.)  The rain slowed us down a bit, but Laila slept soundly from the minute we pulled out of the driveway. 

We got to Kansas city shortly after noon and the weather there was awesome.  We met at a beautiful park, and actually both pulled in at exactly the same time.  Re-introductions went perfectly.  Although their initial time together last month was brief, I could tell that Laila remembered them both right away.  We talked for a while as Laila got showered with affection...and presents!  Then John and Jonathon went to get lunch...BBQ of course, it was KC!  Mary, Laila and I found a nice spot in the shade to hang out while we waited.  Lunch was soooo good.  With great weather and great company, I would have stayed all day, but we had other dogs to get home to, so we had to get on the road. 

I can't actually say that it was a bitter-sweet good bye.  There really wasn't a bitter part.  Of course, I shed a few tears, as she has been my constant companion (I called her my shadow) for the last 2 months, but I couldn't be happier about how this whole thing turned out.   Some people even seem to think that I had it planned the entire time...

 

Here are some pictures from her big day

Group hug!

Saying good bye.

 

 

Modeling her new coat for those MN winters!

First Family Photo!

It has been a long road for Laila to get to where she deserves to be in life...HOME.

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Do you remember?

Last night, Jax awoke from his snooze suddenly, as he ususally does being deaf.  But this time he was breathing heavily and had this extremely sad and confused look on his face.  He sleepily stumbled directly over to me, climbed up onto the couch and burried his head in my chest.  He just looked pathetic.  I held him tightly and he calmed down and went back to sleep pretty quickly, right there on my lap.  I wonder.  Did he dream of his "other" life?  90 percent of the time, he seems to live in the moment and is the happiest boy in the world.  But every now and then, he does something that makes me want to ask him if he remembers his past. All of the "experts" have different theories on whether or not dogs have the mental capacity for long-term memory, and how long it lasts.  It's one more thing we'll never know for sure I guess, but I'll always wonder. 

This was a less extreme version of the night terrors that he had for at least the first week that we fostered him.  He used to wake up, trembling so hard that I first thought he was actually having a seizure!  These panic attacks lasted several minutes, sometimes nearly a half an hour.  I would wrap him up tightly into a blanket and sit with him until he came back.  I say that, because it really seemed as though he was somewhere else and that there was nothing that could comfort him.  As he began to trust us, the nightly episodes stopped for the most part and the ones that he has now are nothing in comparison.  It makes me sad to think about his old life and that he may still have some of those bad memories haunting him in his sleep.  At least now, he seeks out comfort in us and all he seems to need to recover is a nice long hug from mom.