One step forward, two steps back.

We had our recheck appointment yesterday and the results were not so good.  

First of all, my heart sunk when she hopped on the scale and she had gained only three pounds.  I knew our progress was slow, but it was even less than I had expected.  I feed her more than I ever fed Jax or Laila when I was fattening them up and she is a way smaller dog than either of them are.  This is worrisome.  With normal blood values, she should be gaining steadily.  There may be another underlying condition.  I am going to add high-calorie canned puppy food to her diet and see what happens in the next two weeks.  I'm hoping that she was just so physically damaged, that it's taking longer with her.

Secondly, my suspicions of an old injury were confirmed.  The x-rays revealed that she has had a broken hip.  There are multiple fractures that were never treated and have fused together improperly.  It nearly brings me to tears thinking of the pain she must have been in for so long after that happened.  Not to mention, this injury is certainly over a year old, and she had her last litter of pups only six months ago! It disgusts me. She was nothing but a puppy-making machine to that awful woman, no matter her condition.  Although it can not be proven by x-ray, there is a possibility of some nerve damage with that injury as well, which may be the cause of some of the weakness in the hind end.  The x-ray also showed an abnormality in her lower spine, possibly an infection.  We are treating her with antibiotics for that, as well as some Glucosamine and anti-inflammatory drugs for the hip.  Time will tell if either of those will help.  She will never be a runner, but many dogs live happily with bad hips their whole lives.

Another new discover was a heart murmur.  They didn't hear it last time, likely because her heart rate was so slow.  Now that she is stronger, the murmur was very audible.  Not all murmurs cause problems.  However, boxers are prone to heart diseases, particularly Boxer Cardiomyopathy (hello, underlying condition). This is a disease that is very familiar to me because nearly a year ago, my Asia died of an uncommon form of it.  The problem is that without extensive (and expensive) testing, there is really no way to determine if her murmur is indicative of this.  She could live normally for years with Cardiomyopathy, but eventually, it would be the cause of her death.  Maybe when she was 4, maybe when she was twelve.  You just don't know.  The drugs to treat it would be life-long and are very high-priced.  We are not going to do anything for the murmur at this time.  She shows no typical symptoms of heart disease.  We want to see if she gains the weight.  If she doesn't, then we may be forced to accept that her body is working so hard to take care of her heart, that the rest of her body is unable to thrive. 

I'm sure some people wonder if we are going too far.  She has so many problems.  She is now taking seven pills a day.  I assure you. Callie's well-being is my first priority and if I thought for one minute that she was suffering, I would let her go.  Although she is in rough shape, she doesn't know it.  She feels good and is happy.  She is loving life.  Until yesterday, I wondered if she had actually bonded with us.  I got my answer when I picked her up from the clinic after work.  She was so happy to be "home" that she was smiling the biggest doggy smile ever while she bounced around with the other dogs.  She deserves a fighting chance. We are doing the right thing. 

That said, I know that her not making it is a very real possibility.  If, in the end, that is the outcome, I will have no regrets.  If these are her last days, at least she is getting to feel happiness and love and is a part of a family.