A Glimpse of Hope...

Last night was the first night since she came home from the hospital that Bindi didn't seem to struggle.  She slept pretty peacefully throughout.  Of course, I woke several times and totally panicked upon not hearing her wheezing, as I have grown so accustomed to the sound.  My mind instantly went to "Oh, god, she died in her sleep!"  I would stare at her until I saw her chest rise and then the relief swept through me.  This happened repeatedly.  Because of the steroids, we still had to get up and go out to potty a few times, but I can actually see normal nights in my future again.  Bindi is not out of the danger zone yet, especially given her circumstances, but every good day is a small relief. 

I have spoken, via email,  to her adoptive "mom" and she is aware of the difficulties we have encountered during the treatment.  She is worried, naturally, but couldn't be more excited and hopeful that Bindi will pull through.  She is such a sweet person and thanked me over and over for getting Bindi through this ordeal.  They were hoping to take her home (to Memphis, TN) at the end of the first week in August.  Unless we see a lot of progress between now and then, we may push that date back a bit, just to be safe. 

Sleepless nights.

Bindi's heart worm infection is proving to be more severe than anticipated.  She is having a hard time with the treatment.  There is a lot of coughing and breathing issues, especially at night.  I have basically stopped sleeping!  She coughed up some blood at one point, which was likely a tiny embolism, meaning she could have a larger one at any time.  We are on day 8 of treatment.  They say that days 5-12 are when most problems, including fatalities, occur.   We are doing everything we can but are pretty concerned at this point. 

3 Days down...27 to go.

We had a long weekend here.  I picked Bindi up from the vet Friday afternoon.  She was very happy to see me, but clearly in extreme pain.  The first 24 hours were awful for her, and awful to watch.  She hurt so badly that she was quivering all over.  She barely even moved.  She was absolutely pathetic.  By Sunday, thankfully, she was feeling so much better.  The hard part now is keeping her calm (as I mentioned before, she is NOT a calm puppy!) and cool (it was 109 degrees out yesterday!).   To make things more difficult, she needs to be on steroids.  They not only make her the total opposite of calm, but also make her have to pee constantly, which means going out into the extreme heat more often.  Ironic. Thanks Doc. 

She is exhausting me (I should say this process is exhausting me, not her).  She is literally leashed to one of us every minute of the day.  She wants so badly to play that if she gets away from us, she will sprint into action.  Overnight, I have to get up with her at least twice to take her outside to pee and then I'm up by 5:30 a.m. for yet another pee, breakfast (the steroids also increase her appetite big time), and morning meds. 

Last night, on top of it, she coughed a lot.  That completely freaked me out, making it nearly impossible  to sleep.  I kept worrying that she was going to have a heart attack and die on me! Because of the coughing, and my paranoia, I'm taking her in to the doctor this afternoon so he can check her out.  I want to cover all of my bases.

The worst part is that we can do every single thing right, take absolutely no chances, and she can still die at any second.  Somebody needs to come up with a more modern way to treat heart worm.  This is brutal. 

The moral of the story is... Pay the $7.00 per month to get your dog heart worm prevention!  You do not want to go through this shit.  Not to mention, the treatment varies in price from $1,000 to $2,000 dollars! 

Settling in.

Bindi settled in nicely over the week.  She does much better through the nights, now that she is sleeping on the dog bed in our room instead of in a crate.  She just has some major insecurity issues, which leads to separation anxiety.  She is a very smart girl, and is eager to please.  I taught her "sit" and "down" in one afternoon.  She is also very sweet and although shy, she seems to like everyone she meets- even the cats.   

Most of her progress, however, is because of what she has absorbed from Dixie and Jax.  I can train her.  I can assure her that not every person has a heavy hand or a loud voice.  However, only those two can show her how to relax, have fun, and just be a dog.  They are, without a doubt, an integral part of the program.  I know that fostering takes it's toll on them, especially when the dogs that they grow to love and become attached to leave our home.  I ask a lot of them in this respect and they never disappoint me.  Dixie is especially sensitive to every new dog's specific problems or needs.  She seems to know within the first minute how to approach each one.  Bindi was extremely afraid of them at first, causing her to act out, not in aggression, but in fear.  Dixie was so gentle.  Over the first couple of days, she approached Bindi frequently, putting a paw on her back or head, trying to encourage interaction.  Bindi responded by growling or snapping at her.  Dixie was undeterred.  She simply backed off and tried again later, never giving up.  As you will see by the pictures below, her technique worked like a charm. 

At the office.

New friends.

Can you believe how tiny she is?  She is a mini-boxer!

Dixie being a good mom:-)

Tomorrow morning, I will drop her off at the vet's office, where she will be administered her treatment over 24 hours.  The next 14 days are the most critical of her life.  I would be a liar if I said I wasn't a little freaked out.