Our Miracle

Not long ago, it was looking like the end for our girl.  I was heart broken. I am very emotional as I write this post, because I feared I would never get the chance. I couldn't be happier to annouce that Bella is 99% heartworm free! (which is considered negative as her last dose of oral ivermectin will finish off the process)

The x rays showed much improvement overall.  The lungs are a whole lot clearer and the tangled vessels within them are settling down.  There is still a small bit of fluid.  The doctor is hopeful that they will continue to correct themselves over time.  Her heart, although smaller than before, has not returned to it's pre-heartworm state.  It likely never will.  It was so fiercely stretched out by the infestation, that the damage is irreparable. The good news is that she is not showing any clinical signs of cardiac disease.  We will monitor her now that she is off of restriction and see how she handles a more regular active lifestyle.  If there is no coughing or exercise intolerance, it will point to her being able to live a normal life.  She will still be listed as a special needs dog because any potential adopter will need to be aware of all that she has gone through and that there is the potential for heart problems to develop in the future.  Precautionary chest x rays at her annual exams will be highly recommended.  The doctor's best guess at life expectancy for her is 10 years.  Had she not contracted heartworm disease, it would likely be around 15 years but given her prognosis six weeks ago, I consider 10 years fantastic. She has her small size working in her favor (smaller dogs tend to live longer) as well as the mutt factor (mixes typically have fewer health issues than pure bred dogs). 

Bella is a true miracle dog.  She has beaten the odds that were greatly against her.  She has the chance to live a long, happy life.  Now we need to focus on finding her the perfect home.  She will not be an easy adoption.  If anyone knows somebody that would be a great match for Bella, please spread the word.  I will be very cautious in placing her. 

Words can not express my gratitude to everyone who has been supporting us these past two months.  All of the kind words, the prayers, and the donations for her medical expenses are what got us through this.  I am so incredibly thankful for Bella's extended foster family. 



 

 

 

The Moment of Truth

Today is the day that Bella goes in for her follow up heartworm test and x-rays!  I wanted to get this done prior to the holiday weekend in hopes that the news would be good and Bella would be able to enjoy her regained freedom!  Now the hurricane is barreling toward us and we will be stuck inside anyway!  We are hoping it passes by Saturday afternoon.  We are expecting to lose power tonight but I will try to get an update posted before that happens.  Everyone keep your fingers crossed for a clean bill of health! 

Bella - One month post treatment update

The good news is that Bella is feeling much better.  She has a healthy appetite and she has actually gained four pounds!  She is now at 26lbs.  We had our one month recheck this week and her level of microfilaria has gone down about 80%!  She got a dose of ivermectin and will almost surely be negative by our next month check up. 

The bad news is that as soon as we tapered down her steroid dose, she started coughing again.  This indicates that she still has a lot of inflammation in her lungs.  We are back on the steroids for the next month.   She is becoming more frustrated because as she regains her energy, she wants more than ever to be able to use it. She still has four weeks of restriction left.  I feel awful for her.  

I just can't say enough good about Bella.  What a trooper she has been through all of this.  She is the most well behaved dog that we have ever fostered.  She never makes a peep.  Although she is forced to spend the majority of her time isolated, she never cries, whines or barks.  She never chews or scratches at the door as most dogs would do if they were separated from the rest of the family so often.  Her self control is amazing and she wants nothing more than to please us. 

If it is in her future to be adopted, she will be a very special addition to a family.  I could picture her as a little girl's companion.  She would be the dog dressed in doll clothes with nail polish on and she would be perfectly content.  She would be a good jogging partner or hiker.  She is extremely smart  and focused so  she could also be great in agility, formal obedience, fly ball or even search and rescue.  One thing that she will absolutely need is to be a real member of the family.   Being "just a dog" will just not be enough. 

Right now, we are thankful that she made it through the most critical time, even with all odds against her.  We will concentrate on getting through the next month and continue to pray for good results on her follow up xrays.  If they show permanent heart or lung damage, we will need to reassess her long term prognosis and plans. 

Thanks again everyone for your kind words of support of our girl.  I wish you could all meet her.  You would all fall in love.

Unchained

It was 111 degrees in Little Rock yesterday.  The only place hotter in North America was Death Valley.  I got a text from the rescue director, a picture of a dog chained to a tree.  No visible water or shelter from the brutal heat.  The lady who owned the property had called the rescue and said that the dog belonged to her daughter and was not being cared for.  It was only a pup, at eight months old.  She wanted it gone.  She had agreed to surrender the dog to us, but she didn't want anyone to take it until her daughter was home and that wouldn't be until Thursday.  Anyway, we had no available fosters and no money for boarding.  Still, I couldn't get that picture out of my mind.  My stomach hurt.  The poor thing was going to die if nobody acted until Thursday, so I volunteered to go there myself, get the dog, and bring her here until arrangements could be made.  I called the lady and talked her into letting me come and take the dog right away.  I could tell that she wanted to do the right thing, even if it meant getting herself in trouble with her daughter.  She didn't want the dog suffering and dying on her watch so she gave in pretty easily. 

Jonathon and I headed out to rural Saline Co. to free this suffering dog before the heat took her life.(rule of thumb is never to go on a rescue on private property alone...you never know what you will find when you get there!) We arrived to find the poor girl chained up in the dirt. The chain was about eight feet long.  This dog had spent her entire life in that dusty circle of dirt.  She ate, slept and eliminated there.  Only a small, plastic crate sat next to her.  I guess that was suppose to be a dog house.  There was a dirty, empty old bucket covered in algae.  I guess that was supposed to be her water supply.  Other than those two luxuries, her life was dirt. What a sad existence.   

She was filthy.  Her eye lids and lashes were covered with a thick layer of dust.  Her nose, mouth and tongue were dried out.  She was visibly dehydrated.  She wouldn't have made it another 24 hours in that situation.  She was also terrified of us.  But, she was gorgeous and her fearful eyes had a sweetness in them.  Living as a prisoner, she was longing to be a family member.  We loaded her up and got out of there. 

We stopped at the first gas station we passed to get her some water.  She was so hot and thirsty.  I'm sure it was the first clean cool water she'd had this drought stricken summer. 

We brought her home and introduced her to Dixie and Jax.  She was terrified of them, too, but that didn't last.  I bathed her right away.  She needed cleaning up and cooling down asap.  Most dogs do not enjoy their first bath.  I turned on the hose and she immediately put her face in the water.  She opened her eyes and mouth and let the water wash the dust out of them.  Her white stripe became more visible.  She moved her entire body around in the water, getting fully soaked and loving it.  I soaped her up and she started doing twirls and jumping around.  It must have felt amazing.

In the after bath came a different dog.  She began to run around the yard full speed.  She was finally free.  She could stretch her legs for the first time ever.  She was just discovering what she she was capable of unchained.  There was running and jumping and flailing around with six months of stored energy coming out.  It was a sight to see. 

She is only a temporary house guest.  She has a foster applicant that gets her home visit tonight.  If everything checks out, she will head down to Texarkana to her foster home in the next couple of days.  She appears to be healthy but she has never been to the vet, has had no shots or preventatives,  and therefore probably has heartworm.  Sigh. 

I have named her "London." ( The Olympics have occupied a lot of my attention since it's too damn hot to do anything else!)   I already love her.  She reminds me so much of a young Asia with her thick, reverse brindle coat and little white stripe on her nose. 

First taste of relief



AAAHHHH

WOOHOO!

There is a thin line between a happy dog and a miserable one.  It's called a chain. 

Hanging On.

Thanks for all of your positive energy and prayers for Bella.   I think they are working!

Our girl is doing as well as possible.  She is terribly annoyed at having to be cooped up all the time, but is learning incredible self control.  She finally has a better appetite back, which is great, because she has lost all of the weight that she had gained.  There has been much less coughing this past week too.  I am very optimistic.  I hope not foolishly so. 

Please pray for Bella.

Bella was in the hospital again yesterday for xrays.  Her cough had not subsided with the additional medications.  The xray was a precaution, to rule out secondary infection (like bronchitis or pneumonia) before we put her on higher dose steroids.  The xrays were expected to be normal.  Just a precaution. 

Instead, the xrays were shocking, and revealed terrible news.  Bella's heartworm disease is way more severe than seemingly possible for a dog as young as she is.  So advanced, that there are major abnormalities in her heart and lungs.  Her heart is deformed, the pulmonary artery is bulging from the infestation, barely allowing blood to pass through.  The vessels in her lungs are inflamed and twisted up.  She also has fluid in her lungs.  So although she seems fine on the outside, she is in critical condition. 



Bella's xray.  



My best attempt at explaining the xray.

Bella appeared to be the perfect candidate for heartworm treatment.  She is young and strong and was totally asymptomatic.  A dog with a case as advanced as hers would typically show all signs of the disease.  They have a chronic cough, exercise intolerance, and just an overall "sickness" about them.  Bella showed none of those.  She seemed like a perfectly healthy dog who would breeze though the treatment.  The protocol would have been different for an advanced case, like hers, had we known the danger.

We followed the norm.  Nobody did anything wrong because we couldn't have anticipated this.  Old dogs that have had the disease for years have these issues, not pups.  But what is done is done.  We can't undo the treatment.  We can only wait it out now and pray that Bella pulls through.  She needs to be our little miracle dog. 

But there are just so many worms.  And her poor little heart is so full.  It terrifies me.  One hard cough, one jump off the couch, one tiny piece of worm dislodged is all it would take.  It could happen that fast. 

Long term prognosis is unknown, but Doc thinks pretty good if she makes it through the next month.  Of course we won't know how much, if any, permanent damage was done until the follow up xrays after the treatment is complete. 

I got no sleep last night.  I'm just sick over this.  I'm still in a state of disbelief.   And I feel so helpless.  Bella is in critical condition and there isn't a damn thing anyone can do about it. 


I will keep you all posted.  I feel like I share Bella with all of you who contributed to her care.  I am doing what little I can for her and loving her enough for all of us.  And you should know, even with  this mess going on inside of her, she has no idea she is sick.  Her spirits are high and she is very happy.

Bella, one week update.

Today marks one week since Bella got her injections.  She is doing well, overall, though the treatment has been hard on all of us, as expected.  Her first night she extremely sick and my heart was breaking for her as her entire body trembled in pain.  Motherly Dixie was up all night long, pacing the house and whining nervously for her friend.  Luckily the immense pain stage passed quickly and by the end of day two she was feeling much better.   Friday she had to be hospitalized for observation as she began coughing, a sign that the emboli are irritating her lungs.  I had to go to work and couldn't leave her alone in case the situation were to escalate.  She got a steroid, cough suppressant, and a new anti-inflammatory added to her daily meds.  She has continued to cough all week, which is scary.  I am relieved every day when I get home and see her alive and well in her crate.  She has about another week before she is out of the highly critical stage of the treatment. 

The hardest part is how sad and confused she is about being kept from having fun and playing with the others after two months of doing nothing but.  I'm sure she feels as if she is being punished.  I so wish I could explain to her, and the other dogs, that it was for her own good.  After the two week period is over, I will start bringing her with me to work so she gets at least some variation back in her life.