Fresh updates at the bottom of the Journal!
Greetings beautiful Deviants! There is now a new place to donate for Kaylee which has a goal monitor: txpyrs.chipin.com/surgery-for-… .
The fabulous news is that, thanks to all of you helping spread the word, Kaylee's goal is now 88% covered. Now we just need that last push to pay the wonderful veterinarian who fixed her leg and treated her pneumonia!
Kaylee is eating more now that she's being treated for her pneumonia and staph infection. She is starting to actually walk on her repaired leg a little. It looks odd because it has a bow in it, but it seems to be functional despite its appearance. The swelling is going down nicely now. She's still coughing, but we expect that to lessen as the antibiotics kill off the pneumonia. She is a definite lover who wants to be close at your feet and really enjoys a good head scritching. Once she's further along in her healing, her heart worm treatment will begin and we'll also start testing to see how much obedience training she has. She was obviously someone's house dog. She's fully housebroken and does seem to have some understanding of basic manners. She doesn't jump up on people or bark or interact badly with the cats. She initially had a problem of being a trash digger, but being scolded for it only once seems to have curbed that tendency. All in all, she is a delightful dog!
I'll try and get some fresh pictures of her up ASAP. Thank you for your support!
UPDATE 12/12/11
Kaylee had to go back to the vet last week. The bowing on her leg was getting worse and it was starting to look like there was some swelling around the surgery site. We feared they might not have gotten all of the staph infection out. She had also gone off her food again which was cause for major concern considering she had started eating after her surgery. The vet looked her over and determined she should remain braced until her stitches come out this Tuesday just to give her added support while the bones knit. Otherwise the leg looks pretty good considering the massive amount of damage done to it.
He also said that the respiratory infection she has may be mutated, antibiotic resistant equine flu which recently jumped from horses to dogs. The rescue organization has seen some cases of this in San Antonio as well. The vet said one in five dogs who contract this strain die. Kaylee's lungs sound clear, but she is coughing and snotting so bad that the vet instructed us to give her humidifier and saline treatments to try and flush the yuck out of her sinuses. I find giving her a nice warm damp towel on the head for a few minutes at a time helps her get some of the goop out when she starts wheezing. The heavy duty antibiotics they have her on upset her stomach so bad that the vet also gave us probiotics to try and balance her out. So far, they don't seem to be doing the trick. We'll probably try canned pumpkin next. It seems to help tame unhappy puppy guts quite well. The worst part of having to take her back was the additional $200 tacked onto to her previous bill.
Despite all of this, Kaylee is obviously feeling better. She actually managed a hobbling run across the yard once and down the hall a couple of times this morning. She coughed a bit from her sudden burst of high spirits, but since she'd just had her warm towel treatment, it was actually a productive cough and not just hacking. She's starting to get into mischief, chewing on things she isn't supposed to, stealing and trying to eat the jingle balls the cats play with and that sort of thing. It's our fault really. She's been such a lay-about that we didn't do the traditional "new dog toy run". Now it's overdue.
I think I shall get her a ball and one of those giant cow bone chews. They always love those.UPDATE 1-15-2012
I am sorry for not updating much lately. New Year's Eve I had to put my 16 year old cat put to sleep because her kidneys were failing. So, I've been a little too preoccupied to take new photos or post anything. I just wanted to let folks know that we still need $75 to meet Kaylee's fundraising goal. If you're not totally broke from the holidays, please consider donating a few dollars here: txpyrs.chipin.com/surgery-for-….
As far as her progress, they ended up having to keep her brace on for an extra 10 days because the leg was trying to bow out so much and it was turning her foot out sideways. She is definitely feeling better these days and getting into mischief. We're finding she has a chewing habit and that she can't be left on the loose in the house alone despite the fact that she has several toys to chew on/play with. Her appetite is steadily growing though her cough is still present. It's difficult to tell if it's leftover dog flu symptoms or from the heart worms. With luck, when she goes to the vet this next week they will be able to start the treatment for the worms. We are hoping she will continue to eat well and put on weight. She loves to tear around the yard chasing a ball or squeaky toy. She also, unfortunately, is an avid digger. A lot of work will need to be done with her before she can go to her new home. Unfortunately, I won't really be here to work with her as I will be moving north to New Jersey around the end of January/beginning of February. My room mates have a good record of getting them decently healthy and mannered before they go, though. She should do fine once the heart worms are dealt with. I will try to get some updated photos up before I go. She's certainly ham enough to make for some cute pictures.
