So much to update!  First, and most important,  Buddy is home and doing well.  His surgery went great.  He has a compression bandage on but the vet showed me pictures.  It is stitched up right this time.  I can't believe the difference in this incision site and the last one.   He came home with the bandage, a cone, 2 antibiotics, an anti-inflammatory pain med, and Tramadol for pain.  Best of all, he came home with instructions!

The vet took photos throughout the surgery and documented all the negligence for me.  This is the part that makes me so angry I feel sick.  When the shelter vet left me that hateful voicemail, his main complaint was the cost and difficulty of suturing.   When the good vet opened Buddy up, he was shocked to find there was not one single suture inside him.  I'm sure you all know this but there should be three layers of sutures, one through the muscle tissue,  one trough the subcutaneous layer, and one through the skin.  That horrible vet just lopped his leg off and then sewed his skin back together.  I guess since stitches are so expensive and such a pain to do, he just skipped them.

So under the skin, Buddy just had a big empty pocket that was filling up with fluid and bacteria.   The area that concerned me and looked bad on Tuesday (the first pic I posted) really wasn't even the infection.   It was an area of dermatitis caused by the fluid leaking out and sitting on his skin.  The redness and pus that I saw were just irritation on the outside of his skin.  Don't get me wrong, it was caused by the infection festering inside him and leaking out a bit , but that part wasn't deep and was only on the outside.

I gave him Benedryl that night because I could tell it was itching him.  The Benedryl dried it up a little and reduced the swelling and redness.  That's why he looked better the next morning.  The part that I could see responded to the Benedryl, but the real problem was inside.  Over the course of the day, the infection inside him took over.

And now horribly maddening item number 2...one of the well-meaning volunteers posted something about Buddy's ordeal on a Facebook page that is private to the shelter volunteers and staff.  This is a bit confusing but I have been dealing with 3 different groups, the actual shelter staff, a group that volunteers directly for the shelter, and another rescues type group that raises funds for shelter animals (at several different shelters) that need some type of special care.  That Facebook page is accessible to all of them.

The shelter director (who I work with because I work for the city too) started blowing up my phone very impatiently.   When I called him back, he said he had read all the comments on FB and he needed me to explain what was going on.  I knew nothing about the FB stuff at that point.   I briefly explained and answered his questions until I noticed that all of his questions were aimed at blaming me.  He made passive aggressive remarks about how there is another lady who can foster him because I apparently don't have time to properly take care of him.  He said that I must not have realized what I was getting into.  Ya think?  How would I have known when I could never get ahold of anyone and wasn't given any information about the surgery other than the vet telling me how much he didn't want to do it.  

The shelter director was angry that he'd called the good vet and they wouldn't give him anything but vague information.   He said that he needed me to get him Buddy's medical records.  He said I should have called him and taken him to the shelter vet rather than the emergency vet because they've "had problems" with that vet before.  It was late at night.  The shelter is only open for 4 hours a day.  The phones are transferred to the PD after hours.   There was no way to get a hold of him.  He asked me why I would tell the vet that they didn't give Buddy antibiotics when that was a lie.  He said they would never do a surgery like that and send a dog home without antibiotics. He said he knew for sure they had because he'd looked in the chart and saw they gave him Rimadyl.  Yes, that's right...he said Rimadyl which I'm sure all you experienced Tripawd mommies know is an anti inflamatory, not an antibiotic.  I decided not to give him any more info.

A few hours later I got a call from a lady at the rescue group telling me she had found Buddy a new foster mother who has more time for him and can give him the care he obviously needs.  I was furious.   I have never spoken to this woman or anyone from that group, despite sending them messages on FB and leaving messages with shelter staff for someone to contact me.  Again there were more passive aggressive comments about this being my fault.  That group is the one who "tagged" Buddy for foster care and who I was fostering through yet they had zero contact with me until today.

I let her have it.  How dare she imply that this is my fault?  I had been trying to contact them because I wanted to see about taking Buddy to a real vet.  I told her that I have plenty of time for him and have taken good care of him.  The only 2 issues I've had with time were hos surgery day because the vet was completely inflexible and waited until the last minute to schedule, and Wednesday afternoon when I had mandatory training all day.  I told her he was not going to a new foster.

Later a friend called me to tell me he had heard how I'm having such a hard time with Buddy because of my schedule and me not having enough time to give him the care he needs.  It was then that I found out about the FB post.  He's in the group.  All three groups are blaming me.  They are saying that I didn't go to his scheduled follow-up.  They say that the surgery he just had was just them flushing the wound out because I had not given him the proper care or his antibiotics.  The volunteer group and the rescue group both claim that they haven't been able to get ahold of me when they were trying to check up on him and see if I needed help.

They all realize they screwed up and there could be serious consequences so they are all trying to cover their butts by throwing me under the bus.  Too bad I have documented everything.  I have every voicemail and message exchanged.  I have photos.  I have phone records.  I have the unlabled envelope with vague instructions that the pills came in.  I have expertly documented surgery records provided by the good vet.

 I am in law enforcement.  I write reports, collect evidence, and make cases for a living.  My only hesitation in suing that vet was that it may harm the shelter as well.  That hesitation is gone.  I have contacted an attorney.   As the good vet told me, this will likely have very serious consequences for the vet and the shelter.  Bring it on.  Oh, and BTW, the rescue and the shelter both said that the surgery was so expensive because of where I took him (after I neglected him) and I'm on my own for the nearly $1500 bill.  I figured as much.  But I'm afraid they are going to demand I give him back.  I want to keep him and I'm really afraid of what would happen to him if he went back.  Wouldn't it be alot easier for them of he just wasn't around anymore for any outside vet to examine?  They've been accused of euthanizing animals to cover their mistakes in the past.  They've also been accused of doing it out of spite.

Thanks for reading this far if you have.   Sorry it's so long.  Honestly part of the reason was because I needed to document everything anyway.  If anyone knows of a good animal rights lawyer or a group that might get behind me and get something done, please let me know.  The money is the least of my concerns at this point.  I want someone held accountable for this.

I'm watching Buddy like a hawk now that I know what to look for so please be prepared for me to ask lots more questions.  BTW, I did NOT get the culture done.  We went with 2 broad spectrum antibiotics.  Now I'm regretting it.  I wish I'd read replies sooner.

Thanks a bunch, 

Tessa and Buddy 

He looks pathetic but he's actually quite content snuggled up in bed after getting home from surgery.

Finally home

He usually sleeps in his own bed in his little den under the bathroom counter.  He loves it there.  But after getting home from the hospital he just wanted Mommy.  He slept pressed up against me all night.  My husband took these as we were falling asleep.  Oh, and we just moved and I'm refinishing the bed so we just have a mattress sitting on the floor.  He doesn't have to jump up to get on the bed.  It's actually slightly lower than his body height.  No need to worry about jumping or falling.

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He is still doing great.  He is happy and has energy but he's being a good boy and getting plenty of rest.  I could tell he was hurting last night right before he was due for pain meds.  He was laying on me (like always) and cried out and snapped his head towards his amp site twice,  the way he would if something had just stung or bit him there.  It was quick.  It seemed like a nerve pain, that sudden quick burning stabbing feeling you get when a nerve just fires off.  He was fine after his Tramadol though.

A shelter volunteer called me yesterday to check on him.  She was apologetic about all the miscommunication I've gone through.  With the 3 groups I've been dealing with, it was unclear to them who was supposed to be dealing with Buddy's case and it seems we fell through the cracks.

I told her we want to adopt him.  She said that he technically belongs to the rescue.  I told her the rescue is under the impression that I was not caring for him properly.  She said she would call them and explain but that she couldn't imagine them not letting me adopt him.  She said she would call me right back.  That was yesterday afternoon and I never heard back.

I love this dog and I would love to keep him.  My family loves him.  My dogs love him.  But I really want what is best for him.  I know that there are other people interested in adopting him.  They are good people.  Even one of the vets from the emergency clinic wants to adopt him.

 The rescue group is supported by donations and Buddy's case has gotten alot of attention.  I have noticed in the past that the dogs who have gotten alot of attention  (like horrible abuse cases) have been adopted by wealthy families.  I wouldn't be surprised if he has been promised to someone like that.

As long as he has a good loving home with someone who loves him and gives him the special care he needs, I will be happy.  I just hope they allow me to keep him while he recovers.  This is his home and we are his family.  He does not need the stress of adjusting to a new home and feeling abandoned right now.

Time for my sweet boy's meds!

Thanks for all the support! 

Tessa