Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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At least you saw her; that's some peace of mind. I can't imagine an incision like that NOT looking scary. Roxie's was clean but she had very colorful bruising afterward - not unusual, we learned.
One day at a time....keeping you in our hearts.
-Liz and Angel Roo
Linda, Sally and Liz
Yes, Gregg and I have both been indulging in all kinds of things including chocolate and ice cream. And I love Sally's recommendation to start drinking. Lol. That definitely sounds inviting right about now!
We finally got to visit Jersey Girl this afternoon! She hopped into the visit room with the help of 2 vet techs. Her tail was wagging and her eyes were bright for a couple seconds then she laid down and promptly looked away and ignored us. Seriously. We were down on the floor cooing over her and she kept her head turned to the right and wouldn't look at us. We each held her face and tried to make her look at us but her eyes seemed to look right through us, completely expressionless. As soon as we let go of her face she turned her head the other direction, away from us. That was heart breaking. We took it to mean she was mad at us. She did the same thing TO ME when we first saw her after her knee reconstruction surgery last year. This time it lasted about 20-30 minutes and then she warmed up and rested her head on me - my arm first then my back. We brought her rib meat and she only ate one tiny little piece. That was disappointing but we know she ate a lot of it for the vet tech last night - 2 hands full, he said.
Gregg did all the same stuff he usually does to get a rise out of her ("where's your ball" for one) and she lifted her head, turned towards him, widened her eyes like she was interested and wiggled around like she wanted to get up and go to him. Of course she couldn't, she was too weak. Nevertheless it was nice to see her show interest. He also asked her to "show me your paw" like he always does and she lifted her good front paw. YAY, we were so happy and gave her lots of coos and kisses for that!
Ugh. I didn't want to leave her but the vet techs came back in after about 1.5 hours and said she was getting tired, which we could see, and should go back to her cubby to sleep. They got a gurney and took her away on that. She looked at me and got that worried look in her eyes. I held her face and told her over and over again "Jersey Girl, it's ok. It's OK. We'll be back." Seems silly but I've always used those same words when she gets riled up and nervous and somehow it always seems to calm her down. I can see it in her eyes and it worked today too. Thank you God! Thank you so much!
The vet tech in charge told me Jersey's blood pcv was 21, down from 24 last night. They check it every 8 hours. Normal is 37 and they give a transfusion at 15. We authorized a transfusion if they thought she needed one tonight. The Vet said she will improve but it will take time - like several days. Gregg thinks she'll improve too, be patient. I'm still worried she could die at the clinic. She's soooo weak! They can't / don't want to do anything to make her blood clot because then we might have the opposite problem - the clots could break loose and go to her brain or lungs making her stroke out. Yikes, that sounds worse! I call every 5-6 hours to check on her and ask questions. I want them to know I'M WATCHING THEM and they'd better be watching my baby. Last night I called at 4am. I'm sure that was a surprise. Lol.
That's the scoop for now. Please, please continue healing prayers for her. She needs them, and so do we!
Claudia
In this picture she's resting her head on my back while I kiss her leg. This, of course, was about 30 minutes into our visit, after she finally warmed up to me and stopped giving me the cold shoulder!
Good morning Claudia, Gregg and Jersey Girl,
What great pictures of your gorgeous girl 
Lots of hugs and prayers coming your way from Ontario, Canada.
Jersey Girl is in the "right place" to have her medical needs met right now....while it is very hard not to have her at home the medical staff is making sure she gets what she needs.
Please keep us up to date on all that is going on....we are all rooting for all of you.
Linda and Tucker
We've all been holdngour collective breath waiting to hear from you! Thank you for updatng us during this incredibley stressful time!
But we did gey some SPARKLE!!
SPARKLE when she gave you her paw.....SPARKLE when she got the "excited" look for the ball.....SPARKLE when she wagged her tail.......and a whole lot of "I love yo guys" SPARKLE when she laid her head on you...
Keep on cookinb her some good foods, shred it up intiny peices...and even bring the good ole' stand-by..-dry Milk Bones...maybe o e of the large ones
So, are they actuall "doing anything" to get the pvc back up? Could they go on a d do a blood transfusion now and then that would take care of things? Guess my ignorance is showng, huh?
You tell your Gregg he's a good balance for you and Jersey Girl! Hold onto him...he'x a keeper! And keep holdi g onto us!! Please update when you get back from your visit today as soon as you can. And you call them every hour if you feel like it! Yeah, let them know you, and the whole tripawd community are watching!
She actually looks good in the pictures...so sweet! It sounds like, even thoush she would be painful from the operation, she's really jjst more exhausted smd needs rest. Once sne gets her strength back, the adapting to walking will take place pretty quickly.
Gosh, we're throwing icd cream your way...chococlate..booze...uess now you have to zip over to Colorado and purches one of those "legal herbs" and puff on those and see if that helps
:
ALL PAWS ARE STAYING CROSSED OVER HERE!! Peace out!
Sally and Happh Hannah
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Ohhh how hard that must have been to see her reaction but please know that dogs don't have the same type of emotions as humans, so what might be perceived as mad is really just that she is weak, like you said, a lot has happened to her, AND she doesn't want to show her weakness to you. Remember, dogs in the wild will go out and hide from their pack when their not feeling good. The last thing a dog wants is to look at their leader in the eye and show that they aren't feeling good. So please try to remember that, I know it's hard.
You have a GREAT team on your side, hang in there things will get better. And good for you for calling at 4 am! That's the kind of pawesome pawrent advocate who gets things done. YAY!
We'll be thinking of you both so keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
HAPPY Y HANNAH WANTED TO SEND JERSEY GIRL THIS CARD SHE MADE. Be sure and show it to her okay?
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Sally and Hannah
You two are hilarious, so sweet and just plain stinking cuties. Thank you for brightening our days and thank you for that adorable card! As for getting her pcv up, they don't want to give her blood clotting drugs because it could work too well and cause her to stroke. They said she'll improve daily it will just take awhile, like at least a week.
Jerry
Your advice about dog behavior / dog nature makes a lot of sense. I hadn't ever thought of it that way and it helped A LOT. Thank you so much!!
STAY TUNED FOR A NEW TOPIC FROM ME...
JERSEY GIRL IS HOME!!
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