Turning a Corner (aka Our Little Holiday Miracles!)

The last two weeks have brought a remarkable and steady improvement for both Hank and Sabrina! So much so, in fact, that we are ready to say that they WILL have new homes in the New Year!!! We will begin reviewing applications again in the next few days, and soon as they finish their current nebulizer treatments and get the green-light from the vet, they will be on their way to their new families. HOORAY!

They have really changed a lot these past weeks. Sabrina's ears are now upright now! They definitely add to her overall charm. And they have both gained a lot of weight... Hank is now over 6 pounds, and Sabrina on her way to 3. They let us know last night that they were done with the heating pad by pulling the cord out of the wall and chewing through the cord. They are full of feisty fun and LOVE getting to run around and play now. Check them out with the Christmas tree:



and here is a little video of Hank giving Jason a face washing:




All in all, we feel very lucky and blessed this Holiday Season! Thanks so much for everyone who donated to Forgotten Friends and allowed us to seek aggressive treatment for the puppies!

What about Hank?!

Many have pointed out that we have neglected to update on sweet Hank! Rest assured, Hank is doing very well. If he didn't still have the (very occasional) cough, he would be back in the hunt for a family. He is just so vigorous and happy-- we can't imagine that he has anything beyond an upper respiratory infection. We will try to get some new photos of the precious pup very soon.

Update on Sabrina

Sorry it has taken me so long to post this update. Sabrina stayed at Compassion Animal Hospital from early Wednesday morning until Thursday evening. (Her hospital bills are now up to $800-- a real hardship for the rescue.) For the last 36 hours she has held her own at home, maintaining her body temperature (with the help of the heating pad) and her blood sugar (with the help of syringe feedings of human baby food 6+ times a day) without her IV fluids. She is still getting clindamycin drops and her nebulizer treatments. She seems content and bright-eyed, and the hope is that if she can just float along like this without anymore crises she might make it through the pneumonia and be just fine. Keep your paws crossed!

Another Crisis for Sabrina

Sabrina had seemed much stronger and better today. Both she and Hank seemed to be eating better and were so playful and energetic. Then tonight, completely unexpectedly, we found her looking despondent again. We knew right away that her blood sugar was low again, so we gave her syringe feedings and syrup and wrapped her in warm bedding on a heating pad. We also gave her a bolus of subcutaneous fluids. But by 1:00 AM it was obvious that she was crashing so I rushed her to the Emergency Animal Hospital (tucked in my bra & zipped-up in my sweatshirt to keep her tiny body warm in the cold night air).

At the EAH they grabbed her from me and checked her blood sugar. It was too low to register. Her body temp was a little low at 99.5 (but she had been laying on the heating pad). They started an IV and began giving her fluids and glucose. She will have to stay the rest of the night in the hospital and then be collected early in the morning to move to her regular vet hospital, Compassion Animal Hospital.

Tonight's bill will run close to $400 for these 4 hours. This is the REALLY hard part of rescue, making these super difficult decisions, knowing when it is time to let a suffering puppy go and when it is appropriate to give her a little longer to fight. Too bad these moments always seem to come in the middle of the night!

Keep your paws crossed for Sabrina.. that she will have the strength to get through this.

I will post an update tomorrow.

A Terrible Week

Last Friday we felt that the puppies were really on the mend-- so much so that little Maggie (aka Sarah Jane) went to her new home! But on Saturday we awoke to a terribly ill Sabrina. Her blood sugar was so low that it caused her to have a seizure, and her body temperature was very low as well. We rushed to our vet who diagnosed pneumonia, but warned us that poor Sabrina could also be suffering from a congenital defect known as a liver shunt. We took her home and began a round-the-clock regimen of treatments (syringe feedings of special food, subcutaneous injection of fluids, new antibiotics, heating pad, capillary blood sugar checks, etc.). Sunday, she was cold and had even lower blood sugar. When the vet re-opened on Monday, we were there again, and this time came home with a nebulizer and the knowledge that she had lost weight over the weekend in spite of the feedings.

We kept up with her treatments and by Tuesday she seemed more stable. Her breathing was less labored and she was eating well. Hank had been her constant companion throughout this, keeping her warm with his body. But by Wednesday he was frolicking around their pen while she watched-- alert but resting-- from her heating pad. By tonight she was playing a bit herself and has hopefully turned a corner on the pneumonia (though they both are still coughing occasionally). The hope is that her blood sugar problems were a symptom of her struggle with the upper respiratory infection. As it clears, we will begin to see if that was exacerbated by an underlying problem (such as a liver shunt).

Unfortunately, we had hoped that Maggie was happy and on the mend in her new home. But she was rushed to her new vet with identical symptoms to Sabrina on Wednesday. That vet independently came to the same worrisome diagnosis: pneumonia and possible liver shunt.

So, for now we are freezing the adoptions of Sabrina and Hank until we know for sure that they are going to be OK. We do not want any more families to face the heartbreak & expense that Maggie's family is!

These photos and this video are from tonight (there are more new photos from the week in the photo album). Enjoy!