Annie Update a/o 4/30/08
Hi Everyone! Annie went for her
check-up at OSU today and let me
just say, "Woo-Hoo!" Her
radio graphs show no signs of
pneumonia at this time!
She's got two more weeks of
antibiotics, just to be on the safe
side, but she is definitely on the
road to recovery now. I, for one, am
so relieved!
She still has not gained any weight since her visit
last week, so we are going to play
with her food a little bit to see if
she can tolerate more at once, and
less times per day. (Thank
Goodness!) She will still have
special food and will have to be
held upright for 30 minutes
following each feeding, but the Dr.
Surman (the internal medicine guy)
says that the hope is, after she
grows up a little bit, she will be
able to eat on her own and not have
to be held upright. She will likely
never be able to eat "regular" dog
food, it will always have to be a
soft consistency, but hey, eat by
herself? That's a good goal! I will
have to continue to muzzle her, for
now, because she still has quite a
stricture on her esophagus because
of the persistent aortic arch.
Hopefully, though, she will outgrow
that as she starts to grow. While
she is a puppy and into
everything, she must not be able
to get things into her mouth that
cannot pass through that stricture.
So her next hurdle is another surgery in three weeks.
This one is to fix a hernia that we
knew about a long time ago, but put
off until she was healthy enough.
They are going to spay her early so
they can fix this hernia at the same
time, before it causes her any
trouble with her bowls or bladder.
So, hopefully, she will have all
surgeries behind her soon and go on
to live a peaceful life of making
someone a very lucky dog owner!
This poor girl, she's got body malfunctions going on
everywhere! Slowly but surely,
though, we are getting her fixed up
and she couldn't be happier. She's
giving me a run for my money, but
she's definitely worth it.
Definitely. Thanks for checking in!
Annie Update a/o 4/28/08
Hello Annie fans! Sorry for the
delay in updates, Annie has kept me
a very busy person! She came home
from OSU (AGAIN!) last Thursday with
two new antibiotics. The fine
doctors over there cultured some of
the junk in her lungs and have,
hopefully, pinpointed the bacteria
that is causing her so much trouble.
I pray that she is finally going to
kick that nasty pneumonia! She
actually woke up this morning
(Monday) and sounded FAR better than
she has for weeks and weeks.
My next goal is to try to put some
weight on her itsy-bitsy frame. She
hasn't gained any weight for weeks,
not so typical for a 11 week old
puppy. And my common sense tells me
that she will never have a chance to
outgrow a condition if she doesn't
GROW! I have been feeding her what
the doctor's say, and she's been
keeping it down pretty well. So I
have recently started beefing up her
meals and I am feeding her every 2-3
hours. Now, if you calculate that I
have to hold her in an upright
position for 30 minutes after every
feeding, and I feed her every 2-3
hours throughout the day, I am
pretty sure that it is all I get
done all day! She doesn't mind one
bit, though. The poor thing is so
very hungry all the time. It's sad
to think that she's never felt the
sensation of a FULL stomach. (Except
maybe as a very small baby with her
Momma). She can only eat small,
frequent meals and she's never done
when the bowl is. It certainly
hasn't hurt her energy level,
though! She is a VERY busy girl. I
have recently purchased her a
muzzle, but must locate a better one
with a basket on the end. Like a
typical puppy, she has taken to
eating everything she passes. She's
even picked up a few tricks from her
mom because she is so famished, and
has decided that she likes rocks,
cigarette butts, mulch, fuzz...you
name it, and I've confiscated it
from her hungry little mouth. Her
little esophagus can't pass anything
that doesn't fully dissolve, though,
so she can't BE a typical puppy. So
at this time, I can never put her
down unless it is a completely
baby-proofed room that has been
swept well and mopped. I have a play
pen that I put her in to keep her
safe, which she climbs right out of
the minute she feels like it! I will
be glad when I finally get the
glitches worked out and I can put
her back down in the yard. She had
such fun playing in the grass and
following my dogs, kids (and me)
around, but I don't trust her a bit
right now! So it sounds like I am
complaining, but I love her to
death. She is just the sweetest
thing, and has no idea at all what a
pain in the butt she is! :) I hope
that she doesn't stay so high
maintenance, though, because I want
someone to be able to fall in love
with her and give her a forever
home. I will do my best to try to
make sure that happens for her.
So she's got a follow-up appointment
at OSU on Wednesday, so I'll try to
give you all another update as soon
as I have some news from the doctors
about how they think that she is
progressing. Thanks for checking in!
ANNIE UPDATE a/o 4/21/08
Our little Annie was doing very well
post surgery. No one has told her at
this point that she has been (or is
still) sick! We picked her up from
OSU on Wednesday, where Channel 10
was generous enough to meet us and
air a little update. It was a shock
to my eyes, because she was even
smaller when I picked her up than
when I dropped her off. In one week
she had already lost so much weight!
The doctor's at OSU seemed to have
taken her under their wings, though,
because she was still as spoiled as
ever! She has been doing very well
at home, eating around the clock.
She looks pitiful with her tiny
little shaved body and big line of
stitches. I try to get as many small
meals into her as often as I can,
but as of right now she is still on
a liquid diet and is always, always
hungry. It makes me feel horrible
for her because it seems she can
never get full, so I feed her as
often as possible. Unfortunately,
Annie has found herself back at OSU
today. She was doing well yesterday,
until her final feeding last night.
She immediately regurgitated her
food last night and didn't seem to
be able to keep it down. We then had
a very long night of coughing and
raspy breathing. She has been raspy
all along, due to an upper
respiratory infection she contracted
from her mom at two weeks of age.
This morning was more of the same,
so I rushed her to the vet this
morning for a second opinion. (I am
so oversensitive to her now that I
was hoping that I was just imagining
it!) They suggested that we take her
back to OSU today. (Not my
imagination, unfortunately). She was
examined by the doctors at OSU, and
they are going to keep her overnight
and do some more testing. Aspiration
pneumonia is her biggest enemy right
now, and she has been battling it
since before she even had surgery.
She is such a sweet little puppy,
and follows me like a shadow. She is
very playful (although not allowed
to go overboard!), very loving and
extremely loyal. She cries at night
when she is alone, so I've taken to
letting her sleep in the bed and get
up 4 times a night to take her
outside! (Thus the very long
nights!) That liquid diet makes it
hard to hold it for long, especially
for a 9 week old puppy! We love
watching her discover the world,
without even a thought as to the
unfair hand she was dealt at birth.
She is a curious little hound dog,
bumbling around with her nose to the
ground. We are still keeping her
quiet at this point, but can't wait
until she is free to be a normal
little puppy! She's a survivor, like
her mom. She's giving it all she's
got and we are so very glad to have
the privilege of offering her the
chance. Thank you, again, to all who
cared enough to help us give her
this opportunity to live. Keep your
fingers crossed for her and the
prayers coming, she still needs them
desperately. I will try to post
regular updates.
ANNIE UPDATE
4/15/08
Hello kind hearted puppy lovers!
Just wanted to add a little "Post
Surgery Annie Update." Annie's
doctors said that she did very well
through the night and is playful and
happy this morning! Yeah! She ate
this morning with no regurgitation,
which is awesome! While they were
trying to examine her this morning,
she was chewing on the blood
pressure cuff, chewing on her
catheters and just making a regular
pest of herself!! That's our Annie!
Apparently she's become quite a
favorite there at OSU as well,
always begging for someone to tuck
her in their arm and spoil her
rotten. We are glad that they are so
accommodating to her, but we can't
wait for her to come back. We miss
her so. I will update again as soon
as I have news! Thanks for caring
enough to check on little Annie!
ANNIE UPDATE
a/o 4/13/08
To the animal lovers across the county, state and
country who have responded:
THANK YOU, THANK YOU from
Annie and all of us for your
generous response to Annie's plea! I
want to extend a heartfelt thank you
to OSU, as well. They have given us
a much needed break on the cost of
the surgery, so coupled with Annie's
donations, she has raised enough
money to have the surgery she so
desperately needs. Annie is
currently at OSU Veterinary Hospital
awaiting surgery. I took her last
Thursday, expecting surgery to take
place on Friday. Annie's biggest
battle at this point is avoiding
aspiration pneumonia, which is very
common for dogs with megaesophagus,
since they cannot properly swallow
their food. Unfortunately,
Annie did aspirate some of her food
Thursday night and the doctors at
OSU put her surgery on hold to make
sure that she did not develop
pneumonia. Annie spent the last
several days in Intensive Care at
OSU, being monitored closely to
ensure that her lungs stayed
healthy. The good news is that she
was taken out of the ICU ward
yesterday and is back to being a
bouncy, happy, and healthy (as
healthy as can be expected with a
heart defect) puppy! She is
scheduled to be the first on the
table Monday morning.
We have been extremely worried about the unforeseen
complications that could arise,
above and beyond her original
surgery price quote. I have very
high hopes now that with the
staggering emotional outpouring and
financial support we have received
from "Annie's public," she will not
have to want for whatever care she
needs. I am more than thrilled and
relieved to know that I will not
have to worry about placing any
"financial cap" on Annie's care.
Keep her in your prayers, she will
need it. There is a very high
mortality rate post-surgery due to
the aspiration pneumonia that I have
already talked about. She will have
a three week "window of terror," and
if she makes it through that, she
will hopefully be out of the woods
and on her way to a long, happy and
healthy life! To deliver her into
this world, watch her grow and
mature and then all of the sudden
cease to thrive was more than
heartbreaking for me and everyone
else here at the shelter. We could
not have given her this chance
without people like you with the
kindest hearts and the love that I
share for these helpless little
animals. I will do my absolute best
for her post surgery and I will keep
you updated as best I can. She
deserves this, more than most of you
know. She just might be the sweetest
puppy in the world. She's definitely
one of the luckiest, as am I to have
the opportunity to know and care for
her. Thank you again, from the
bottom of my heart, and little
Annie's.
Fairfield Area Humane Society
Executive Director, Michelle Sahr
A desperate plea to save little
Annie:
Meet Annie. Annie is only eight
weeks old, born at our shelter the
day before Valentine’s Day. She has
already faced enough challenges to
last a lifetime in her short time
here on Earth. Annie was born to a
mom who actually ate cigarette butts
and rocks because she had nothing
else to eat. She was eating anything
she could to survive for the babies
in her belly.
Annie’s mom, Winnie, was rescued from the Dog shelter
by our Director just three days
before she delivered her pups. She
was so emaciated and dehydrated, our
director feared for her life if she
tried to go through labor and
childbirth in the state she was in.
She was brought to the Humane
Society, where our staff
administered fluids and tried to
give her as many good meals as we
could to prepare her for what lay
ahead. Winnie managed to give birth
to what was thought to be seven
healthy puppies.
At five weeks, however, Annie started to deteriorate. At
first, she presented with severe
anemia, with no apparent cause. This
appeared to be a likely effect of
her mom’s state of starvation prior
to her birth. Unfortunately, Annie’s
problems didn’t stop there. Soon we
noticed that Annie was having severe
problems breathing and she couldn’t
keep any food down and stopped
gaining weight. Dr. Dunn at
Fairfield Pet Hospital here in
Lancaster, alerted us that Annie
could possibly have a condition
called Megaesophagus. The underlying
cause of megaesophagus could be a
heart defect known as Vascular Ring
Anomaly. He suggested further
testing, one of them being a barium
scan to watch how Annie’s body
handled food once it was swallowed.
After many, many trips to vets and
countless sleepless nights for our
director, Annie’s diagnosis was
determined to be terminal. The
barium scan revealed that Annie did
indeed have the condition. This
means that the valve that pumped
blood from one side of her heart to
the other in-utero did not close
after she was born. This
artery/ligament is now squeezing on
Annie’s trachea and esophagus,
causing her food to back up in her
throat until she throws it up and
restricting her breathing
tremendously. The end result is that
Annie will die if she does not have
open heart surgery quickly. Annie is
living on borrowed time and her
clock is ticking. The bigger she
gets, the worse her condition gets.
Annie is so playful and happy now; it doesn’t even appear
that she is sick, until you hear her
breathe. Then if you compare her
size to that of her brothers and
sisters, her condition becomes
painfully obvious. Although she
doesn’t know it yet, Annie is dying.
We, the staff, volunteers and board
are begging now for your help; so
much so that I cry as I type this.
Annie needs at least $3000.00 for
her surgery and aftercare. Annie has
beaten the odds so many times before
in her little tiny life, but she
absolutely cannot do it alone this
time. If you can help, please do.
Annie doesn’t have much time to
spare. Donations can be made over
the internet via our website with
paypal, or checks/cash can be mailed
to the Fairfield Area Humane
Society, P.O. Box 1109, Lancaster,
OH 43130. Please mark your donation
“Save Annie.” Thank you, Thank you
from the bottom of our hearts….and
Annie’s.
 Fairfield
Pet Hospital, located in Lancaster,
deserves our very special thanks!
For years and years, this full
service veterinarian hospital has
responded to our humane officer
calls to care for dogs and cats hit
by cars, suffering from abuse and
other injuries and illnesses–
sometimes in the middle of the
night. All of the staff there is
always extremely open with their
hearts, time and expertise. “They
have an emergency vet ‘on call’ for
their existing clients, which has
been so wonderful for quickly
getting expert care for our very
hurt or sick animals,” stated Humane
Officer Bill Huffman. “We’ve always
been happy with their expert care –
in particular their excellent
surgeons,” said Bill. “In addition,
they have a vet, Dr. Dunn, who has
helped us with animal behavior
issues when we have an animal that
is not adapting well.” Our director,
Michelle Sahr, says that “We have
been known to burden their clinic
with multiple emergency calls, and
they are always super generous with
their accommodations. I cannot say
enough about them, I would highly
recommend their clinic to anyone in
need of an excellent vet.”
Pictured is Chester, who is
currently up for adoption. He was
successfully treated by Fairfield
Pet Hospital for a broken leg after
he was hit by a car. Now he doesn’t
even have his cast on!
See
a list of some of our most recent
and most generous donors!
Without them the work we do would
not be possible;
*THANK YOU!*”
Sugar Update
Hey, remember me? I’m not the
skinny, starving abused dog you
probably remember. I’ve almost
doubled my weight, and am now a
svelte 83 pounds and loving every
day. I live with the Humane Officer
Bill Huffman and his family and love
playing with the other dogs and just
hanging out. You might remember that
my jaw was so deformed I could not
eat and my tongue was permanently
hanging out when I first came to the
Fairfield Area Humane Society. Well,
thanks to great care and amazing
surgery, I’m now loving my dry dog
food AND rawhide chew toys.
Sometimes Bill and I go out and
visit schools and teach children how
to take care of their pets. When
animals like me come into the
Fairfield Area Humane Society who
have been hurt or neglected, it’s
nice to know that there are those
kind staff and volunteers who are
there to protect and defend us, and
make sure we get better so we can
have forever homes.
Bill says I should live to be an
old, old dog. I have all of my
friends around the world who donated
money and sent cards to thank for my
life. Believe me, every day is a
treat for me just spending it with
Bill. Thank you from the bottom of
my heart.
Sugar
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