Sara
07-13-2006, 07:49 PM
Sorry to those with dial up!
It was a cold and blustery day. Just kidding. It was a regular Saturday in February. One of the receptionists that I work with had just lost her daughters' 15 year old lab. A bunch of us decided that we would hit a couple of shelters after work seeing if there a dog for her. We went to one shelter and really didn't see anything. One of my fellow technicians and I were walking through the local Humane Society when she said "Sara, look at this little dog. She is so cute". I knew what she was up to by the tone of her voice. I look in the cage and there is this little black fur ball curled up in the back corner. She lifted her head to look at us but didn't even get up. She had a "special needs" sticker on her kennel. I don't know if you guys know it but if you work in the veterinary field, you are "required" to get a dog with some exotic and expensive disease.
After I talked to the kennel attendant I found out that she had heartworms and a FHO (Femoral Head Ostectomy). The ball of her femur was removed because it was broken. I have been in the veterinary business for 6 years and know that type of injury is usually caused by kicking or similar abuse. I also found out later that she has a BB pellet in her leg.
I took her out to the play yard and she wouldn't even walk on the leg she had surgery on. She really wouldn't walk at all. She was so pitiful, I just had to adopt her. I was not able to pick her up for 2 more weeks because she needed another heartworm treatment.
When I finally brought her home on a Saturday, she was so sick. Because of her heartworm treatment, she had to be cage rested and could not get any physical therapy on her leg. The muscle wasting was very obvious. All she would do would sleep all day. I took her into work on Monday and had the vet look at her. She believed Savannah wasn't feeling well because of the heartworm treatment. We but her on a short course of prednisone and Savannah never looked back. The change in her was amazing. She turned into a sweet and loving dog and gave tons of kisses.
As of today, she still has some trouble with her leg. It is not as strong as her other one and we really don't know if it will ever be. She has never had an accident in the house. Even though we suspect that she was abused in the past, she has never shown it. She has never met a person she doesn't like but she could really do without big dogs. She just loves children and has more patience than I ever will. It took her 5 months after I had her for her to test negative for heartworms. She had such a heavy burden of heartworms she has some permanent lung damage but she doesn't know it. She still plays as hard as any other dog.
You guys say you love pic so here are some more:
She can sleep anywhere and loves the cat beds
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/SWrightsman/IMG_1599.jpg
Savannah and my husband:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/SWrightsman/IMG_2543.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/SWrightsman/IMG_2642.jpg
Savannah and her best friend, Pepper, wrestling. Pepper is a 4 pound Chihuahua that is a coworkers dog.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/SWrightsman/IMG_1660.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/SWrightsman/IMG_1661.jpg
Last Christmas
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/SWrightsman/santa2005106.jpg
Savannah and Muffin
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/SWrightsman/IMG_2575.jpg
Savannah and I at the beach. She loves to run in the sand.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/SWrightsman/IMG_2761.jpg
It was a cold and blustery day. Just kidding. It was a regular Saturday in February. One of the receptionists that I work with had just lost her daughters' 15 year old lab. A bunch of us decided that we would hit a couple of shelters after work seeing if there a dog for her. We went to one shelter and really didn't see anything. One of my fellow technicians and I were walking through the local Humane Society when she said "Sara, look at this little dog. She is so cute". I knew what she was up to by the tone of her voice. I look in the cage and there is this little black fur ball curled up in the back corner. She lifted her head to look at us but didn't even get up. She had a "special needs" sticker on her kennel. I don't know if you guys know it but if you work in the veterinary field, you are "required" to get a dog with some exotic and expensive disease.
After I talked to the kennel attendant I found out that she had heartworms and a FHO (Femoral Head Ostectomy). The ball of her femur was removed because it was broken. I have been in the veterinary business for 6 years and know that type of injury is usually caused by kicking or similar abuse. I also found out later that she has a BB pellet in her leg.
I took her out to the play yard and she wouldn't even walk on the leg she had surgery on. She really wouldn't walk at all. She was so pitiful, I just had to adopt her. I was not able to pick her up for 2 more weeks because she needed another heartworm treatment.
When I finally brought her home on a Saturday, she was so sick. Because of her heartworm treatment, she had to be cage rested and could not get any physical therapy on her leg. The muscle wasting was very obvious. All she would do would sleep all day. I took her into work on Monday and had the vet look at her. She believed Savannah wasn't feeling well because of the heartworm treatment. We but her on a short course of prednisone and Savannah never looked back. The change in her was amazing. She turned into a sweet and loving dog and gave tons of kisses.
As of today, she still has some trouble with her leg. It is not as strong as her other one and we really don't know if it will ever be. She has never had an accident in the house. Even though we suspect that she was abused in the past, she has never shown it. She has never met a person she doesn't like but she could really do without big dogs. She just loves children and has more patience than I ever will. It took her 5 months after I had her for her to test negative for heartworms. She had such a heavy burden of heartworms she has some permanent lung damage but she doesn't know it. She still plays as hard as any other dog.
You guys say you love pic so here are some more:
She can sleep anywhere and loves the cat beds
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/SWrightsman/IMG_1599.jpg
Savannah and my husband:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/SWrightsman/IMG_2543.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/SWrightsman/IMG_2642.jpg
Savannah and her best friend, Pepper, wrestling. Pepper is a 4 pound Chihuahua that is a coworkers dog.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/SWrightsman/IMG_1660.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/SWrightsman/IMG_1661.jpg
Last Christmas
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/SWrightsman/santa2005106.jpg
Savannah and Muffin
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/SWrightsman/IMG_2575.jpg
Savannah and I at the beach. She loves to run in the sand.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a2/SWrightsman/IMG_2761.jpg