Raven: A Rough Start for a Sweet Girl

Still smiling despite her pain

Raven is a wonderfully sweet German Shepherd mix girl who came into DeKalb County Animal Services as a stray with a terribly injured leg. We are fostering her for Canine Pet Rescue while she recovers from her injuries. The first order of business was to get her straight to the vet. The drive from the shelter to the vet was agonizingly long. Raven is such a trooper and did incredibly well in the back of the car for almost a whole hour, despite being in tremendous pain. We felt so bad for her...knowing she'd had those nasty wounds for at least 4 days. *Don't get me wrong, the folks at the shelter did everything they could do for her, including keeping her on pain medicine and antibiotics*. Regardless, we wished we could just time warp her to the vet. Every time I'd look back to check on her, she'd give me a big sweet kiss. You can see her soul in her eyes. She never once fussed at us when we were getting her in and out of the car.

Armpit wound after sutures

The carpal injury

Raven has spent a full week at CPR's vet in Dacula. I'm going to pick her up this afternoon and bring her home. Leaving her there was hard, but we knew she was in the best hands. The worst of her injuries is an awful wound to her front right leg at the carpal joint. The tissue was torn away, exposing the bone and tendons. The vet cut away the dead tissue and bandaged the wound. He explained that you don't suture those types of injuries; you've got to keep them bandaged until the tissue granulates (regrows) and fills in the wound so the bone is no longer exposed. That's the biggest reason she had to spend all week at the vet. Connective tissue takes time to reform. She has another wound up under her right arm that was more of a gash. The vet had to debride it, put a drain in it, and suture it. Her mouth was bruised, her nose scratched, and she had some other minor owies on her feet and shoulders. We're not sure if her injuries came from a dog fight or from getting hit by a car.

On way to vet

While Raven was under for all of her trauma treatment, the vet also tested her for heartworms. I cannot tell you how incredibly happy I am that she is HW NEGATIVE! So exciting and really surprising. It seems almost every Shepherd that winds up in our animal control turns up HW+. A couple more pieces of good news for Raven: her teeth are in good shape, she's a healthy 60 pounds, and although she's not been spayed it does not appear as though she's ever had puppies. She was actually in heat when we took her to the vet, which means she would have been ready to breed by the end of the week. This girl is super lucky she got off the streets when she did.

Raven will stay with us until her leg heals. After that point, she'll go to the CPR facility out in Dacula until she gets adopted. CPR specializes in GSD rescue. They do amazing training and have a remarkable kennel. I can't wait to see what this girl's future has in store. Paws crossed for Raven's speedy and full recovery! We'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, please follow this link if you'd like to donate to Canine Pet Rescue so they can help Raven and others like her: http://www.caninepetrescue.com/how-you-can-help/donate.html
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An Update on Oliver's Progress

It's been a week since we received the final word on Oliver's condition and I am happy to report that our lovable guy seems to be in better spirits. He's doing well on the carprofen (anti-inflammatory) so far. Right now he's taking two 55mg tablets per day, but we're hoping to eventually get him down to half of that for the long run. We picked up some great hip & joint health treats for him at AARF Pet Central made by the folks at Pet Naturals Vermont. He takes these twice each day.

Mr. Oliver is lucky enough to have a guardian angel. She is a wonderful person who has taken a special interest in Ollie and has helped make sure he is getting the best care possible. Oliver's friend sponsored him for three months and donated an arsenal of joint care supplies. Thanks to her, Ollie has a ready supply of Adequan, an expensive drug that helps protect the cartilage and keep it healthy. She even took the time to stop by my office and show me how to administer the Adequan injections properly.

Oliver didn't even seem to notice when I gave him his first shot last week. Today will be his second. He gets them once a week for the first month, then once a month after that. He is such a good boy and I am thrilled by the progress he's made already. His personality is brighter and he has more energy, indicating that his medicines and supplements have reduced his pain significantly. Oliver even felt well enough to go for a hike this past weekend. He did very well keeping up with everyone and I'm looking forward to continue helping him build his strength. We'll take it slow and monitor his progress closely. For now, we are all just so happy to see how much he's perked up already. Check out how happy he looks riding with the windows down in the morning sunshine...thanks to everyone who has helped him get to this point!

The Scoop on Oliver's Legs

I heard back from the vet today regarding Oliver's leg x-rays. The orthopedic surgeon confirmed that our poor Ollie has an old scarred over left cruciate rupture and degenerative joint disease. This is a condition that is very easy for humans to relate to: he's got an old ligament injury and now suffers from arthritis as a result. Contrary to what many people assume, arthritis isn't just for old folks, especially when it's linked to an injury. Oliver has the misfortune of being a merely middle aged dog with several years of worsening joint pain ahead of him.

The orthopedic surgeon has recommended exploratory arthroscopy to see if they need to stabilize the cruciate ligaments, if the maniscus needs to be trimmed away, and also if there are any bone fragments floating around. The estimated cost for an arthroscopy and the likely ensuing surgery to repair Oliver's ligaments is $2200 - $3000. This is obviously a very large financial burden for anyone to assume, let alone a non-profit rescue group like AARF. Not to mention there's a high likelihood that the money would be spent only to find out that the ligaments cannot be repaired due to the presence of scar tissue. Even if the surgery was successful and Oliver endured a miserable 3 month recovery, degenerative joint disease is something that cannot be fixed. This is a lifelong problem that will only worsen over time.

After speaking with the vet, Drew, and everyone at AARF, our decision is to forgo surgery. Just like for human joint pain, there are many non-surgical options to pursue that will help Oliver with strength and pain management. I am going today to pick up an anti-inflammatory for him that the vet has prescribed. We'll diligently monitor his bloodwork and see how he does on it. Ollie will get to go shopping for joint supplements at AARF Pet Central this weekend; they have a large selection of supplements as well as food that contains glucosamine chondroitin. AARF also has connections with a canine swim therapy trainer. Swimming will help Oliver exercise his joints and the surrounding muscles gently.

These developments do not render Oliver unadoptable. While it will be very important to find him a well-matched adopter who is prepared to care for his issues properly, Ollie should still have a long and happy life. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed toward his vet appointment last week. With your help, we know exactly what we're dealing with and can now begin to pursue treatment for Oliver. Stay tuned for more updates on Oliver's health, treatment, and other exciting news to come! 

Oliver Goes to the Vet

Oliver's teeth are a mess. All of the front teeth on the top and bottom are ground down to the gum line. Most likely, this is from chewing on a chain at some earlier point in his life. The poor guy needs a good dental cleaning. This wasn't surprising, as all dogs should get a dental at least once accompanied by regular home maintenance. So Oliver went to the vet Monday night for his pre-dental exam. It was decided that he needs a rotten incisor extracted and possibly a back molar taken out, also.

While at the vet's office, I took the opportunity to mention a few other issues I'd noticed about Oliver since he really needed a thorough physical exam anyway. I showed the vet his ears, which are now mostly healed but still a little raw. She agreed that the scarring looks like old fly strikes, which makes even more sense if he was chained outside at some point. I told her Ollie's eyes have been a bit dry lately, which she attributed to our early spring this year. Nothing to worry about. Then I told the vet how his back legs seem funny. They just don't seem to have much range of motion. Oliver walks very stiffly, refuses to jump into the car, and falls on the stairs regularly as if he can't quite pick his back feet up high enough to make the next step.

These leg issues are not normal and it's more than just Ollie being a clumsy oaf (which he is). The vet said that his right kneecap is quite loose; she is concerned that the cruciate ligament behind the kneecap may be torn. They plan to palpate that area while he's under anesthesia for his dental.

The left leg is cause for even more concern. Ollie's femur is abnormally dense. I don't know how we missed it with all the baths he's had, but it feels obviously strange and larger than the right. The vet wants to do a series of x-rays while Oliver is under for his dental so that she can see what exactly is going on with this leg.

I'm trying so hard not to stress over it and think of the worst as I always do. I'm failing. Perhaps Oliver was hit by a car long ago and these issues are just the results of poorly healed injuries. Maybe he can be fixed up with a little pain medication for arthritis. It could be that simple, but what if it's not? Ollie could need surgery to repair his ligament if it's torn badly enough. His abnormal bone density could be cancer. The vet also found a tiny lump behind Oliver's ribcage. It could just be a cyst, but it could also be more cancer. There are so many "what ifs" and "could bes".

Oliver is scheduled for his dental and x-rays on Tuesday, March 6th. We will have to wait until then to learn anything further. It's going to be a long month, but at least it gives us some time for fundraising. The x-rays are pretty expensive and depending on what is wrong with Oliver's legs, there will likely be more costly procedures down the road. In the meantime, if you would like to help us and AARF fund Oliver's medical treatment, please contribute by using the ChipIn widget above. Oliver has overcome so many obstacles already. He deserves to be healthy and happy.