Dixie

DIXIE WAS ADOPTED AUGUST 4, 2000 BY HER FOSTER MOM!

August 4, 2000

Dixie had her checkup at the veterinary referral center today. Although her surgery had been successful, it was determined that she does have permanent heart damage resulting from the heart defect before it was fixed. Her heart is not functioning properly but because her body is used to is and has accommodated itself to it, she can live with it. She has excellent quality of life, is a very happy dog, and can do almost all of the things other dogs can. She will never go hiking with her step brother and step sister, but she will be going on to advanced obedience classes. In order to keep Dixie's life stable and happy, she will stay in her foster home as a permanent resident for however long that may be and we hope it is many, many years! (P.S. Today Dixie weighed almost 38 pounds as compared to the 28 pounds she weighed 4 months ago!)

Dixie's Story:

Dixie had been at the Linden Animal Shelter for a couple of weeks already. Although this foster mom said she wasn't going to take a second foster dog for a little while, Dixie became sort of an emergency case. The animal control officers were running out of room due to overcrowding and, sad fact of life, we all know what happens when there is no room. Dixie's number was up. Well, it just was not meant to be. Home with me Dixie came. And what a great decision that was. She is quiet as a mouse and I barely even notice she is here.

Poor Dixie must have had a hard way to go in her short life. She is a very frightened little girl. She looks so mistrusting until she realizes that you mean her no harm. She does warm up quickly and it is so obvious how appreciative she is of someone being kind to her.

Her first day in foster care, she, like all other foster dogs, was in need of the complimentary deodorizing bath. She was scared to death to get into the tub but let me lift her in and once the shampooing started, she actually seemed to enjoy it. She was very well behaved and now sports a shiny and silky coat!

She also endured my lifting her to weigh her on the bathroom scale. She weighed in at a scant 28 pounds. She could certainly stand to gain another 10 pounds and we will be working on that.

Dixie is a small and delicate girl who will need a quiet home where she can enjoy an easy life. She is approximately 2 years old. Small children in the family would not be a good idea since she frightens so easily. She would do fine with other calm dogs and cats.

UPDATES

April 10, 2000

Dixie went to the veterinarian today for her shots and checkup. The veterinarian detected a severe heart murmur. He called in a veterinary ultrasound specialist who graciously tested Dixie at no charge to us. It was determined that Dixie has what is known as patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) which is a birth defect that causes abnormal blood flow, resulting in an enlarged heart if untreated. Surgery to correct the blood flow might buy her some quality time but she will need to be evaluated by a cardiologist first to see if she is even able to withstand anesthesia. That appointment is for this Thursday and I will update at that time. Please say prayers and send positive thoughts for this little girl so that she might be able to enjoy a little happiness. She was already granted one reprieve last Saturday. Let's hope for another.

April 13. 2000

Dixie had her appointment with the cardiologist at the Veterinary Referral Centre in Little Falls, New Jersey today. What a wonderful place with a very kind and caring staff! First of all, the very good news. Dixie has put on 3.3 pounds in just 4 days! Once she got her appetite back, she started eating with gusto and it shows!

They did another ultrasound and determined that Dixie's artery opening is huge and that her heart is terribly enlarged. The larger the artery opening, the more difficult the surgery. Of all of the PDA surgeries performed (including easily repaired small artery opening up to the huge openings like Dixie has) 5% don't survive the surgery. Without surgery, they expect Dixie will go into cardiac arrest within the next couple of months. If the surgery is successful, they have every reason to believe that Dixie's heart will return to normal and that she will live a full and healthy life. (They also estimate her age to be closer to 1 year instead of 2, thinking she appears older due to her health issues and previous stressful life.)

Dixie has everything to gain by the surgery. With the surgery, she stands the chance of living like any normal dog. She is too good of a dog to give up on so the decision has been made. Dixie will undergo surgery on Tuesday, April 18. The Veterinary Referral Centre has offered an incredibly generous discount to perform this surgery for us. The total is expected to come to $1200. (It is normally a $2000 procedure.) Now I need to ask for your help. We are a new group and we do not have an extra $1200. I committed to this surgery up front because time is of the essence (they don't even want to wait for Dixie to put on more weight), I feel this is a life worth saving and that the surgery is worth doing, and because I am confident that there are many animals lovers out there who would be willing to contribute a few dollars towards saving Dixie and making it possible for her to enrich some lucky person's life when she has recuperated and is ready for adoption. If you would like to make a donation, please mail a check, payable to Friends of the Linden Animal Shelter with "Dixie" noted on the memo line to:

Lexington Animal Hospital

1091 Raritan Road

Clark, NJ 07066

From the bottom of our hearts (and the bottom of Dixie's very BIG, but hopefully soon to be normal size heart) we thank you for your help! Check back for more updates which will be posted as soon as any information is available.

April 17, 2000

Dixie's surgery has been postponed. Dixie was ill all weekend. She would not eat and had terrible diarrhea. She spent the entire weekend in her crate, refusing to come out. Finally, on Sunday night, she began to eat a little and started to perk up. She even went for a little walk. I went ahead and took Dixie for her surgery appointment, The surgeon took a look at her and decided to postpone the surgery until Thursday, April 27 to allow time for her to be on antibiotics. The surgeon feels that her illness is unrelated to her heart condition - just a bug she picked up. Had it been related to her heart, she would not have started feeling better like she did. So this is good. She will get well, gain a little weight (she lost 1/2 pound of the weight she had gained), and we will have a little more time to get the money together for her surgery. So please keep the donations coming - we still have a long way to go!

April 20, 2000

Dixie is feeling great! She is actually laying on the deck catching a few rays right now. She is once again eating like a horse 5 to 6 times a day. She has been on a diet of rice and boiled hamburger because of her diarrhea. Starting today, dry dog food is being reintroduced into her diet. When she was sick, she turned her nose up at any sort of food. Now that she is better, she does little happy dances as I am preparing her food. She has been taking her antibiotics like a little trooper. (Well, OK, as long as they are hidden deep, deep inside a chunk of canned dog food!) I am confident she will be ready to go for her surgery next Thursday! We have raised approximately $550 so far. Thank you to all of you who have so generously donated. If everyone else who looks at this web site just sends in a couple of dollars, we will be good to go financially, too!

April 27, 2000

Dixie was in very good spirits this morning (EARLY this morning) as we headed to the Veterinary Referral Centre for her surgery. What a different dog she was from the previous visit. Her illness was definitely a thing of the past. I sat on pins and needles all day awaiting word about her surgery and, wouldn't you know, I wasn't by the phone when the call came! But Doctor Sweet left a very long and detailed message. He said that he was very pleased with how the surgery went. Her PDA was very, very large but he was able to completely close it off with 2 ligatures. She did well under anesthesia and her heart rate, blood pressure and oxygenation remained normal. She is currently on narcotics and local anesthetic to keep her comfortable. Her recovery is going very smoothly. Dr. Sweet promised to call again in the morning with a status update and this time I promise not to miss the call!

April 28, 2000

The surgeon called this morning and I was there to answer the phone! He said that he is very pleased with Dixie's progress. Although she is scared and freaked out at being in the hospital and is hiding in the back of her cage, she is in good spirits, her chest tube has been removed and she is now on oral medication. She has ICU nurses keeping an eye on her and comforting her 24 hours a day. She is being taken outside to 'do her business' and does so regularly. (If she only knew I was publicizing personal things of such a delicate nature...) Dr. Sweet feels that Dixie will do better recuperating at home so I should be able to pick her up tomorrow already. I wanted to go visit her today but decided that her seeing me and then having to leave her there might upset her too much so I will just wait until I pick her up tomorrow.

April 29, 2000 DIXIE IS HOME!!!

When they brought Dixie out into the waiting room at the Veterinary Referral Centre, she first looked at me like she thought she was dreaming. She cautiously sniffed my hand and then her whole body started wriggling totally out of control! I am yelling, "Dixie! Your Stitches....!!!" (Staples, actually.) We were given final instructions and then headed for the car. Dixie was jumping on the car, she was so excited. I had put her favorite comforter in the back seat and she immediately flipped over on her back and started rubbing all over it. She didn't sleep a wink the whole way home. Once home, we decided that since it was such a beautiful day out, where better to convalesce than in a crate on the deck, in the filtered sunshine, with a cool drink of water ...

... so that is where Dixie is now. She returns on May 10 to have her staples removed. In the meantime, she is supposed to remain quiet and rest. OK, well, maybe once the novelty of being back in her foster home wears off...

May 2, 2000

Dixie's bandages came off today. I am sure I was more nervous about cutting them off than she was about me doing it. (What a brave girl to trust me so much!) She has quite a road map of incisions and staples on her little body. So to keep them covered and clean while letting air circulate, Dixie now sports a stylish doggie t-shirt. This should also keep her from licking and should be more comfortable than those itchy bandages.

If you would like to see a picture of Dixie's incision (it is not graphic and even I, a very squeamish person, can look at it).

Dixie has been resting nicely and is keeping herself quiet. She never slept in the dog beds before and now that is all she wants to do. She is still eating very well so that leads me to believe her recovery is coming along very nicely.

May 10, 2000

Dixie's staples were removed today and Dr. Sweet was very happy with how well she healed. He said the incisions look great and that he can tell that she is a different dog than before the surgery. She now has a zest for life that just wasn't there before. Probably a combination of being in a home and her body not having to work so hard to pump blood any more have made her more relaxed, less fearful and have put a little bounce in her step and a smile on her face! Dr. Sweet says there is still somewhat of a heart murmur but not from the artery that was repaired rather from back flow in other arteries. He said this is common after the surgery, that the murmur is already better than it was immediately after the surgery and that he expects that when he sees Dixie for her final checkup on June 2, the murmur will be even more improved. She may always have a little heart murmur but it will no longer effect her life like it once did. She can now live like a normal dog and we plan on starting a progressive walking program just as soon as this rain stops!

May 16, 2000

As a part of Dixie's walking program, we started with obedience training, totally from scratch. Dixie had never been taught a single command, not even SIT. We worked from May 10 through today on SIT, STAY, HEEL, COME... and attended class 5 of the 8 week obedience class tonight. To everyone's (including my) amazement, Dixie was right up to speed with the rest of the class. What a smart little girl! There is no doubt in my mind that she will complete an 8 week obedience course in just 3 weeks. Way to go, Dixie!

August 1, 2000

Dixie started obedience school over from the beginning in order to earn her certificate, which she did today. She performed everything she was taught with great precision!