12.15.07
Posted in Dougie Gillingham at 8:03 pm by Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue
This little poot is an amazing little dog. If you haven’t heard of Dougie, GO HERE to read his story.
Thursday, we went to see the surgeons to have sutures and staples removed. He was great. All healed, no infections - ready for fun. Then we had the first rehab appointment and he got to “walk” in the water treadmill. This contraption, which you’ve seen before, is truly amazing - use of it dramatically speeds up their recovery time.
Dougie’s problem right now is the leg that wasn’t broken but luxated out of place. The sciatic nerve sustained severe damage and he could not make his right leg work correctly. Two weeks after surgery, Dougie can now walk, but is “knuckling” his toes on that bad leg. That means he bends the toes under and doesn’t realize that he’s walking on the top of his toes.
Work in the water treadmill is designed to help improve his overall control of that leg as well as start building up the muscles on both legs.
Dougie did two sessions of four minutes each on Thursday morning. Thursday afternoon, he didn’t wake up until around 8 pm and even then wouldn’t stand. We certainly taxed his little body. I was so nervous about it, I had to call the rehab director to make sure he was ok.
Saturday morning, the little guy was walking better than ever. Here is a short video showing his amazing progress.
Thanks to everyone who so very generously donated so that we could save this boy. I know we always ask for more and more and more, but when we have one or two good stories like this, it gives me the emotional balance I need to keep going.
Little Dougie received two care packages this week. One from Odean in PA which had a blue blankie, a Christmas afghan (Dougie-sized), a pillow and a little toy. The second from Ellen, came today and thankfully included two little coats. Dougie is modeling one of the coats in the first picture on this page. And above, he is very happy to have that little blue blankie on this really cold day!
Thanks to you wonderful people. You make my heart sing!!
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12.08.07
Posted in Dougie Gillingham at 9:40 pm by Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue
Little Dougie is doing exceptionally well. Doesn’t he look sort of “comfortable” on that smushy bed with all the toys? Well, he’s living the life of Riley right now. Just this afternoon, we had a couple of potential adopters over to meet some of our little fluffs. I went into the living room with them and about two minutes later, Dougie started complaining. He made such a racket, I had to go pick him up and let him sit with me for the rest of the afternoon. Can you spell S P O I L E D??
He is walking so much better today. Yesterday, his right foot was knuckling quite a bit when he tried to use that leg. Today, probably 1/3 of the time, he’s putting the foot down correctly. That give me a good feeling!
Dougie is great and it looks like he will be healing quite well.
As you know, we can only do this type of work because of your wonderful and very generous donations. If you are moved to donate, use THIS LINK for paypal, or THIS LINK to send a check. Download the credit card form HERE and fax it to 281-754-4851, but be sure to email me at teresa@shihtzu-rescue.com to let me know to look for it.
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12.01.07
Posted in Dougie Gillingham at 2:39 pm by Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue
Is this not a face to die for. I visited little Dougie at Gulf Coast this morning. Oh, he looks so much better. Not shaking, much more alert. Even the nurse said he as feeling better. Not crying in pain at all any more. n
I thought they might release him today, but he still cannot get up (nothing to worry about yet) and they want him to walk before he is released. I suspect I’ll pick him up Monday. Boy, keep me strong!!! He’s going to have to stay here in Cherie’s recovery room for 6-8 weeks. Please keep me strong!! LOL
Here’s a video from this morning.
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11.30.07
Posted in Dougie Gillingham at 9:52 pm by Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue
Whew, what a roller coaster ride this week was. I am just in awe of all of you all, the supporters of these little dogs, for what you did in just 48 hours for Little Dougie. For those of you new to this story CLICK HERE to see the original story of Dougie and HERE for yesterday’s big update.
So, here we are just 72 hours from the first time I set eyes on this tiny, 4 pound little adorable, completely broken fluffer and miracle of all miracles, he is all patched now. Amazing.
Here is his x-ray after surgery. He now is the proud owner of one plate and five screws holding his tiny broken bones together. I hope to go visit him tomorrow.
Thanks to everyone!
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11.29.07
Posted in Dougie Gillingham at 5:13 pm by Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue
Wow, this is one lucky boy! Thanks to all of you, Dougie had the surgery to repair his ruptured diaphram yesterday, Wednesday. He is recovering today and if he is showing enough improvement, we are trying to get him in to the orthopedic surgeon to repair his pelvis.
VIDEO
I visited him today at lunch and took this very short video. He has lost weight - he’s under 4 pounds now, but since he probably didn’t eat from Saturday through today (pretty risky to force feed a dog whose intestines are smashed up next to his heart and lungs), it’s not unusual to see weight loss.
He is in pretty critical shape, as you can guess.
Dougie is close enough for us to say “good to go.” Thanks to:
Impulse Devices, Ashley Riebschlager, Wyatt Edenfield, Rick Brezik, Sherry Goodpasture in memory of Lucky, Claryce King, Don Rorschach, Kandy Hirsch, Daphne McWhorter, John Leech, Rosemary Cody, Cat Martindale, Anna Dee Lastick, Maureen Skarzynski, Lorna Van De Weile, Debbie Styron, Cindy Leigh, Diane Paldino in memory of Tex and Teddy, Carol Lundemo, Emily Harris , Odean Cusak, Sunny Goldberg, Karen Anderson, Julia Skidmore, Yanceys, Brandi Zender, Melissa Avellan, Christine Connelly, Camie Barkley, Gina Hoener, Leann Lund, Jerri Brezik, Shelia Taylor, Dana Summers, Eugene Bonos, Jimmy Hillyer, Christine Hutchison, Alexis Stokes, Victor Bosquez, Ja Peck, Kenneth Thompson, Bill Glod, Wanda Kenyon, Pat Schoenfelder, Stephanie Jones, Christi Umphrey, Ben and Carrie Christie, Shera Dean, Tool Saver, Danthanh Vu, Irene Takamizu, Barbara Nitse, Barbara Grabell, Patricia Barnette, Virginia, Heather Mitchell, Laura Douglas, Judy Florence in honor of Willie Wilson, Letitia Groce, John McPeak, Traci Tran, Mitzi Stephenson, Linda Bridges in memory of Elwood and LaVerne Fette, Ellen Green, Diane Richer in memory of Mei Ling and Sugar Bear, Cheryl Mathis in memory of Jordache, Girbaud, Buckwheat, Amy Addante, Fur Kids, Pam Glass, Melissa and Jeremy Gaston, Vernelle Arnold, Emily Barfield, Ann Rawlins-Shaw, Cat Martindale, Ashley Riebschlager, David Fuller in honor of Jonah, CJ and Chuggs, Impulse Devices, Ann Payne, Phyllis Fisher, Frank Cardone, Bridget Crowley, Susan Moskovitz, Tracy McGurr, Sarah Hodson, Gary Stockwell, Sue Morris, Shelia Semel, Joan Samar, Larina Campbell, Donnal Wilt, Ginger and Doug Warnick, Barbara Fink, Earnest Toombs in memory of Skeeter, Jennifer Rue, Susan Moskovitz, Martin Howard inmemory of Fritz and Killer, Denise Bailey, Darinda Tanner, Duyen Tran, Martha Duarte, Grace Wu, Pamella Reiling, Stanbridge College, Karen Calvert, Max and Dana Pachar, Anonymous 1, Anonymous 2.
There were over 100 people that donated for this baby boy. WHAT A LUCKY BOY THIS ONE IS!!
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11.27.07
Posted in Dougie Gillingham at 9:49 pm by Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso Rescue
You just absolutely will NOT believe this! I’ve told everyone that we are just bursting at the seams with too many dogs right now. Our absolutely stellar foster homes are taking one/two/three more than they normally can handle because they KNOW it’s the HOLIDAY dumping season and there will be so many dogs in danger that they are going WAAAAAAAY overboard for these dogs.
Still, we are putting off all but the emergency and urgent, as in this-dog-will-die-today-if-you-don’t-take-it situations! I cringe when I see an email come in that says a dog’s name or “help this dog” or “please take this dog.” ETC.
Well, this morning, our Houston intake coordinator got a call ……….. oh how do I even write these words…………. the caller said “we have a hit-by-car shih tzu here, can you help?”
What?????
I told Sherry, no way, no how, no no no, read my lips “NO,” did you hear me “NO NO!!”
Then, they sent the picture - those evil, evil people. Mean, mean, evil people!
And, he’s a PUPPY - only 10 months old. And, he weighs around SIX, yes 6 pounds. T I N Y.
“NONONONONONONO!!!” I said. Everyone will think I’ve totally lost my mind.
Ok, I said to myself, we’ve had some HBC that didn’t need much more than crate rest so maybe we’ll catch a break.
I called the vet where animal control had taken him SATURDAY (yes, three days ago). I talked to a very nice vet who said - nope, he’ll need surgery - he has a ruptured diaphram and his intestines are now sitting next to his lungs and heart. Oh no, Deja Vu - Andrew Garlander just this past year had the same thing. It’s fatal if not corrected.
Ok, so we took him immediately to Gulf Coast Veterinary Surgery just for a consult, you know, just to see, just to check on fixing his diaphram and stuffing his intestines back down in his abdomen. The news was not good.
Here is his x-ray with some markings where I tried to illustrate what the surgeons told me.
He has, in addition to the ruptured diaphram, two or three complete fractures in his pelvis. One on a weight bearing bone - if not corrected, he will never walk according to the surgeon. Another on the opposite side. They believe both must be plated to fix it. One side is also subluxated (I think that’s the word) meaning it is shoved several inches too high in his body and must be repositioned. He is in a LOT of pain. A lot of pain. Anytime we tried to move him, he screamed in pain. But, through all of the examination,etc., once he calmed down, he wagged his tiny tzu tail a bit.
Now, the good news is that it can all be fixed, the bad news is that if we do this, he will be our gold, no make that platinum,-plated dog.
The estimate for the ruptured diaphram is $2700-$3500. The estimate for repairing all the broken parts of the pelvis is $3400-$4200. What should we do? If we don’t do the orthopedic surgery, we shouldn’t do anything. So with him, it’s all or nothing.
He’s a puppy. We named him Little Dougie Gillingham - Dougie after the vet that kept him for three days, Gillingham as an identifier for the animal control that picked him up.
help?
What to do?
If we’re going to help him, he MUST have surgery to fix the diaphram tomorrow. He’s been like this since at least Saturday and cannot go on much longer. We need to know IMMEDIATELY. Please send this message to any and all shih tzu lovers you know. If we can get a good start on raising the money, we’ll do it tomorrow. I know it’s Christmas and Hanukkah, I know we all have tons of gifts to buy and holiday parties to throw and attend, but I’m so hoping you can spare a few dollars to help this adorable boy make it to 2008.
I’m not going to work tomorrow so that I can see if we raise enough to give them the go ahead so will be monitoring the donations through at least noon.
help? His name is Dougie. He is no more than SIX pounds. He is around 10 MONTHS old. He is a puppy and for whatever reason, got loose from his home and struck by a car.
If you can possibily donate a few dollars, use THIS LINK for paypal, or THIS LINK to send a check. Download the credit card form HERE and fax it to 281-754-4851, but be sure to email me at teresa@shihtzu-rescue.com to let me know to look for it.
I don’t know what else to say. We’ve asked a lot of you this year. But look at that face. We have to at least try.
Funding to date for Dougie Gillingham
$5943 as of 11:45 pm, Wednesday - Little Dougie still needs around $1500 for his surgeries.
Thanks to:
Impulse Devices, Ashley Riebschlager, Wyatt Edenfield, Rick Brezik, Sherry Goodpasture in memory of Lucky, Claryce King, Don Rorschach, Kandy Hirsch, Daphne McWhorter, John Leech, Rosemary Cody, Cat Martindale, Anna Dee Lastick, Maureen Skarzynski, Lorna Van De Weile, Debbie Styron, Cindy Leigh, Diane Paldino in memory of Tex and Teddy, Carol Lundemo, Emily Harris , Odean Cusak, Sunny Goldberg, Karen Anderson, Julia Skidmore, Yanceys, Brandi Zender, Melissa Avellan, Christine Connelly, Camie Barkley, Gina Hoener, Leann Lund, Jerri Brezik,
Shelia Taylor, Dana Summers, Eugene Bonos, Jimmy Hillyer, Christine Hutchison, Alexis Stokes, Victor Bosquez, Ja Peck, Kenneth Thompson, Bill Glod, Wanda Kenyon, Pat Schoenfelder, Stephanie Jones, Christi Umphrey, Ben and Carrie Christie, Shera Dean, Tool Saver, Danthanh Vu, Irene Takamizu, Barbara Nitse, Barbara Grabell, Patricia Barnette, Virginia, Heather Mitchell, Laura Douglas, Judy Florence in honor of Willie Wilson, Letitia Groce, John McPeak, Traci Tran, Mitzi Stephenson, Linda Bridges in memory of Elwood and LaVerne Fette, Ellen Green, Diane Richer in memory of Mei Ling and Sugar Bear, Cheryl Mathis in memory of Jordache, Girbaud, Buckwheat, Amy Addante, Fur Kids
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