Jean
07-05-2008, 11:56 AM
I adopted Hayley from Dee, a woman in Kentucky who runs a shelter for unadoptable dogs. Dee had come across someone dumping a litter of Pyrenees pups on the roadside, so the angel that she is, she took them in. I contacted Dee, not knowing at the time that she was the same woman I adopted a Pyr mix from six years ago, when she was living in Long Island, NY. We reconnected and I told Dee I was interested in adopting one of the pups. I flew down to Tennessee and drove to Kentucky to pick up not one, but two sisters, to be named Hayley and April. I selected April first, a sweet shy little girl, and then there was Hayley. Her eyes had a very sad but gentle look -- and it touched my heart. I had to have her. With my two girls in the back seat, I made my way back home to New Jersey.
When Hayley was nine months old, I noticed her limping a bit. I wasn't overly concerned as I thought it was just a bit too much rough play, but took her to my vet for a look. After the initial exam, he told me his suspicions, and the x-rays confirmed the bad news -- Hayley had dysplasia. Her left hip socket was not fully formed, and the right was slightly malformed. After speaking to a specialist I opted to have Hayley's hip replaced but needed to clear up a recurring ear infection she had before they would operate. While I worked on her ear, Hayley blew out the other hip and needed emergency surgery, so she had the right hip replaced and waited for that to heal before having the originally planned surgery on her left hip.
Naturally, because her left hip had been out of place for some time, it was a difficult surgery, and the implant did not stay in place. Hayley needed a second surgery to stabilize the hip and subsequent to that surgery, she developed a seroma at the surgical site. The seroma became infected with a very resistant strain of e coli, and the infection spread to her implant and surrounding bone. There were no oral antibiotics that were effective against the bacteria, and only a few injectible ones that were. My vet started her on the strongest, but after five days her kidneys started to show signs of damage so he had to switch her to another medication. I took her home with instructions to give her three shots a day for six weeks. During that time I scheduled her surgery to have the implants removed.
On the day of the surgery, I got a call in the middle of the procedure. Her surgery wasn't going well. Her surgeon removed the implants, but couldn't get all of the cement out because her bones were starting to fracture. He suggested amputating her leg but said there was a chance they could get the rest of the cement out at a future date. I opted to wait, to save her leg, but after two days the infection got worse and she had developed a high fever. Hayley was rushed back to have her leg amputated.
I brought her home on Sunday, almost a week after the amputation, as she seemed to be doing better. That same day a hole opened up in the area of the surgical site and she was rushed back to the hospital, only four hours after returning home. The infection was still present and spreading. Fortunately my vet had stopped in to pick up something from the hospital as she was carried in, and he started treatment on her immediately.
At this point none of the doctors had much hope for her. She was very weak and had lost almost 30 pounds over the past three and a half months. She weighed in at 57 pounds. Her sister was 91 pounds. I spoke with my surgeon and he suggested a last resort treatment -- opening up the site and packing it, allowing the wound to heal from the inside out. They opened her up, cleaned out any infected tissue, repacked and rebandaged her. They did this every day for seven days. Two of the surgeons held no hope for her, but her doctor kept trying. After four days the light came back on in Hayley's eyes and everything began to turn around.
She is on yet another antibiotic to make certain that there is no remaining infection, as the e coli had become resistent to the prior medication. At $200 a week, it's the most expensive, but is doing the trick. To date her hospitalizations and medications have totaled over $21,000. As I live and breathe, I never thought I would ever spend that much money on a dog in my life, but each time I thought that surgery would be the last, and the alternative just wasn't something I was willing to consider.
Unfortunately, on top of all this, I lost my job in December and am still unemployed. The only upside is that if I had been working, I wouldn't have been able to be home with Hayley to care for her and make the many emergency trips to the vet hospital that she ended up needing. I don't know how I would have managed, so there is a bright side to that as well.
Hayley is featured on I Heart Tripods (http://www.ihearttripods.com/), to help with the cost of her surgeries and hospitalizations. If anyone is interested in helping, you can do so either through that site or you can email me directly for more information.
I have adopted rescue pyrs for almost 20 years now. They are an amazing breed, whose soul shines throgh their eyes. Anyone who is a caregiver to a pyr knows what I mean. Hayley is a sterling example of all that is wonderful about this breed, and I love her dearly.
When Hayley was nine months old, I noticed her limping a bit. I wasn't overly concerned as I thought it was just a bit too much rough play, but took her to my vet for a look. After the initial exam, he told me his suspicions, and the x-rays confirmed the bad news -- Hayley had dysplasia. Her left hip socket was not fully formed, and the right was slightly malformed. After speaking to a specialist I opted to have Hayley's hip replaced but needed to clear up a recurring ear infection she had before they would operate. While I worked on her ear, Hayley blew out the other hip and needed emergency surgery, so she had the right hip replaced and waited for that to heal before having the originally planned surgery on her left hip.
Naturally, because her left hip had been out of place for some time, it was a difficult surgery, and the implant did not stay in place. Hayley needed a second surgery to stabilize the hip and subsequent to that surgery, she developed a seroma at the surgical site. The seroma became infected with a very resistant strain of e coli, and the infection spread to her implant and surrounding bone. There were no oral antibiotics that were effective against the bacteria, and only a few injectible ones that were. My vet started her on the strongest, but after five days her kidneys started to show signs of damage so he had to switch her to another medication. I took her home with instructions to give her three shots a day for six weeks. During that time I scheduled her surgery to have the implants removed.
On the day of the surgery, I got a call in the middle of the procedure. Her surgery wasn't going well. Her surgeon removed the implants, but couldn't get all of the cement out because her bones were starting to fracture. He suggested amputating her leg but said there was a chance they could get the rest of the cement out at a future date. I opted to wait, to save her leg, but after two days the infection got worse and she had developed a high fever. Hayley was rushed back to have her leg amputated.
I brought her home on Sunday, almost a week after the amputation, as she seemed to be doing better. That same day a hole opened up in the area of the surgical site and she was rushed back to the hospital, only four hours after returning home. The infection was still present and spreading. Fortunately my vet had stopped in to pick up something from the hospital as she was carried in, and he started treatment on her immediately.
At this point none of the doctors had much hope for her. She was very weak and had lost almost 30 pounds over the past three and a half months. She weighed in at 57 pounds. Her sister was 91 pounds. I spoke with my surgeon and he suggested a last resort treatment -- opening up the site and packing it, allowing the wound to heal from the inside out. They opened her up, cleaned out any infected tissue, repacked and rebandaged her. They did this every day for seven days. Two of the surgeons held no hope for her, but her doctor kept trying. After four days the light came back on in Hayley's eyes and everything began to turn around.
She is on yet another antibiotic to make certain that there is no remaining infection, as the e coli had become resistent to the prior medication. At $200 a week, it's the most expensive, but is doing the trick. To date her hospitalizations and medications have totaled over $21,000. As I live and breathe, I never thought I would ever spend that much money on a dog in my life, but each time I thought that surgery would be the last, and the alternative just wasn't something I was willing to consider.
Unfortunately, on top of all this, I lost my job in December and am still unemployed. The only upside is that if I had been working, I wouldn't have been able to be home with Hayley to care for her and make the many emergency trips to the vet hospital that she ended up needing. I don't know how I would have managed, so there is a bright side to that as well.
Hayley is featured on I Heart Tripods (http://www.ihearttripods.com/), to help with the cost of her surgeries and hospitalizations. If anyone is interested in helping, you can do so either through that site or you can email me directly for more information.
I have adopted rescue pyrs for almost 20 years now. They are an amazing breed, whose soul shines throgh their eyes. Anyone who is a caregiver to a pyr knows what I mean. Hayley is a sterling example of all that is wonderful about this breed, and I love her dearly.
