My Story

On May 14, 2009 our lives changed forever.  My mom was sitting outside talking to Grandma on the phone after dark.  All of us were out playing.   I slipped through the gate and I didn’t really know what happened.  The van stopped and my mom came screaming.  She crawled under the van and pulled me out.  Daddy held on the me and mom sped to the ER.  My back right paw was hanging by skin; my pelvis had multiple fractures on the left side.  And the life-threatening part was that a HUGE peice of skin from the center of my stomach to my spine, from hip to shoulder was hanging by one edge.  The doctor told my parents ‘It’s not wrong to put her to sleep.”  But they loved me so much they had to try to save me.

The vet stapled my skin shut with 90 staples.  He removed my paw and stapled it closed.  I made it through the night.  The next morning my parents transfered me to a surgeon.  I made it the first 48 hours, then 72 hours.

But my skin flap had started to die.  On day 5 they debrided about 1/2 of the skin flap.  Now I had an open wound about 10 by 5 inches big (and I am only 11 pounds).   Now the danger was infection.  I had a full torso sterile bandage on for 8 weeks.

On week 2 they did surgery on my broken pelvis.  They put on a metal plate, 6 screws and various wires.  The ‘cup’ of my hip joint had a Y-shaped fracture.

On week 3 they amputated my right rear leg at the hip.  I got to go home the next day.  Finally, I could start healing.

I went back to the hospital every few days to get my bandage changed.  My large wound was closing from the outside at little every day.  It took 15 week to close completely.

I could not walk on my new hip for 4 weeks, that means mom had to support my rear end for 6 weeks for me to potty.  I gradually started to put weight on my hip, then walk.  Just 1-2 steps at a time in the beginning.

At week 11 I went on vacation with my family.  I ran and swam and played.  I just couldn’t walk on rocks, so mom would carry me.

It was a long, long recovery.  I was not even supposed to live through this.  But my parents love me so much, they did everything possible to help me live and heal and finally to have a full, wonderful life.  Mom looks at me sometimes when I’m falling asleep next to her.  She looks at me a long time, then finally kisses me and says she loves me.  She says she is so thankful that I fought to survive and stay with  her.