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- A year? Already?!April 28th, 2012
Time flies. And I have a hard time keeping up with Claire!
The not-so-little booger got to experience the off-leash dog park in Shawnee the other day. Claire did wonderf…
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Rescuers, family, and friends, let's unite to help save this poor abandoned girl!
Claire is a 7 month old black lab pup who was picked up off the side of the highway in Arkansas after being hit by a car and left for dead overnight. Everyone else on the highway just drove by, ignoring her. I slammed on my brakes and loaded her into the back of my car. A gracious vet was on standby for when we reached Kansas City. She was covered head to toe in ticks and needs treated for ehrlichiosis. She has two fractures in one leg and a dislocated hip in the other. Because of the trauma to both legs, there is uncertainty if she can support herself if we just amputate the mangled leg. As a black puppy, with medical issues, we don't know if she'll ever be adoptable, but I can't just leave her writhing in pain at a vet's office until a miracle happens. The longer we wait, the more risk she's at of losing the leg altogether, or worse yet, euthanasia. Hoping to get her to Columbia's MU Vet Center, but I can't do it alone. Or I'll take any ortho vet that can work out a personal payment plan.
**Update** 5/17
Claire's xrays show extensive leg damage and three pelvic fractures, hence why amputation isn't the best option. At the very least she needs pelvic plates. They also show that she's been shot with some type of pellet gun in the rear end. From the healing and wound types, every vet I've talked to has said the same thing....rural Arkansas, chasing cattle, shot, dumped, hit by a car, and left for dead. She also has some bilateral eye trauma, but God only knows from what. She has detached lenses in both eyes and a cloud over one. Could be abuse. Could be from a car impact. Could be from a gun.
I'm not giving up on her. I just can't.
**Update** 5/18
After visiting with MU's Veterinary Teaching Hospital......SHE'S HAVING SURGERY FIRST THING IN THE MORNING!!! All intentions are to save her leg, then with some cage rest and TLC (no problem there!), her pelvis should heal on its own. She will have arthritis at a young age, but anything is better than the pain she is in now. It was so sad to see her wheeled off on a gurney, but she'll have a new life starting tomorrow. She's getting pretty good at scooting into my. lap, and I can't wait to bring her home. She'll spend 4 or 5 days in ICU, and then back to Kansas City for physical therapy, continuing vet work, and treatment for her other issues.
**Update** 5/20
I'm headed back to Columbia today. Claire's surgery was more complicated than anyone expected. The knee fracture was an easy fix, but there were actually two fractures at the neck of the femur and it took a lot more time to align everything so that both growth plates have the best chance at healing. The radiologist also found a small fracture in her spine and it's unknown if it will have any effect on her ability to potty or have feeling in her back legs. MU's Dr. Cook is still very hopeful that she'll make a complete recovery. I'll post more pictures when I see her this afternoon.
**Update** 5/22
Claire is on her way home! She's already trying to stand up on her own. She's still very wobbly but her progress is AMAZING! Dr. Cook said its the worst femur fracture he's ever worked on. Hearing all of this makes Tim and I very scared and happy at the same time. Claire truly is the closest thing to a miracle I've ever seen. Thank you again to all of our supporters.
**Update** 5/24
We are on our way back to Mizzou. Claire did fantastic yesterday during physical therapy, but today isn't going so well. She's barely letting us touch her leg without trying to get up or crying. We also started to see some drainage out of her knee incision. I'm probably just being over-protecttive, overly-worrisome, but I'd rather make the drive for her sake, even if it's just to go over the flexion exercises again. That's why they are the professionals. Her physical therapy is a two-person job, and unfortunately with my hand injuries, I can't hold the tough girl down!
**Update** 5/24
Always go with a gut feeling. I have not such good news to report after going to MU. Claire's been rehospitalized and just to be sure nothing had displaced, Dr. Cook ran another set of xrays. The original fractures in the right femur look great, but there's another break at the knee which needs pinned immediately. In the acetabulum on the left (the area in the pelvis that the head of the femur sits into), we knew there was a small break, but now that fracture has completely broken through and also needs to be surgically repaired. She also has to have her pelvis plated back together in the middle since the left leg is now so much more unstable. Our cost has doubled. My heart has broken. I cried the entire two hour drive home. It's either more surgery or....I don't want to think about it. Not after coming this far. Claire is having surgery first thing in the morning. I'm confident Dr. Cook will do everything he's capable of to save my little girl. I don't want to be selfish and I don't know if I'm making the right decision, but I do know that after all this....I can't stop trying. I can't let her down. She crawled out to the road for a reason. She had hope. And that's changed my life.
**Update** 5/25
Claire is sedated on morphine, but pulled through her lengthy surgery like a champ. Synopsis: left acetabular fracture was plated and fixed with screws, second right knee fracture was pinned and plated for stability, the head and neck of the right femur were taken out (FHO) since they weren't setting properly, and her pelvis was wired back together down the middle. She'll be in the hospital for a week+, but that's where right she needs to be. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support and prayers. Every single one of you. Where there's a will, there's a way.
**Update** 5/27
Claire was given yesterday as a rest day to help her recover from such big surgeries in a short amount of time. Today, her physical therapy starts again full force. She was sedated and had more xrays taken. So far, everything looks great. While she was asleep, they did flexion exercises to keep her muscles from getting too tight. She'll do more this evening and we'll see how she does with just pain meds. Claire still is carrying all of her weight on her front legs, so we have an extremely long ways to go for her to relearn how to use her back legs. I'm praying and begging God everyday for her to pull through. The staff at MU said she's getting up an turning circles in her crate (like she did here at home) and pushes all of her blankets around until they are just right. Then buries her face in them. At least she still has a sense of humor and is in good spirits. We only have 5 days left, so please keep spreading the word!
**Update** 5/29
Claire didn't even cry today during physical therapy!!! And she's carrying a very small amount of weight on her back legs!! I hope I can see her sometime this week (ride-along volunteers welcome). Everyone at MU says she's doing great and should be coming home late this week! Two days left......keep her story going!
**Update** 5/31
Claire's condition hasn't changed, but with such trauma, she's already making a miraculous recovery. I have to remind myself we're only one week out from her last surgery. We were hoping she'd come home this week, but to be safe, it'll be at least this weekend or early next week before we move her back home again. Today, LabMed approved a grant for $400 and very special person on their board matched it out of the goodness of his heart. Thank you so much, every single one of you who shared Claire's story, reposted online, told a friend, donated, prayed, all of it. You all remind me that there is still good in the world, even after witnessing such horrific indifference to an animal. Today is the last day of this fundraiser, but another day in Claire's life you've saved. Thank you, again.
Please help us help her lead a normal life! And spread the word. All funds will go directly to this little girl's veterinary care. All your help is appreciated. Big HUGE shout out to LabMed and United Animal Nations' LifeLine grant program for reaching out to us!! And thank you to the PetCo Foundation for all the coming post-surgery items!
If you'd like to make a tax-deductible donation, please mark it for Claire and send to:
Leavenworth Animal Welfare Society
PO Box 498
Leavenworth, KS 66048
Direct donations can be called in for Claire Early to:
MU Veterinary Teaching Hospital at (573) 882-7821 OR
Arrowhead Veterinary Services at (816) 353-5675
Save Claire's Leg updates.
A year? Already?!
April 28th, 2012
Time flies. And I have a hard time keeping up with Claire!
The not-so-little booger got to experience the off-leash dog park in Shawnee the other day. Claire did wonderfully with the 15 dogs who were there prior to us arriving. The next 10 that showed up......well, Claire's a little mouthy to dogs who are larger than her. Needless to say, we cut our swimming time down and took a hike instead! She did well in the water, but overestimated herself. Claire likes the water but only as long as her feet touch the bottom. :)
We've been working with K-9 Orthotics & Prosthetics in Canada after two failed attempts at working with OrthoPets in Denver to have orthotics custom fitted. We're addressing the laxity in her left ankle and the short length of her right leg. She's my Forrest Gump pup, but as soon as the final adjustments are made, I can't wait to see her go! Bilateral braces have been no easy task, but she knows when to put her "shoes" on and runs runs runs when she has them on. Course, she runs around like a mad man without them, too. Plays with the rest of my pack and drives all of us crazy. But in a good way! She's finally fully housetrained and knows basic commands (sit, stay, shake, down, leave it), but holding her attention for more than a few seconds at a time is a trip. She's also become quite the little backyard hunter - digging for moles, chasing squirrels, and catching birds. As much as I despise that, it's pretty amazing considering just under a year ago, she was completely immobile.
Dr. Cook at Mizzou checks on Claire regularly and always sends hugs her way. Our next big adventure will be for Claire to see MU's ophthomalogist to see if we can remove the buckshot from her left eye. Of course, it's more diagnostics and another surgery, but her eye becomes very red and irritated and she rubs it with her paws. The corneal scar will never go away, but hopefully removing the foreign object will help. I can't help but wonder if her occasional grumpiness is because she can't fully see what's going on around her and gets confused. Once I get an estimate from Mizzou for another surgery, we'll see how quickly we can get that ball rolling. She'll never be perfect, but she fully deserves every chance possible to live a "normal" life.
Still sleeping in the middle of the bed. Still has more toys than she knows what to do with. And I'm still her biggest fan. :)
Thank you all so much for helping by sharing and donating. Saving just one dog won't change the world, but surely it will change the world for that one dog.
-- Meagan, Claire, and Tim
7 months out!
December 18th, 2011
Happy holidays from all of us!
Claire had a follow up visit with Dr. Cook at Mizzou this past Wednesday. She has been released for full activity!!! She still doesn't understand that she's somewhat fragile so we're building up her muscle mass with longer play times in the yard and lots of wrestling with our yellow Lab named Bozley. Claire's up to about 60 lbs, but lean, and is no longer the runt of the house. We picked a birthday for her (Nov 24th) so she recently celebrated her first bday by spending some time down at Three Dog Bakery and got TONS of treats!
Still working on getting her full house-trained, but accidents happen (and she behaves better outside of her kennel than in). Claire's also found a spot at the end of the bed between us and sleeps there every night. I have never met a more spoiled dog.
We started Adequan with Claire last week. Adequan is an injectible FDA approved drug that helps heal and rebuild cartilage and helps retain fluid in the joints. This will be a life-long therapy, but will hopefully prevent early arthritis in her joints and keep her hardware (plates, pins, screws, and wires) from creating too much inflammation.
I wish there was a way for each of you to meet Claire and to see the absolute hope and happiness in her eyes. She's certainly mouthy and has a huge teenager-like attitude, but that stubborness saved her life. Right now, she's lounging on the couch, gnawing on a bone, even though I've asked, then told, her to get down three times. Sigh. :)
I want to say thank you again and God bless each of you for the huge role you've played in helping us save this little girl. Claire is our absolute heart and soul and such an inspiration to everyone she meets. I frequently watch her videos and her progress has been nothing short of a miracle. I forget how far we've come in such a short time. Again, you've played such a critical part of her recovery and I can't thank you enough.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Quick update and another thank you!
September 27th, 2011
Well, well, how far behind am I?! What a blurry few months.
This past Friday, we took Claire for a post op visit in Columbia and Dr. Cook had fantastic news. Claire's healing fantastically and all in all looks like a normal dog. She has some scars and the xrays show a lot of metal pieces, but he (we all) could not be happier.
Today she returned to physical therapy for the first time since her latest fracture. ALL of her measurements have exceeded expectations. She has a great range of motion in her right knee despite the pins, plates, and screws. Her legs are even beginning to even out in length, but she's still a bit lopsided. Her left rear leg still wears a splint because her hock tends to bow out and bend the wrong way, but as she's growing into the stretched out tendons, the straighter her leg is becoming. What a miracle! We never could have helped this beautiful girl without your help and prayers. Thank you so much!
You just can't look at her without smiling. She'd never believe you if you told her she was handicapped. She runs and jumps and romps in the yard the way a 10 month old pup should.
Here are a couple of links to videos I created for Claire's sponsored Rally to Rescue in Independence, MO a couple of weeks ago. Be sure to watch them both all the way through and listen to the music. Hope you enjoy!
http://animoto.com/play/cCd0ly3ZHVgpfr81eoRMZQ
http://animoto.com/play/ht1OVHzVxECAvicSD4XYjg
God Bless,
Meagan, Claire, and Tim
Claire Bear! 7*28
July 28th, 2011
Soooooo, I had a very long detailed update typed out and lost it when the computer locked up and the site logged me out. Sigh.
Here's a quick rundown of how Claire's keeping up:
Til 7/27:
Courtesy of Labrador LifeLine, Claire is attending physical therapy twice a week where she gets laser treatments, muscle stim, swimming exercises, floor work, and massages. Spooooiled! Things have been progressing well, albeit slowly, but well. Her right leg is still much much shorter than her left and she has limited motion in it, but is getting better every day. She's outgrowing splints left and right, and what she doesn't outgrow, she chews into a billion pieces. :)
7/27 (yep, yesterday):
I let Claire out to potty. Ten seconds later, I heard this blood curdling round of puppy screams. That whole thing about her right leg being shorter and slightly functional? Her muscles are so tight (we'd been working on stretches to lengthen and relax them) that when she stepped down wrong with full body weight while playing, it snapped her calcaneus in half. We rushed her to Mission Med Vet and the vet on staff last night had never seen this kind of fracture before. I emailed Dr. Cook immediately and thankfully he was still awake and he responded right away. Mission Med Vet sent her xrays to his email immediately and after his evaluation, Claire will being having round three of surgery first thing tomorrow morning. All intentions are to plate the bone and we're hoping for a quick, simple fix. We could cast her leg, but with all the other issues she has, surgery is, again, the best option. We briefly discussed the option of amputation, but MU's ortho team is confident that she'll recover well. I'm not quite sure how long she'll be hospitalized this time, but I'll update everyone as soon as I know something.
Say a prayer tonight for Claire. She's a tough lil lady, but she's in a lot of pain.
Thank you for your continued support.
- Claire, Meagan, and Tim
4 legged miracle!
June 23rd, 2011
What a fast moving few weeks!!
Claire came home for the second (and hopefully final) time on June 8th. Trying to keep up with her is a miracle in and of itself! Claire is completely mobile on her own (minus stairs and slick surfaces, of course) and is all Lab puppy. Chew chew chew, eat eat eat, chew chew chew! She gets tired much quicker than a normal pup her age would (I'm so thankful for that, haha!). She sleeps a lot, but building muscles is hard work.
She is wearing a bootie-style splint on her left leg to help retrain the muscles in her foot and prevent her toes from knuckling over. She has some nerve palsy from the two breaks in her back but thankfully, she loves wearing her "shoes". I also had to order one for her right leg, and naturally, she's outgrown it in a week. Guess I'll be donating that to MU. :)
Still not using her right leg much, but she is getting more and more movement in her hip joint each day. She's set for having a big pin removed from her knee and another set of xrays on July 22nd.
Claire's fitting in well with the rest of my pack, and gets very excited when she can go potty with the big dogs. She's also made a good friend out of one of my cats. He lets her chew on him, and he can use her as a pillow.
Overall, she's got a great spirit and melts my heart. She's able to roll herself over completely and lays on her back as often as she can to streeeeeetch out. And she's a talker! She's got so much to tell you and if you even glance in her direction, she gets started.
I just wish she could tell me what really happened in her previous seven months. I simply cannot imagine anyone wanting to hurt her. Maybe I'm biased, but I think she's an angel.
Thanks to all of you, though, I'll know exactly what happens from here on out. Bless you all.
-- Meagan
Update on Claire
June 6th, 2011
**Update ** 6/6
Wow, I can't believe we're already almost a month out of this whole ordeal. MU and I had planned on Claire coming home last Thursday, but of course, she's pushed that back. Because her back legs are so weak, she doesn't have the strength to strighten out her feet underneath of her and her toes just knuckle under her. Dr. Cook splinted her left leg to help bring it down and put some weight on it and she was doing wonderfully for the first day. Then she chewed the splint off. Surprise, surprise coming from a Lab puppy, right?! They have had to order something a bit more fitted and chew-proof and that was scheduled to be shipped over the weekend. MU still hasn't received it, but it should be in tomorrow. If she does as well as we all hope, she'll come home Wednesday morning. If necessary, she'll also be fitted for one on her back right leg, too. She is weight bearing on both back legs, but gets very tired very quickly. Dr. Cook is so impressed with her progress, and I think we're both getting impatient - but just because we WANT her to be better now since she deserves to be a happy healthy puppy, but this is still a very long road.
Again, thank you all for your wonderous support and generous donations. I'll post pics as soon as I can bring the kid home. Hugs to all of you.
Save Claire's Leg Donors.
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Dr Frank Thomalla gave $400.00May 25th, 2011
"Save the dog, I remember a one eyed cat that needed to be saved. This is going to tick off some of the other places I try to help support. Save the dog!! My eight are pulling for her!"
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Anonymous gave $250.00June 1st, 2011
"Save the Dog!"
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Anonymous gave $250.00May 27th, 2011
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Anonymous gave $200.00May 18th, 2011
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Anonymous gave $250.00June 1st, 2011
"Save the Dog!"
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Barb Hoover gave $20.00May 31st, 2011
"You're in my thoughts."
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Allison gave $30.00May 31st, 2011
"God bless you for helping this poor little girl. The world needs more people like you"
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Jason & Holly Yarbrough gave $50.00May 27th, 2011
Hugs for Save Claire's Leg.