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When i see Tara’s caller display on my phone, i know somethings up. Good shelter directors work closely with rescues, but a great shelter directors knows each rescues weak-spots. She sure hit mine; special needs, and pit-bull puppy, double soft spot. So i finished my work-shift and went to ‘just go see’ this little pup with Sean – by 12am she was back at mine, snuggling right into my heart.
The next morning, she came to work with me to pick some vets brains. The history we have on her is that she was dumped in a box somewhere (by some loser, who couldn’t man-up and abandoned her at a shelter like a decent human being) and that she ‘has problems with her legs’. Several vets looked her over and gave their two-cent’s it ranged from ‘she’s got too much space between her knees’ to ‘i think her knees are backwards’ and i even got a ‘her back is fucked’. But the best input i got was from Dr. Lissa Alstchuler (owner of the best mobile vet service in and around town) – she diagnosed her with Neosporosis.
In short – Ruby-Sue has ascending paralysis of her hind limbs, and muscle contraction/atrophy from the paralysis. She also has ‘gnu recurvatum’, basically back-wards knees, and cervical weakness. This causes her to not be able to bend her knees, while her hips and ankles for now are functioning almost normally. However, despite the above, she does not seem to be in pain and at this moment has a good quality of life (See a video of her in action!)
We are currently treating her for Neosporosis, but treatment will not reverse damage already done. However it will hopefully prevent the infection from spreading to the rest of her body and infecting her skin, lungs, liver, heart or other tissues. She is strong now, and treatment should help put a stop to or slow down the progression, but death is still a possibility. As always, we are prepared to fight for her.
Now forget all of the above, Ruby-Sue is a regular pup who does regally puppy things; she goes on walks, chews everything she can get her teeth on, kisses people faces vigourously when meeting them and of course wags her tail even more vigourously. She plays, she barks, she hops around, she cuddles, she begs for food, she takes mouthfuls of my cats tail fur and she learns tricks faster than my Chihuahuas thats for sure. She is happy and comfortable, and thats all that really matters.
I’ve got high-hopes for this inspirational little girl who’s stolen my heart. I will keep you posted on her progress here – stay tuned!
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Sincerely
Caroline Ross, A.H.T/T.S.A
Founder, Eleven Eleven Animal Rescue
Adopt a Pet, Save a Life
www.elevenelevenanimalrescue.org
Through adoption, sterilization, identification, and education, we hope to one day live in a community where homeless animals do not exist.
