Hope's Story

Hope is a beautiful black Labradoodle that was rescued from sure death by the efforts of the International Doodle Owner's Group  (www.IDOG.biz) and www.PooMixRescue.com .  IDOG is a worldwide not-for-profit 501(c)(3) group of volunteers, dedicated educating the public, providing resources and encouraging responsible ownership and breeding practices. IDOG also works with shelters to provide rescue, foster care and new home placements to Labradoodles and Goldendoodles.  IDOG has NO paid staff, only volunteers, so 100% of your donation can go directly towards helping doodles in need.

Originally, the plan was for Hope to stay with me for about a month, during her initial surgery and recovery and then an adoptive family would be found.  When Hope's recovery didn't go as well as we thought, her time with me stretched into months, and we bonded to each other.   After Hope's second surgery, I felt bad when I thought about sending her to a new home after the long journey she'd already been through.  And as I thought about the type of household that would suit Hope the best, I realized that my home was a perfect match for her: someone home all the time, very few stairs to climb, a big fenced yard, a gentle dog for a buddy.  So, around the first of the year I filled out the IDOG adoption application form and was accepted to become Hope's official 'forever family."

Thanks to IDOG and PooMixRescue (and especially those who support these great organizations) Hope got a new chance for a happy life.

Tuesday Sep 19, 2006   7AM

I wanted to let you all know about a special needs doodle rescue that is currently taking place....thanks to the efforts of PooMixRescue and IDOG.

A black female Labradoodle approximately 3 years old, had been wandering around a neighborhood for 3 weeks before someone took her to the Christian County Animal Shelter in Hopkinsville, KY.

When Jo first told me about this special needs dog, I thought to myself that if she comes to live with me I want to call her either Hope or Faith. The next day, after several emails back and forth, someone mentioned that the dog's name was HOPE, and I knew it was fate that I would become her foster mom.

Hope has a hip injury and would most likely not have been adopted out, since this is a high kill shelter. Michelle, a local volunteer, got Hope from the shelter and took her to a nearby vet for xrays and heartworm testing. Hope is heartworm negative, but after seeing her xrays, the KY vet thinks she needs a surgery called femoral head ostectomy.

This afternoon I'm going to the Hopkinsville shelter to pick Hope up. She'll come here to stay with me, and will be seen tomorrow afternoon by my vet. He'll look at her xrays and we'll schedule her surgery ASAP, and she will recuperate with me. Once she is back on her feet, she will be adopted out to her forever home.

I know that Jo and Shannon debated whether saving Hope was the best option - or if that money would have been better used to save several other dogs that didn't need extensive surgery. Maybe it was Michelle's description of Hope being such a sweet and happy girl that made them say "yes" to saving Hope. She should make some lucky family a wonderful companion. I have to commend PooMixRescue, IDOG and the other volunteers involved in this rescue. They have to work SO fast to save these dogs that have only a day or two left to live.

Hope will have hip surgery and also will be spayed as soon as this can be arranged with my vet. No doubt Hope will need follow up medication and vet visits. 

Tuesday Sep 19, 2006   6PM

I am back from the shelter with Hope, the special needs doodle who was rescued today. She is a super sweet and happy girl, even though she must be in great pain. The xrays show she has a broken pelvis. She does put a little weight on her leg now and then when she walks. It must be very hard for her to get comfortable, and she can only sit and lay in certain positions due to her injury.

She was very willing to get into my van, although I had to give her a lift up since she wasn't able to jump in by herself. I originally put her in my large crate, but she just didn't look comfortable in there - I think the space wasn't allowing her to lay in a position that was comfortable. So, I let her out of the crate and she did great all the way home (2+ hours). She had the whole back of my van to lay, sit or walk around in.

She is the skinniest dog I think I have ever seen. It is SO sad. They said she was wandering around for 3 weeks before someone brought her to the shelter. I'm sure her injury and pain have also contributed to her weight loss.

She is settling in to her "private suite" in my puppy nursery. She has a big cushy bed to lay on and I'm going to see what I might be able to entice her to eat. She had no interest in the snacks I was eating while driving. I may make some "satin balls" for her...it is a special meatball recipe that breeders feed to help keep weight on nursing moms.

Thursday Sep 21, 2006   11AM


Hope saw my vet yesterday afternoon and he confirmed that she needs a Femoral Head Ostectomy (FHO). He said it takes a lot of force to break that bone, and Hope was most likely hit by a car. If her broken bone was a fresh break, he could repair it. But since it is at least 2 weeks old it can't be repaired, so the FHO surgery is what he called a "salvage surgery". 

I'm taking her in at 5PM and she'll have her surgery this evening. He does these surgeries at night because they take quite a while. The best news is that my vet specializes in this type of surgery and he gets dogs referred to him from other vets. So Hope will have a very knowledgeable and experienced surgeon. She'll be spayed at the same time, so she won't have to undergo another surgery for that.

She'll need about 2 weeks of limited activity, and then she can start to rebuild her muscles with more exercise. The vet said Hope will be pain free but she will have a "gait abnormality" and may get arthritis in that hip when she gets older. My vet wants to see her again in one month.

In her 24 hours here, I've learned that Hope loves to ride in the car, love cats, and is an affectionate girl without being "in your face" about it. She seems very sociable, and was super happy greeting people at the vet's office...wagging her tail and wiggling her tall skinny body. She appears to have had a haircut in the recent past - her beard is short and you can tell the hair around her face, neck and back have been trimmed.

I also wanted to say a good word about the Christian County Animal Shelter in Hopkinsville, KY. From what I saw of it, it is a really nice facility and looked very much like a vet office. Very clean and professional, with all the staff wearing scrubs/smocks. The pets that I saw all looked well cared for and not overcrowded. There were quite a few visitors there viewing the pets. The staff was very thankful that someone was willing to rescue and care for Hope.

Look how skinny she is! I gave her a "kibble buffet" so she could choose which food she liked best. The first day she wouldn't eat any kibble, just a couple slices of bread and some canned food is all I could get her to eat. Last night she had 2 grilled pork loins and 1/2 grilled chicken breast (human leftovers!) She really enjoyed these, and this morning I was happy to find the center bowl of kibble was empty. She chose Diamond Lamb and Rice!


Here she is eating her canned food. She picked the chunks out but wouldn't eat the gravy.

  
Hope is doing well and feeling much better.  She's wagging her tail more often now.  I'm giving her some pork loin, cottage cheese and yogurt every day, but she's starting to eat her kibble too.  She still has the three types of kibble to choose from, and she's been trying each one. 

Here she is outside on one of her potty breaks.  I take her out 4 times a day, just long enough to do her business.

Her incisions still look great - tight and clean.  She takes her pills really easily if I fold each one inside a small piece of sliced cheese.  One of her medicines is a pain killer, the other is an antibiotic.  

Another problem Hope has is dirty ears and a slight ear infection. She hasn't been able to use her back legs to scratch her ears, so that may have added to the problem.  I got some ear cleaner for cleaning her ears and some medicine for the infection.  At least her ears don't seem to be itchy or bothering her at all.

Hope is doing fine.  I would like to see her eat more, but I suppose her stomach has shrunk so that not much will fit in there at one time.   I try to make sure she eats a little bit several times a day, by giving her some people food.  Some of it might not be the best for her, but at least she is eating something!  Like this morning, she had a buttermilk biscuit - which made her tail wag in a big circle like a helicopter blade - LOL.  I love seeing her so happy.  Now and then she'll surprise me by emptying one of her kibble bowls.  She seems to like the puppy food best, which I think is good since it has high protein, calcium, etc.   

Hope is pretty coordinated at hopping around on three legs.  She only goes out for her potty breaks, and other than that spends all her time lounging on her cushy bed.  She seems very content to rest.

She may have a food guarding issue, which I can't blame her for after starving for weeks & weeks.  She has growled several times when I've walked by with one of my older puppies.  The first time she was laying on her bed and it really surprised me -  I never would have expected a growl from her.  The second time it happened I noticed she was standing over her food bowls and she would look at the puppy and then look at her food bowls.

She is camera shy!  When I get my camera out she turns her head and doesn't even want to look at me.  She stands very still and won't wag her tail.  She has a sprinkling of silver hairs mixed in with her black, and in the photos it sometimes looks like she has dried grass or dirt sticking to her.  

Hope continues to do well. She is so agreeable with anything I ask her to do. She has left her incisions alone - she has never chewed on the staples or stitches, or licked it excessively.....so it's looking great. My vet said her staples could come in in 7 - 10 days. Today is the 10th day so I'll be taking them out today. It's a big incision and I wanted to leave it heal as long as possible. 

Hope also finished the last of her medications last night. I plan to wait a few days and then when I feel that medicine is out of her system, I want to de-worm her and get her started on heartworm preventative. I don't want to do both at the same time, but will skip a few days in between. I also plan to give her a bath sometime this week, if she seems up to it. She doesn't smell too bad but her skin seems scabby and flaky.

Hope is eating good the last few days. I discovered the little "gourmet" foil packets of food must be very tasty! If I mix 1/2 packet in with her dry kibble, she'll gobble it all right down! I'm trying to get her to eat as much as possible, so she will gain some weight. A friend who visited a few days ago (and hadn't seen Hope since before her surgery) thought she looked like she had gained a little.

Hope's definitely starting to perk up and feel happier. She wags her tail a lot and enjoys her potty trips outside. She still can't have any exercise until the end of this week, so it's just outside and then back inside. She is still fairly week and when we get back inside she goes straight to her bed and lays down.

She's a BIG leaner....and loves to lean on whoever is petting her.

A few days ago I took out Hope's staples and stitches. After her surgery the vet had said I could take out the staples myself - so I thought it would not be a big deal. Well, those staples are TOUGH and hard to get out. They form almost a complete circle so when you pull one direction the other end of the staple has to be jabbing into the flesh. Yikes! That's the first time I've used real tools on a dog - pliers and wire cutters - LOL. Good thing Hope was so patient! She didn't complain but did try to cover her staples by resting her chin across them. I took a few out the first day and the rest out the next.

Now that it's been two weeks since her surgery Hope is allowed to have exercise. Being out and about has cheered her up a lot. Today she spent time outside with me and was able to lay around in the sunshine, visit with the cat, and wander around the yard.

Yesterday she didn't eat her food and that had me a little worried, but I think she was just feeling a little depressed at being shut in! Today she ate her usual portion, and was all smiles when we were outside.

The vet said she needs exercise to re-learn how to use her leg, and she should hopefully begin to put weight on her leg during the next week. So far she is carrying it and hopping, but she gets around good.

Thursday we had a "first"....the first time she's been able to "sit" since her surgery. Before then she either stood up or lay down....and never sat. I guess her hip has healed enough to allow her to sit now.

Hope went to the vet last Friday and the news was not good. She still isn't putting any weight on her leg, or using it at all. The vet said this is NOT normal. Moving her leg still causes pain, because the broken pelvis is jutting out backwards towards her femur. Since she isn't using that leg, more muscle atrophy is occurring. She needs to start using her leg or she will never regain use of it. 

I have been putting her out in the yard on nice days with Sage, hoping they will run and play. Hope does get exercise when she's outside, but still isn't using the leg. I am also doing some physical therapy and moving her hip joint back and forth manually. This causes her pain and I'm afraid she'll eventually start to run when she sees me coming towards her!

On a better note, Hope is feeling good (other than her hip) and gets around well even on three legs. She has changed so much since she first came to stay with me. She's eating a normal amount of food now, and has gained 5 lbs in the last month. She's still too thin but is looking much better. She's happy and loving, is a joy to have around and is so well mannered in the house. She loves everyone who comes to visit. After a month on nutritious food, and after having a good bath, her scabby flaky skin is gone and her coat is now soft, shiny and healthy looking.

After examining and X-raying Hope again, Dr. Haire feels that the only way Hope will be pain free is to completely amputate her leg.  Her broken pelvic bone is twisted, causing bone-on-bone contact with the bone in the top of her leg.  He said Hope will actually feel relieved once the leg is gone, since (even though she doesn't show it) she has to be in almost constant pain now.   Hope will go in tomorrow evening for the amputation.

I picked Hope up from the vet around 7PM last night. My friends had volunteered to drive so I was able to sit on the floor in the back with Hope and keep her quiet.  Once we got home I carried her into the house and put her on her bed. The incision that Dr. Haire made looks excellent, it is long and curved, with about 25 staples in it. He used Hope's muscles to "pad" the bones in her hip so instead of being concave, the area looks full. The padding will give her some cushion for laying down on that side. Dr. Haire explained how he cut the sciatic nerve - there will be no nerve going to that area so once Hope heals there will be no pain. 

I slept on the floor with her last night. She whined and whimpered off and on. When she whimpered it was with every breath. She drank a little water and I was able to get her to take her pills around 11PM by wrapping them in cheese. It's very painful for her either getting up or laying down. At 4:30AM I got her up. It was so painful that she bit at me - she put her mouth on my arm like a bite but didn't actually clamp down. Once she was upright she was able to balance better than I expected. I put a towel under her belly to use as a sling - so I could catch her if she started to fall. We went outside and she was able to squat down and pee without loosing her balance. Once we were back inside it took about 1/2 hour before I finally got her to lay back down. Once down, she rested comfortably the rest of the night without any whimpering. This morning she ate three packets of "gourmet" food and had her pills in cheese again, and water. Right now she is resting comfortably, and I don't think she's in too much pain since she is not breathing too hard/fast. Dr. Haire said there'd be a lot of swelling, but it isn't too bad yet.

Hope is doing well and learning to hop around pretty good on three legs.  Today we went to the vet and had her staples taken out.  Hope was really happy to see everyone in the vet's office - except Dr. Haire!  She almost tried to hide from him!  Removing the staples only took a minute, and we were back home in no time.   Hope can't sit, and either stands or lays on her left side, usually flat out on her side.

Hope has been off of her pain medicine now for a few days and is starting to whimper and cry.  It obviously hurts her when she gets up to move around.  She's been very quiet the last few days because of this.  I talked to Dr Haire and we're going to put her back on Previcox for a couple of weeks.

After a few days being back on Previcox, Hope was feeling much better.  She doesn't seem to be in pain unless she accidentally bumps her hip, then she'll cry out.  Instead of walking her in the front yard for potty breaks,  I've started to let her out in the back yard with Sage.  Being outside seems to have cheered her up.  Hope protects her hip area and gives Sage a little growl to tell her to keep her distance.

Hope continues to improve.  She ended up being on Previcox longer than I planned, but I slowly decreased her dosage and she's been off of it now for about 10 days.  She seems very happy and isn't in pain.  She's started to play with Sage, trying to get Sage to chase her.  She also has been playing with stuffed toys and tennis balls - something she's shown no interest in until the last week or so.  Her appetite has improved and she is eating a fair amount of dry kibble.  She is no longer so bony and is getting a little fat under her skin.  She still lays only with her good side down, keeping her bad hip up.  It's probably still somewhat tender.  She very rarely "sits", although she CAN perch herself in a sit position occasionally.  She's finally able to do a full body shake again (like she's shaking off water), which she hasn't been able to do.  It was funny when she first learned she could do that, because she did it a lot - like she was making up for lost time!  With one back leg missing, and the other always being on the 'down' side when she's laying....Hope isn't able to scratch her ears, neck or face like other dogs.  So, when she has an itch she comes to me and 'presents' me with whatever body part needs scratching!

April 1st, 2007

Hope is doing great and seems to be completely pain-free.  She loves being out in the yard and playing with Sage.  Sage is a bit chubby, so Hope and Sage run at about the same speed.  Hope finally succeeded in getting Sage to chase her now and then.  They are well matched to each other and play really good together.   When they play tug of war they will each grab an end of the rope and walk around and around with it, neither one wants to let go! 

Hope can lay with either her good hip or her bad hip down now.  This makes it possible for her to scratch her left ear, but she still needs help with itches on the right side!  She still finds it hard to "sit" and rarely does it.  Hope is a joy and usually very well-behaved.  She loves everyone and gets so excited when company comes, I'm sure if she had two back legs she would jump up on them.  She rarely gets into anything in the house, but last week she took a $5 bill from my purse, ripped it up and ate half of it!  Someone suggested that I was late with her allowance - lol.   I won't be setting my purse within her reach anymore!

October 1, 2007

Hope continues to do well.  She is up to a perfect weight and enjoys wrestling with Sage every day.  She occasionally slips and falls on the deck stairs but this doesn't seem to scare or hurt her.  She is my constant companion, knows my daily routine and follows me from room to room. She still doesn't 'sit' unless I ask her to...she either stands or lays down.  She's happy, healthy, and wins over everyone she meets.

Go here to view photos of Sage and Hope playing:
http://www.cedarhilllabradoodles.com/hopeandsage.htm

October 1, 2008

Hope is doing great.  We're thrilled to announce that she's been selected to be the 'cover girl' for the 2009 IDOG Rescue Calendar, and is also "Miss June".   All proceeds from calendar sales go towards helping other dogs in need, like Hope once was.    

Yes, we still have Hope!  I hadn't realized it had been so long since I made a post on her page.  Highlights of the last year include Hope's trip to 4th grade for 'bring your pet to school' day.  She was a big hit with all the kids, although she was so happy and excited she could hardly stand still!  Her favorite hobby is digging for moles in the yard.   Even with three legs she is pretty good at it.  When she gets really determined she'll lay on her side so she can dig with both front feet!  She's a daily inspiration to me and to everyone who meets her.