Cauliflower & Sprout find Hope at Col. Potter!

Written by CP Vice President of Intakes

Sprout is only 12 weeks old, but faces a major medical hurdle

Cauliflower keeps a close eye on baby Sprout

You may remember that little Sprout and his mama, Cauliflower, were part of the Col. Potter Summer Garden Group that recently joined the CP family.  You haven't heard much about Sprout and Cauliflower because we learned, at intake, that there was a good chance sweet, little Sprout had some major medical issues.  Sprout relies on Cauliflower to look after him, comfort him, and play with him.  They are really sweet together.  Thanks to their rescuer, an extraordinary woman named Monika, Sprout and his mama have been extremely well cared for these past two weeks while Sprout has undergone extensive testing. 

Unfortunately, our concerns were confirmed: Sweet, little, 12 week old Sprout has a birth serious defect called a liver shunt, a blood vessel that carries blood around the liver instead of through it.  Because the blood bypasses the liver in dogs with these shunts, toxins may build up in the bloodstream or kidneys.  Additionally, the dog lacks the necessary materials to give it a ready source of energy and to help it grow.

Sprout has been placed on a special homemade diet, medications, and supplements that will not only be easier on his body, keeping the toxins to a minimum, but also provide him with the nutrition he needs to help him grow and gain strength to prepare him for possible liver shunt surgery.  The life expectancy for puppies who do not have the surgery is not good.  However, for those lucky enough to have liver shunt surgery, survival rate is over 95% for dogs with shunts treated by ameroid constrictor placement, and long-term prognosis is better with this technique than with most other methods.  What's an ameroid constrictor you ask?  It is a ring type device that slowly closes off the shunt over a period of weeks, allowing the liver to gradually adjust to bloodflow through it rather than it all happening at once.

Sprout's medical expenses to date have already been costly.  It will be at least another month until we know if Sprout is a candidate for liver shunt surgery.  Hopefully he is, but if that is the course that is taken, his care and surgery will put an extremely heavy financial burden on Col. Potter.  This is on top of the regular care that each furkid that comes into CP receives.

Please consider making a contribution to Col. Potter so that we can continue to help sweet, little 12 week old Sprout and the other CP Cairns with critical medical needs. 

Please send your donations for medical assistance to:

CPCRN - Medical Fund
c/o Danielle Rackstraw
P. O. Box 1354
Menifee, CA 92585-1354

Cauliflower and baby Sprout appreciate your help!

With our help, Sweet little Sprout is growing and learning each and every day.  This little sweetheart is fighting desperately to gain his Cairnitude and hopes for a long, happy and healthy life.  He's very lucky to have his mama, Cauliflower right by his side, and of course all the love and support from his CP family.

Please help Sprout on his journey...

Col. Potter Needs a Few More Tour Guides! 

Please Volunteer to Foster and help us lead the way for every Cairn in need!

Please  Consider being a CP Volunteer!

CP Foster Home Application form:

http://www.cairnrescue.com/rescue/foster.htm

CP Transport Volunteer Driver form:

http://cairnrescue.com/rescue/transport.htm 

CPCRN Volunteer form:

http://cairnrescue.com/rescue/volunteer.htm

MAGIC IS OUT OF SURGERY AND HE IS DOING VERY WELL!!

Written by CP's VP of Intakes

Magic is out of surgery and he did just GREAT!

The surgeon didn't find anything more than what the xrays had shown or what he had expected. Magic's pelvis has now had a plate pinned to it to support and brace the pelvis where it had been fractured in the four places. He will be monitored very closely tonight to keep him off that leg and allow his body to once again catch up to even further trauma caused by the surgery. Tomorrow will be a day of rest and healing for Magic.

Then the rehabilitation and therapy will begin, slowly at first, with just allowing Magic to stand on his repaired pelvis and leg for the first week and then gradually increasing after that. It's been two weeks since the accident, he literally hasn't used any of his legs for that length of time. Even the front legs that weren't injured will also need to slowly regain their strength and stamina from muscles that have atrophied.

But, the WORST IS NOW BEHIND MAGIC! He has certainly lived up to his name and continues to amaze all that he touches.

Please remember that Magic continues to need your support of him as a Guardian Angel. Without this CP program, we would not have been able to say YES to Magic. There would have been no one to help Magic get the medical and surgical care he needed and his story today would be far different ... You can become a Guardian Angel for Magic by clicking here .


Just in case you forgot what that sweet little face looks like, I've attached a picture taken last week following Magic's amputation surgery by the Angel who picked up Magic from the road where he laid broken and hurt. She took this picture when when she visited him at the vet's office.

MAGIC IS HEADED TO SURGERY AGAIN!!

Written by CP's VP of Intakes

Magic will be heading into surgery in the next hour or so. Surgery will take approximately 2 hours and then recovery time. I will post early this evening how he did in surgery.

This surgery will be to repair the 4 fractures to his pelvis by plating and pinning it. Once this surgery is completed, he will be able to start healing and starting his life anew!

PLEASE SEND POSITIVE THOUGHTS, ENERGY AND PRAYERS TO MAGIC AND THE SURGEON that the surgery is successful and goes well!!!

Do You Remember Miracle? (Entry Eight)

Some Col. Potter cairns develop their own "fan club" and such is the case with Miracle. For the next few days we'll be posting his story - how he came into Col. Potter, his surgery, life with his Foster Mom and "nurse" and a wonderful update from his Forever Home. Do you remember Miracle? (To read previous entries click here.)

The following is an update written by Miracle's Forever Family June 30, 2008, and concludes the series - "Do You Remember Miracle?":

Miracle Update

This is written for those who cared for Miracle before we knew him, who love him, and who made his entry into our lives possible…

Miracle is our middle Cairn child of three we currently are blessed to have with us. He lives with Rion, a darker Cairn who loves to patrol our back yard, and Khaki , another rescued girl who has a dear heart. The three of them have formed a sort of pack and we sometimes joke that we don’t have three dogs but maybe one with 12 legs. Rion and Miracle like to rough house together, pouncing on one another. Khaki plays big sister referee, barking at them to cut it out after they go on more than a few minutes. The two boys listen to her and knock it off after she sounds the alert.

We call Miracle by two nicknames; one is the Love Sponge. If you sit down, it is usually within 30-60 seconds that Miracle is up by your side ready for some love. He will stay near you to receive all the love you want to give. In the mornings, he wakes up with his tail thumping on the bed, nothing else moving. You must rub his tummy a few times before he will move and get up for the day, kind of like jump starting a car. Or at least he has trained us for this routine. He has also figured out how to get within range of petting by jumping up on the back of chairs and sofas as you pass by so that he is within convenient arm’s reach for ear rubs and back strokes.

The other nickname we have for Miracle is the Bunny Rabbit with Teeth. He loves to lie on his back and play with you. All you see is a bundle of white fur, black paw pads, a pink tongue and little white teeth. He snorts and wiggles as you play. He thinks this is wonderful fun. He also loves to 'kill' the blanket that came with him in his kennel. For some reason this blanket just never dies. Miracle will spontaneously drag the blanket from his bed out into the hall, then growl, snort and shake it from side to side as he kills it. We’ll put the blanket back into a dog bed, where it lies dead for awhile, then mysteriously comes to life again and must be killed anew.

Personally, the biggest impact Miracle has had is his tremendous journey physically. To see such a little guy go through so much and to come out on the other side with such joy for life is amazing indeed. This is an incredible reminder for me as I have struggled this year with many physical issues. His attitude has been a good reminder about how to approach such challenges.

Anyway, that is a little peek into life with Miracle. We are very grateful for all of the love, care and funds that it took to bring this little bundle of pure Cairn into our lives. We have been richly blessed.

Miracle will always hold a place in CPCRN's heart due to his courage and zest for life. Join us in a video tribute to this special little blond boy - "The Miracle of Love" ...

Do You Remember Miracle? (Entry Seven)

Some Col. Potter cairns develop their own "fan club" and such is the case with Miracle. For the next few days we'll be posting his story - how he came into Col. Potter, his surgery, life with his Foster Mom and "nurse" and a wonderful update from his Forever Home. Do you remember Miracle? (To read previous entries click here.)

The following is a synopsis of Miracle's journey with CPCRN written by his Foster Mom in October 2007 in response to a question posed by a new CP volunteer inquiring about the nature of Miracle's wounds:

Warning - parts of this post are graphic.

Miracle was attacked by Pit Bulls. His "kind, caring" owner took the boy and dumped him at a shelter on a weekend. No one saw him until Monday morning. When they found him he was nearly dead, covered in horrible wounds, with his right front leg nearly torn off. His head and chest showed multiple bites. He was covered with filth, dried blood and MAGGOTS. The Shelter's first reaction was to put him out of his misery. But someone knew an angel, and called CP's very own Lisa. Lisa called the CP Board who (bless them) said, "Yes, Of course try to save him!" The Vet wanted CP to be sure they understood that he might not even survive the surgery. Lisa named him Miracle. And a lot of folk prayed.

Lisa nursed him for a week or so. Then he was transported by Lisa to Iowa from where he was supposed to go on to Valerie. However he was "accidentally" dognapped by some crazy woman in Iowa. This loony just fell in love with him and since she had a foster spot open, he just kind of, umh, stayed. I remember getting a call from Mo. She was very diplomatic and asked point blank if I understood that he was not out of the woods and we could still lose him. And at the least he may lose the leg that was almost torn off. Could I handle that kind of thing? I told her that I would not be happy, but yes, I could do what needed to be done.

Well it turns out what needed to be done was for our Baylee to meet Miracle. When he first arrived he spent quite some time in a private apartment (X-Pen) in my office. He slept a LOT. The other dogs sniffed him but took very little notice, except for Baylee. She lay by his pen and stayed very close to him. At first I was a bit worried. But I soon realized she was looking after him. When he was able to get out and about Baylee was with him all the time. She walked with him and sat with him and watched him. What she didn't do was try to lick him, which I found interesting. I would sit with him on my lap and rub his wounds and stretch his leg. (His leg would not stretch because of the scarring, so I thought a little physical therapy would help.) But Baylee would sit right there with her nose on my lap as if to say. "Now be careful of his owchie, Mom!" He got a lot better.



Then one day He stood up on his hind legs to ask for a cookie. The next day he was missing. I went to look for him and he was on TOP of the table in the dog room with his head in the cookie jar... I kid you not! I have pictures to prove it!!! Mo was not happy. "You are supposed to be keeping him quiet!" she said. Whoops, Sorry. I forgot to tell Miracle he was still sick!!! Soon he got better and was adopted by a wonderful family in Colorado.

I loved him from first seeing him in Lisa's arms. But here is the really amazing thing about fostering: I knew he wasn't mine. He knew he wasn't mine. I don't know how the dogs know. But from the second he met his Forever Dad he went with him and never turned back to even look. I cried all the way home. But he slept all the way HOME. He knew where he was and where he was going. Lisa was his angel. Baylee was his nurse. I was just a temporary lap. He knew it and I knew it and I don't know how.

For you folk out there who worry about not being able to say goodbye to your fosters: Don't worry about it. Know that a little piece of your heart will leave with them... but luckily that leaves a hole to be filled, and then along comes the next little lost soul that needs you for a while ... just a while …

If after reading Miracle's story you find your heart moved to foster fill out a foster application form and you too can help a cairn on the path to the life they deserve!

Do You Remember Miracle? (Entry Four)

Some Col. Potter cairns develop their own "fan club" and such is the case with Miracle. For the next few days we'll be posting his story - how he came into Col. Potter, his surgery, life with his Foster Mom and "nurse" and a wonderful update from his Forever Home. Do you remember Miracle? (To read previous entries click here.)

The following post was written July 7, 2006 by Miracle's Foster Mom:

Miracle is getting more and more active every day. He is walking on four legs about 90% of the time. Most of the time, when he first wakes up from his nap, he limps a little on his bad leg, almost as if it is a little stiff. But by the time he has been up and about for a while he is doing fine.

His wound is completely closed with no discharge at all. His coat is growing back nice and coarse, just like it should be.

He is very good about his crate. When we tell everyone it’s bedtime he runs and gets into his crate right away. He stands in the crate waiting for his good night cookie. As soon as he has it he flops down ready for the night. When we go to let them out in the morning Miracle is usually on his back dreaming his Cairn dreams and his crate is always clean and dry.

Miracle is a sweet little dog. He loves scritches, tummy tickles and ear rubs. He gives the softest kisses and just folds himself into my arms for quiet Cairn cuddles.

As Miracle gets better and better in every day and in every way he finds more and more of his inner Cairn.

Today for example, Kenneth was working on the computer so I decided to give in to temptation and take a little nap. I was woken up by Tia who was nudging me with her nose. So I rolled over and she and I were having a Mommy and Cairn cuddle. Then I heard a little cry … a kind of a squeak, a noise I could not quite identify ... I sat up and looked around my bedroom. Who do you suppose was standing on top of my dresser? Right in among the cans of hairspray, body lotion and talcum powder was a small blond "handicapped" dog.

I went over and lifted him down and explained that he was a dog, not a dresser ornament. Tia, Miracle and I went to find the rest of the gang. I told Kenneth about Mr. M's adventure in the bedroom. "Well," said Kenneth, "I think you better go and look at the living room window". "The window" I repeated? "Right, it seems that the pictures and plants needed rearranging ... I will give three guesses who did it, and the first two don't count" said my husband.

Our living room window is a bay, standing at mid chest height, with a large sill. And sure enough, when I went and looked, everything was rearranged. So please don't be fooled into thinking that this poor handicapped little dog lets his "bad" leg slow him down a whit.

He is about 3 years old and he is a real Cairn boy. He steals … shoes, laundry, and other dog’s toys ... things happen when he is around. Waste baskets and kitchen garbage cans magically fall over. Toilet paper unrolls itself ... magazines and newspapers left neatly on the coffee table fall on the floor. Plants and pictures on window sills rearrange themselves. The world is his to explore and he does his exploring at a run. Yesterday he zoomed ... just for the love of zooming.

Do You Remember Miracle? (Entry Three)

Some Col. Potter cairns develop their own "fan club" and such is the case with Miracle. For the next few days we'll be posting his story - how he came into Col. Potter, his surgery, life with his Foster Mom and "nurse" and a wonderful update from his Forever Home. Do you remember Miracle? (To read previous entries click here.)

The following post was written June 4, 2006 by the CPCRN volunteer that picked up Miracle from the animal shelter:

When I see dog rescues on TV, I think "Oh no, just put him to sleep quickly so he doesn't have to suffer".

When I got Miracle out of the shelter, I was thinking the same. He was so sad and suffering so. I was relieved when the vet said they'd knock him out quickly to look at his wounds. At least he wouldn't be hurting anymore for a little while. Then visiting him those first few days when he was still obviously hurting and miserable was hard to watch.

But to see him now, it was soooooo worth it! He doesn't dwell on those miserable days like a human might - he's just thrilled to wake up, go outside, get petted and look adoringly at me. I will think differently now when I hear about other sad cases who have been rescued. It is worth the trouble and pain and sadness to see them come around and be happy again. He has made me happy; he's made all the staff at the vet's office happy and he's make all of you reading about him happy.

Whoever ends up with Miracle is going to get a really nice friendly loving little buddy. It's probably good that he's moving out of my house on Tuesday because I'm getting pretty darn attached. Especially yesterday when he started jumping on my leg and licking my ear.... Time for him to share the love with the next person in line!

Do You Remember Miracle? (Entry Two)

Some Col. Potter cairns develop their own "fan club" and such is the case with Miracle. For the next few days we'll be posting his story - how he came into Col. Potter, his surgery, life with his Foster Mom and "nurse" and a wonderful update from his Forever Home. Do you remember Miracle? (To read previous entries click here.)

The following is an update written by one of Miracle’s veterinarians in May 2006:

WARNING: The post and pictures are graphic.

When he came to us on Monday you could hardly tell he was alive. His head, neck, and front legs were covered in bite wounds, filth and maggots. He was cleaned up and shaved. The first time I saw the wounds on Wednesday the smell could knock you out and the tissue underneath looked like spoiled hamburger. Daily changes of wet to dry bandages slowly removed the infection and cleared the necrotic debris. With each bandage change the smell improved and the tissue turned pink. By Friday you could not smell him coming. As he is healing physically he is healing emotionally as well. Wednesday he growled when you went to get him. Now he meets you with a smiling face and a wagging tail. Partly because he feels better and partly because he now knows he is safe. (He loves to snuggle) Today was a big day for him and we closed his wounds, cleaned his teeth and neutered him. It was a bit of a challenge closing the wound under his arm and it may not heal perfectly, but he is awake, smiling and well on the road to recovery. Thank you all for saving him and giving him life again!

Do You Remember Miracle?

Some Col. Potter cairns develop their own "fan club" and such is the case with Miracle. For the next few days we'll be posting his story - how he came into Col. Potter, his surgery, life with his Foster Mom and "nurse" and a wonderful update from his Forever Home. Do you remember Miracle?

The following is Col. Potter's VP of Intakes original post introducing Miracle on May 26, 2006:

Warning - parts of this post are graphic.

We were contacted by a local rescue group in Wichita, KS that there was a Cairn in the Wichita Animal Shelter that had been attacked by two Pit Bulls and surrendered by the owner. We only had sketchy details and weren't able to get back in touch with the local rescue group. After some investigation and several phone calls, we found the Cairn in question.

This poor boy had been at the shelter since Friday with no medical care as the shelter can't afford such amenities. The shelter vet had been in on Monday morning and said that if a rescue group didn't pull him immediately and get him medical attention that he would need to be put down due to his injuries.

We immediately made arrangements to get him pulled and taken directly to a vet who was standing by to examine him and give us a report. Initial exam had to be done while he was put under in order to be able to fully evaluate his injuries without causing him any further pain. First report received was that he has a 3" diameter hole on the front of his left front leg and 1" hole on the back of his left front leg that at some point, probably intersect and that his wounds were all covered by maggots from being left untreated and dirty. The vet asked did we want them to continue on or just stop now and PTS. They hadn't even had a chance to examine too much else of him or do any internal examination because of the dirt, filth and maggots on him.

Col. Potter will give this boy every chance to make a full recovery, get to a foster home and eventually to a forever home that will love and care for him like he should have been. We'll be checking back in with the vet treating him today and will report back with an update. In the meantime, please say a prayer for this boy that he has the strength and will to survive, in other words, let's hope he hasn't lost his Cairn spirit ... He needs a miracle and Col. Potter is in the business of miracles, and so we name him Miracle. Prayers for Miracle!

Dina Update - Written By Her Foster Mom

To read previous blogs on Dina click here.


I had to do an update to show that she looks like a normal dog now as her nasty scars are totally covered by new coat. :) You can see that she still flattens her tail to her butt at times butttttttt ... I had quite an exciting day! Dina comes to get a tiny treat after I do Berry's eyes and she gets her treat. So Dina puts her feet up on my chair this afternoon and gets her treat. Feet down and then up again so I pet her. Feet down and then up again so I pet her again. Feet come up for the fourth time so I reach over and pick her up. She commences to stand on my body with her front paws on my chest. Then she *kisses* me on the nose while her tail is wagging!!! Wow, was I surprised! She's still a *tad* heavy so I turned her around so she could sit down at my side. Nooooo, she climbed up on my body again. Now it was getting close to dinner time so Gilly stood up to my left to kiss my face and persuade me to go feed him. I had my head turned so Dina kissed my ear. Another nice surprise and her tail was wagging again. Finally I succumbed to their blandishments and took them to the kitchen for dinner. Alan got home a few minutes later and she put her paws up on the front of the sofa and he picked her up and she settled right down to relax on his leg.

I chose the photos I did because you can see my pant leg in the one below so you can tell that she's comfortably close to me. And then there's the dandy single eye as she got even closer. :)

Some things still spook her or make her nervous but she gets over it more quickly. All in all I'm very pleased for and with her. :)

Durango Update 6/13/08 - Written By His Foster Mom

Durango came through his surgery in good shape and is resting in his crate as I type this. He had some pain medication a couple of hours ago and seems to be comfortable. Since the bandage wrap on his leg is new, he is not very good at moving around and whimpers when movement is involved. Poor little guy can't have anything to eat until tomorrow so glad he is sleeping. Wait just a minute--he has a few words he would like to share with you---

Dere Anties and Uncles

Ize had a ruff day today. First ting this morning--no food. Den Fosser Mom takes me to da Vet and Ize get a operation on my leg. Dats bad enuff but to top it off dat vet kept calling me a she and puttted a hot pink bandij on mys hert leg. Ize bery embarased. Im a manly man and da hot pink bandij was de final straw for me today. Humpff!! Im goin back to bed. Talks to ya later!

Durango

Dina - Saturday Update - Written By Her Foster Mom

To read previous blogs on Dina click here.


Miss Dina is doing great! She was unpleasantly surprised by mean ol’ Foster Mom picking her up Friday night and taking her to the big chair where everyone cuddles together. Whoa, this was not what Dina had in mind! She was quite scared, pretty much too scared to move. :( After a good 20 minutes or so of sitting on Foster Mom's leg and digging her front paws in she finally relaxed enough to lie down. I was able to stay in the chair with her for a good half hour longer before it was time to go outside to potty and off to bed.

This morning she came to me and put her feet up and was given some kibble for treats. She LIKES treats!!! :) Later she did the same with Foster Papa who picked her up and he, Janna, and Dina had a long nap. After another trip outside and dinner she came to me and put her paws up and seemed quite comfortable when I put my hands out and picked her up. She settled down to snooze right away so it's obvious she's a lot more relaxed! I am getting nothing done today except for wonderful progress with Miss Dina. Oh well, Foster Papa put some dinner in the oven. :) I hope you enjoy the photo of her in a different harness dress and Gilly in a matching harness vest.

Dina's Vet Appointment - Written By Her Foster Mom

To read previous blogs on Dina click here.

Miss Dina wanted to look good for her first outing. She wore a 100% cotton dress/harness for her visit to Dr. Pam where everyone OOoohhhhhed and Aaahhhhhed over her.

She did much better than I expected. I picked her up in the house and held her while my husband drove and continued to hold her until I put her on the table for the vet to examine. She was nervous but didn't try to do any jumping around. My vet looked at her and decided NOT to take out her stitches. She said that for sutures that are holding together skin that was pulled together to cover an open area 2 to 3 weeks would be fine for stitch removal. That made me happy as I prefer to be cautious. We'll be back next Friday to have her stitches removed.

Dina needed a rabies shot as the staff in Chicago forgot to do that before she left. When assured that the only other vaccination was done April 10th at the shelter my vet was willing to give her the rabies vaccination. She's very good about NOT giving vaccinations to a sick or stressed dog....which is stated on every vial of vaccines.

I have permission to bathe Dina with Malaseb and scrub her (other than her owies) with the Zoom Groom to get the crud off her skin. My fingers couldn't resist pulling stray hairs off the tips of her ears in the car and when the little clumps of hairs came off so easily with dark gunk at the roots it was obvious that the beautiful darkness of her ears is at least partially yeast. So she's to get Listerine gold wiped on her ears twice daily.

Dina is 19 lbs. and has bilateral luxating patellas so Dr. Pam told me to continue to feed her lightly so she doesn't gain weight. We both feel it would not hurt her to loose a pound or two. Maybe in the next week we'll try a short walk to the park to start exercising her body and getting her muscles and ligaments built up to give strength to her knees.

This is more than you probably wanted to know....but I'm glad for the way things went today. I think it's about time to start holding her every day for a few minutes. She's doing a great job of being part of the pack here, but with her skin problems she's going to have to get used to being touched and held.

Dina Update For Wednesday And Thursday - Written By Her Foster Mom

To read previous blogs on Dina click here.


Yesterday was kind of quiet and we seemed to go a bit backwards as Dina didn't seem to want to be in the living room with everyone else. I finally got smart and opened the wire crate in the living room so she could go into it. That made all the difference in the world. She spent all afternoon and evening there with the door open.

Bigger and better things today: we got some tail wags and Dina is a lot more willing and able to take treats from my fingers. I don't have to stretch my arm as far as it will go to get her to take a treat (kibble) from my fingers anymore. She is coming closer and closer. She will come back repeatedly for repeat treats. She will come when another dog is getting treats to see if she gets extras AND her tail is not always pointing down!!!

I came downstairs the other morning to find that dear hubby had taken all the dogs out together so I continued with that. Dina wore her leash and I dropped it to the ground when outside, but I made sure I could grab it if she began to have problems with another dog. Today she's following the other kids in and out without a leash.

Tomorrow morning we'll take her to my vet to get her stitches out. That's NOT going to make her happy as she's still not happy to be held. Please keep her in your thoughts.

Dina - Tuesday Update - Written By Her Foster Mom

Dina seemed to be bothering her owie last night so Alan and I corralled her and put a little shirt on her. She wasn't happy about it....but *I* sure slept better knowing that there was some protection for her stitches! Dina is getting a tad of interaction with the other kids as Gilly (my beloved hooligan) pushed down the gate and came over to say hello. She and Gilly did a cute circle "dance" sniffing each other and seemed to find each other very acceptable.

I had to bring Dina in the living room with me today as she was again bothering her sides and she's now sleeping under the table to the left of my chair. We are *finally* seeing Dina do something in the dog run besides potty (still perfect!) and walk/run back and forth. Today she can SIT which makes me very happy. Obviously she's getting more relaxed. The first one she's actually sitting near me...old poison ivy. ;) As long as I was looking in the other direction it was okay for a minute. The last photo is her reply to a question I asked her. I asked her what she thinks of puppy mills and shelters as opposed to foster homes. :)

Dina - Monday Morning Update - Written By Her Foster Mom

Good morning, Dina! I opened Dina's crate and managed to clip the leash to her collar. I had to move away from the open crate as far as possible before Dina would come out. She then walked outside with me and peed and pooped like a very good girl. No accidents inside so far!

This morning after her potty trip I didn't fix breakfast immediately. She popped out of her crate and came to the kitchen gate repeatedly which is more than she did all day yesterday.

Dina didn't want to eat with me sitting on the kitchen floor today. I finally got all the way down on my side and pushed the bowl closer to her crate. Then she came part way out and ate. She may have been intimidated due to all the whining, yowling, and fussing from Janna and Berry with backup singing from Gilly who prefer to be in the kitchen when I'm preparing breakfast.

After breakfast she spent a lot of time standing at the gate looking out at her housemates.

We went out for the after breakfast potty and again she peed very readily. It looked obvious to me that she had been "holding it" for her trip outside.

We've heard bits of vocalization from Dina. She's probably objecting to being in the kitchen where she can't see me or the other dogs. Hmmm, make that just the other dogs! She still treats me like I'm poison ivy. :(

I'm thinking of moving her to the hallway where she can see what we are doing in the living room.

I made her appointment to get her stitches out on Friday morning. I sure hope I can get her more comfortable with me before then.

Dina Update!

FANTASTIC! That's the word the surgeon used to describe how Dina is doing!!!

There's no swelling, the skin looks healthy, it is healing nicely and Dina no longer seems to be in pain. Dina has been leaving the site alone and didn't seem to enjoy having the E-collar on, so they removed it, although they are watching her carefully. The bandage has been removed and she will need her stitches removed next week and some TLC.

The surgeon simply can't believe how well Dina is doing!! Looks like Dina has beat all the odds and has a bright, happy future ahead of her!


The following update was written by Dina’s Foster Mom:

Irene reported that Dina is a very sweet girl and behaved very well on her travels through Ohio. Alan and I brought her home and put her in the dog run where she promptly peed, pooped, and peed some more. She is very sweet, hand shy, and nervous. She seems marginally more comfortable with Alan, possibly because it was a female vet who did her surgery? I took a bunch of photos although it was very difficult to get any of her face. She came in a large crate with a beautifully designed extra-comfy pad that went up both sides of the crate. I moved that right to the wire crate in the kitchen which will be her special place for now. Her repaired injury and the extent of obvious skin problems is heartbreaking.

Sunday, I made Dina eat her breakfast with me sitting on the floor nearby. She had to think about it a bit but finally decided to dig in. A while later I was putting away the extra scrambled eggs made with cottage cheese and cubed ham so I offered her a piece. She backed into the back wall of her crate so I put it down. She then picked it up and ate it. A few minutes later I offered a piece in my fingers and she eventually took it!!! I wouldn't be trying to push her so fast if it weren't that she's going to need a bunch of stitches removed next week, poor baby.

Please keep Dina in your thoughts as she continues to recover from her injuries.

Dina's Surgery Update

Dina's surgery was 100% SUCCESSFUL!

The surgeon was able to clean both wounds completely and removed all of the infection and all the bad tissue from the wounds. The wounds were not extremely deep, so the surgeon didn't have to go into the muscle, only through Dina's fatty layer, to get the wounds cleaned out. The best news is that they were able to find enough skin to stretch over the large wound to completely cover it! While it's a little tight right now and her range of movement is a little limited, as it heals it should stretch enough to make it very comfortable and not cause her any problem.

But there's more GOOD news! Because they were able to get each of the wounds totally covered, Dina won't need to have wet to dry bandaging. As far as the surgeon can see, there should be no further surgery needed and by limiting her activity and keeping her calm during her healing period she should enjoy a full recovery! The racing stripes on Dina's sides are all healed over and there isn't anything further they can do surgically to improve this, but I'm guessing CP's "experts" will come up with something to help improve that burned area on Dina as well.

Dina is wearing an E-collar to keep her from trying to investigate her surgery, but is resting comfortably. She should be finished with her pain medication and antibiotics this Friday and ready to travel to her foster mama, Bonnie B. this weekend!!!

Another CP miracle thanks to the prayers, positive energy and thoughts that were generated for this little girl!!! Dina now gets to have her happily ever after! THANK YOU to everyone who helps support Col. Potter and makes these type of miracles possible for little mill mamas like Dina!!!

Special Prayers Needed For A Special Mom - Written by CPCRN VP of Intakes

We don't know what really happened to her, only she knows for sure, and she can't tell us. We have some facts and we have some theory. Following is a little of each:

Enter Col. Potter. We checked on a Cairn at a shelter almost two weeks ago and were told she was going to another Cairn rescue group. When we checked back to make sure the other group had taken her, we discovered they had backed out from rescuing her and she once again needed Col. Potter's help.

Dina officially became a Col. Potter kid last week and was taken to one of our vets for her boarding and examination of what would be needed to treat her skin condition. We weren't prepared for what the vet gave us for a diagnosis -- rather than skin allergies or skin infections, the diagnosis was solar burns. How would she possibly get them? We don't know for sure, but I have my ideas and I would like to share them with you.

It was a very cold and snowy winter in Wisconsin, especially hard on PM Mamas and their babies. There was record snowfall and record cold temperatures. All of this made it extremely difficult for mamas and their babies to survive in these elements. Some millers, in an effort to provide heat and keep babies from freezing to death in these conditions, will put a heating pad or electric blanket in the kennel with the mama and her babies. Some will also use a heating lamp. Sometimes the lamps burn or short out, taking away the heat and the babies freeze to death. Sometimes the heating pads or heating blankets will short out and stop working and sometimes they will get so hot along the coils, they will burn the mama and kill the babies while shorting out. This is what I think happened to one little, 9 year old mill mama sometime in March. Now having no more need for an old female whose babies were dead and she was scarred, she was sold at auction as having a hormonal, skin condition. The buyer, discovering it was more than that, dumped her at a shelter where she was diagnosed as having a bad skin condition, was spayed and then determined she was not adoptable because of her skin issues and she was too shy.

Now, it really doesn't matter how Dina got the wounds she has. What matters is what can be done for her and can she survive it. Dina has two "racing stripes" of burns running down both her sides. On the right side, the burn terminates under her front leg with a quarter size open wound, but on the left side, the burn terminates under her front leg with a gaping 4" open wound. On top of all of this, her skin is extremely thin and in bad shape. The vet isn't sure if there is enough good skin to stretch over the large open wound, or even come close. Nor is it known how deep the wound is or what other damage may exist in the burn and wound areas as Dina is so uncomfortable, they can't fully examine her. I've attached the shelter picture of Dina. You can see the brown "racing stripe" running down her left side.

Tomorrow Dina will undergo exploratory surgery to start with to determine the extent of the injuries and if it's possible to cover the wound where it will ultimately heal, and to control any infection. If this can be done, then the surgeon will continue and repair the wounds, clean out the infection and whatever else is needed to get Dina on the road to recovery. However, if the surgeon determines that Dina's injuries are too severe, that her skin cannot stretch to cover and heal, that it would be too painful and require many more surgeries to even give her a chance, she will call me and Dina will be allowed to go to the Rainbow Bridge where she won't have to ever suffer again.

Dina can use all your prayers, positive energy and good thoughts tomorrow to guide the surgeon in finding all the infection, being able to find enough good skin to stretch over the wounds, not finding anything else major wrong deeper down and to Dina to have the strength and Cairn will to come through the surgery and recuperate. Even if the surgery is successful tomorrow, Dina will have a long road ahead of her with wet to dry bandaging to remove the dead burned skin from her sides and hopefully allow new, healthy skin to replace it. She will need frequent bandage changes on her wounds, medication to fight the infection and who knows what else this little girl has been living with.

I will keep everyone updated tomorrow and hope that I only have GOOD news to report. Please join me in sending SPECIAL PRAYERS FOR THIS SPECIAL MOM ... Dina, we love you little girl and I'm only thinking positive thoughts of the report I'm going to get from the surgeon at the conclusion of the surgery when you are on your way to recovery ...

Update on the Country Cuties!

The Country Cuties, Trisha, Emmylou and Wynonna, came into Col. Potter's hands last week from a puppy mill in Western Tennessee. All have had their spays and dentals performed and made it through those procedures just fine! Emmylou had her hernia repaired during her spay, and it was uneventful. Trisha's yeasty skin is improved from last week, so that's good news.

Wynonna had her hernia repair, spay and dental yesterday, and her hernia was a little unusual. The vet performing the surgery has repaired a lot of hernias, and mostly these will have some intestines and fat and other tissue poking through the abdominal wall that has to be tucked back in and the opening closed. But Wynonna's hernia didn't have intestines poking through the abdominal wall. He said he had opened her up for her spay, had removed her right ovary and right side of her uterus and was fishing for the left, but he couldn't find it. He tried manipulating the tissue he already removed, but nothing would budge. He stopped there and opened the hernia, and there was her left ovary and left side of her uterus. He said he's read about this kind of hernia, but in 25 years has never come across one. He said it's obviously from over breeding her. Wynonna came through the surgery fine and is resting comfortably, and she'll never again have to be bred in this condition.

The Country Cuties will be moving on to their foster homes over the weekend, so please keep them and their transporters in your prayers.