Bladder Stones – Page 2

Allie

March 1, 2009December 26, 2020 by westiemed in Stories

March 16^th started out like any other day. Woke up, let the Beagle man out, made coffee, checked email – Subject caught my eye: WHO CAN CARE FOR ME? I’VE BEEN ABANDONED!!! – I had to read on….

‘… as people struggle in this difficult economy, it is often our loyal and loving animal companions who suffer the most. This sweet little girl was found abandoned on a blanket, in a park in Framingham day-before-yesterday. The dog officer surmised she had been there all night, in the 19 degrees cold and rain. She is a sweet young dog who, as you can see, has a skin condition. She has had three skin scrapings to test for mites and they were all negative, however, the results of the tests confirmed a yeast infection. If no home or foster can be located for her, she is scheduled to be euthanized this coming week.”

LOOK at that face! I was smitten! When I arrived at the Framingham Animal Control office that day, she was standing in the back of the large concrete kennel — she had no hair, her skin was red, full of sores and lesions, her nails were long and curled, and HOW, HOW could a small dog smell so terrible? The Officer walked her out to my car – every three to four steps she would stop to pee — what was wrong? To be honest, I was wondering if she would make it at all… she was bleeding. Off to the most amazing Vet in MA – Dr. Holly Kelsey – her techs took this little one from my arms, washed her and soon after the Dr. started the examination, blood work, urine cultures, skin scrapings, x-rays, etc. Beenie was so agreeable. She was, no doubt, in pain yet not one growl, bite, or flinch. She had just surrendered.

Results: yeast infection, allergies, skin infections, bladder infection, ear infection, anemic, underweight, and the worst was the X-ray showed a bladder full of large stones. Stones that were too large to dissolve or pass; surgery was needed immediately. (I started to panic) I want to help, but how can I do this? What is going to happen to her? I can’t afford a $1,400. surgery… I wanted to cry. I thanked the Dr. and I took Beenie home. That evening she curled up on my lap on a towel and slept – I could feel the weight of her little tired body. For the next three hours, I made phone calls and emailed and I learned of WestieMed – and soon of ‘Bette’ – wonderful, unbelievable – with their support and this little girl’s determination, I thought pffft…she’s going to MAKE it!

After surgery, staples, antibiotics, allergy medication, special food, ear drops, medicated baths, up-all-night peeing, diarrhea, vomiting, etc… I can say that seven weeks later…

She’s the boss! She’s my little CEO. (True to this breed I’m told) She talks a lot, and she’s quite the conversationalist, she has opinions on EVERYTHING! She’s definitely a ham and a camera hog, but the best thing is her spirit. She is just so happy to be alive that it shows in her face every minute of every day.

I would have expected her spirit to be broken, or fearful of people, or overly aggressive. I mean, I would have more issues than The Reader’s Digest if I’d been in pain for that long. If you could translate her ‘Beenie-speak’, I would bet she says “LOOK, I’M SMILING! I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO TODAY! I LOVE MY FRIENDS, BROTHER, MOM, NEIGHBOR, MY FENCE DOG FRIEND JOYCE, PETCO, BELLY RUBS, PARK, CHICKEN, BALLS, EAR SCRATCHES, NURSING MY STUFFED MOUSE TOY, CHASING, RUNNING…’ She stole my heart from the very first time I met her!

She’s gained plenty of weight (because her Mommy is definitely qualified to fatten up a dog!) and now I can’t feel her ribs or backbone anymore. Her skin is healed and soft, her fur is completely back thick, shiny, soft and full.

We could all take a lesson from Ms. Beenie – happiness is a choice, a state of mind, not the result of your current circumstances. She’s made it!! Lucky me. My little Been Bag today! twelve pounds!

Crystal

Update September 22, 2009

Allie is my heart!

She has a chronic urinary problem, but we address this every day with antibiotics (two pills a day), and one allergy pill every other day, with a side of prayer that bladder stones do not form again. She sleeps in bed on a towel and she knows just where to go when she’s allowed up. Of course, the towel is right on the passenger side of the bed at the pillow for comfort. 🙂

She looks extra cute these days and super feisty with the weather change.

Kind regards,
Crystal

Update February 22, 2010

Allie’s SUPER!

She has had no further problems. At all. Nothing. Not one thing. No bad urine samples, no stones, no allergies, etc… She’s on a daily regime of one chewable vitamin C, bottled water, and WD Chicken crunchies. She snacks on carrots, apples, cucumbers, and the occasional biscuit.

She’s as healthy and happy as could be.

She’s the most determined little girl ever… sometimes I get frustrated and then I look at her (and I say this out loud), ”I LOVE THAT ABOUT YOU”… she wags her tail….

Little girls are made of sugar and spice, mine has spirit and moxie…. I LOVE HER

Thank you WestieMed…

Kind regards,
Crystal and Allie

Isabella

March 1, 2008December 27, 2020 by westiemed in Stories

Izzy came to Westie Rescue of TN on a volunteer rescue transport in late January. It was freezing cold and the wind was howling the night she was taken out of the cargo van and put into my car. She was in a cage stacked ceiling-high in the cramped van. It was so full because the rescue angel was trying to get as many dogs as she could out of their horrible living conditions. She still had an all-night drive ahead of her to deliver the various breeds of little dogs that did not yet realize that their lives were about to change. They were off to different rescues in several cities.

Izzy was in my car with six other dogs, including three other Westies. They got as far back in the crates as they could. They backed into the corners and trembled when we would reach in to touch them. They didn’t understand what the warm blankets and soft towels in the crates were. None of them cried none of them fussed, none of them dared to complain about the bitter cold during the time it took us to locate them in the cargo rescue van and transfer to my car. It took a while because Izzy and the other Westies were almost unrecognizable as Westies. There are no words to describe the filthy, disgusting shape they were in. Even though the wind chill factor was in the teens, we drove the 225 miles back home with the back window vents on my SUV open. The urine that permeated the inside of the car burned our eyes so strongly that we had no choice. Windows down, heat blasting. The little dogs had lived in their own urine for so long, it had become a part of them. Each one of them had a blank look in their eyes that I will never forget. I had to look hard to find Izzy’s little eyes. They were covered by so much dirty, matted hair.

I would later learn that she suffered from severe dry eyes that had never been treated. The worst-case the vet had ever seen. Imagine your eyes hurting and burning and scratching for four or five long years and not being able to tell anyone. Not that anyone, where she came from, would have cared. Because of not being treated, she suffered eye damage and will now have a vision impairment that can never be healed. She will need eye drops every day for the rest of her life to ease her discomfort. She also had infections in both eyes. Both of her dewclaws were so long that they had embedded into her skin. I can only imagine how it must have hurt to walk. She had infections and yeast on all of her feet and between her pads. She had an infection in both ears. Places on her skin were infected from pure filth more than likely. She had hook and whipworms. She had a urinary tract infection. Her little mouth was in horrible shape. She had severe dental disease and had to have teeth pulled. A week after arriving at the vet, Izzy had to have surgery for bladder stones. Izzy was so traumatized that I began to wonder if there was even a little Westie left in that tired and mistreated body. If only there were some way to show the people that go to the pet shops what is left behind when the puppy truck pulls out to make deliveries. All they see are the cute little clean puppies. They never see the broken, tired and dirty little bodies that make those puppies possible because they are forced to. They never look into the breeding dog’s face and see the pain and long-suffering.

Izzy stayed with the vet for two weeks. She received all kinds of medicine for her many infections throughout her little body. Imagine how wonderful it must have felt for her eyes not to itch and hurt. Even though it was uncomfortable for a little bit, it soon felt better to walk without the sharp nails grown into her skin. Her mouth began to heal and her appetite picked up. She had her spay surgery and was on her way to better health. Soon Izzy was off to her foster home. When we arrived there, Izzy stood perfectly still in the driveway. She didn’t dare move. She did not understand the open space, the feeling of not being confined. She was afraid of the unknown–freedom. Her little foster host Westie ran around her to welcome her to their home. Izzy just stared straight ahead and shook. Her sweet foster Mom walked over and took her into her arms and welcomed Izzy into a safe world for the first time in her life.

Izzy continues to blossom and heal, both physically and mentally. She patiently waits at her wonderful foster home for the family that will take her into their home and makes her theirs forever.

Thanks to WestieMed, our rescue did not go into the red after taking in these four sweet Westies. We did not have to temporarily shut down our rescue while we paid off our over $3,000.00 debt and then try to start over. Thanks to WestieMed, we are able to continue to move forward with our determination stronger than ever. Bette Heidorn, WestieMed and all the wonderful people there are inspirations to us. It is their heart’s desire to help heal every little Westie that they possibly can. WestieMed makes a difference in countless little Westie lives every single day. The dogs they affect move on through life bringing joy and companionship for many, many people. If Westies could talk, I am sure they would sing the praises of this wonderful organization. I know a little girl named Izzy that would be in the front row of that choir!

Precious

September 1, 2004December 28, 2020 by westiemed in Stories

Oliver

August 1, 2004December 28, 2020 by westiemed in Stories

Molly

September 1, 2003January 7, 2021 by westiemed in Stories

September 2003:

On July 11th I received a phone call from a veterinary office in Rochester MN. There had been a nine yr old westie brought in by her owners, they stated “she is sick and peeing all over the house, put her to sleep”. The Vet asked them if they would surrender her to a rescue group, they agreed (as long as they wouldn’t have to pay for any treatment). Molly underwent many test and it was discovered that she had bladder stones one of which was quite large. She also need to be updated on all of her vaccinations. Molly went home with one of the vet techs for the weekend. On Monday they called to let me know what would be necessary to treat Molly. Surgery was scheduled for Wednesday July 16th, she made it through surgery well. One of the stones was four cm x three cm, there was also four other smaller stones. The vet brought Molly up to the twin cities on Friday July 18th. My first reaction was how on earth could someone give up on such a sweet dog, she was just precious. The first day we found out that Molly wasn’t to crazy about men, she would run and hide from my husband. It took about three weeks for her to warm up to him and seek love from him. Molly had adapted quite well into our household, she got along very well with my to westies and another foster that we had, he was going to his new home the following Wednesday.

She continued to have accidents in our home, at first I attributed it to the surgery and her bladder going through a healing process. Then one morning she was lying in bed with me and urinated in her sleep and it was all over herself, she never moved. That’s when I decided that I need her to see my veterinarian. We went in and had a urine culture done, it was very dilute and also slightly basic. We did an ultrasound to make sure there were no new stones, luckily there wasn’t. But we still couldn’t explain why her urine was so dilute and the dribbling accidents. Dr. Quast recommended that we monitor her water consumption for three days starting out with no more than five cups the first day and getting down to two and three-fourths cups, which was the necessary amount for her to have. On the fourth day, she was to have no water and back to the clinic to see if she was concentrating urine. The first day was unsuccessful, she came home and was allowed 10ml/ hr the next day she went back to the clinic. She finally did it! Dr. Quast’s fear was that she may have diabetes incepidus sp? or Addison’s disease. Because Molly finally concentrated on her own we believe that it is more of an anxiety disorder that when she is nervous or alone she drinks large quantities of water thus the need to urinate more frequently. By monitoring her water consumption we have cut down on the number of accidents she has had. When we got the results of the stones back it was recommended to put her on special food for urinary tract support.

Molly went to her new home on Monday September 1, 2003, she was one of those rescues that was very difficult to let go. But, if you remember when we got Molly we had another foster, his name was Calvin, the same family adopted Molly. She is in her safe forever home. She is being treated the way a wonderful little westie should!

Bobbi Biegel Westie Rescue of Minnesota

Lilly

July 1, 2002January 7, 2021 by westiemed in Stories

July 2002:

I received a call from a man in southern LA who said he had adopted a Westie from a local shelter. He went on to explain that after taking her to the vet and learning of her health problems he could not keep her and wanted to turn her over to rescue. Dave and Mary Shipman went to pick her up at the vet’s office and brought her along on a rescue transport to me. I was told that she had a bladder stone but had no idea how severe her condition was until Mary and Dave filled me in. The poor baby was completely incontinent and had to wear a diaper when indoors. She arrived on Sunday and we were at my vet’s door Monday morning. Surgery was done that afternoon and a two-inch stone was removed from her bladder. She had also been diagnosed as having a level three heart murmur, my vet could not find anything that serious and felt like it was a level one at most. No surgery required! She came home with me and the change was amazing, what a little sweetheart she is!

But Lilly’s troubles were not over, she is heartworm positive and began her treatment on 7-22-02. She is doing great so far and I expect a complete recovery!

I have no idea what circumstances led Lilly to that shelter… I can not see any behavior problems at all, she gets along well with my other Westies and loves to play. Now she has a family in her future that truly loves her, I am looking for that family now. 🙂

I have to say that without this help I would not have been able to continue with rescue until I raised additional funds somehow. Once again Westie Med has kept me afloat and I can not thank you all enough!!!

Laura Louisiana Westie Rescue

Update September 2, 2002:

Lilly was declared all clear of those nasty heartworms last week and was adopted this weekend. They are previous Westie owners, it was love at first sight!

Update February 2003:

Lilly is doing great. She has fit in very well with our family, except for the cats of course. She has had no further medical problems except she favors her left rear leg. She loves to be the center of attention and doesn’t eat unless she is in the room with us. She sleeps at the end of our bed and has proven to be a good watchdog, although we haven’t found what she is barking at. She is also a skilled hunter with a heart. One day my wife let her in from the backyard with what looked like leaves in her mouth. It turned out to be a small bird that appeared to have no physical trauma though it was in shock.

We love Lilly and are very thankful for your assistance.

Sincerely, Bob and Gayla

Update June 2003:

Miss Lilly is doing great and has been a wonderful part of our family. She remains heartworm free. Gayla has really spoiled her. She loves to drink her water with ice in it and she thinks it is a real treat to drink out of a handheld cup. She eats special food supplied by our vet so that bladder infections can be avoided. She loves the attention that we give her. She does tend to be obsessive-compulsive especially where our cats are concerned. We keep them separated, not knowing who would be the winner in a confrontation. She has been such a blessing to us and we thank you so much for helping us find her.

Sincerely, Robert