AT THE VET

6 JANUARY 2013

Saturday, 6 January was vaccination day.
The vet clinic runs a low-cost
shot clinic the first
Saturday of each month.
Since the pups were seven weeks old,
they were now old enough
for their first DHP vaccination.
And because the pups were weaned,
Mattie could get her vaccinations, too.

A dear friend offered to help
with this expedition.
The squirming pups were
loaded into two carriers,
Mattie followed sweetly
on a leash, and off we went.

You want ME to fit in THERE?

The pups are growing nicely.
They now weigh 10 pounds to 12.5 pounds.
Purple is still the smallest, and Red is still the largest.

Pink goes first; note her spiffy new pink & blue collar

All got vaccinated without even a whimper.
Such brave puppies!

Red says OUCH!

Mattie got her DHP & Bordatella.
The clinic gives a free rabies shot with a spay,
so we're waiting on that. They even gave us a free Puppy Pack
with a heartworm pill and Frontline application for each.

We're bored with this.

Green goes back in the carrier

My aged "Leaf Boy" begging
to get away from Mattie the intruder

Yesterday, my friend,
who will adopt Mattie (YEA!!), & I
took her to an orthopedic vet
45 minutes away.
He had reviewed her x-rays
last week and was amazed to see,
in person,
how good she was walking.
She actually has been
using her broken leg
to walk pretty well over
the last two days.
He examined her,
manipulated her leg and
felt that it was healing,
albeit not perfectly,
well enough that he didn't
want to do operate on it.

The head of the femur, however, was a different story.
It was a "mess", according to him.
He felt it had been smashed when her leg was broken
and was not healing correctly. He outlined the options:
Total Hip Replacement, which would have to be done
at the university vet hospital at a cost of $3000-$4000
OR
a Femoral Head Ostectomy, which he could perform
for approximately $1200 (including her spay).

If I ignore her maybe she'll go away.

On the way home we talked and felt that the FHO was the best way to go.
After consulting with ATRVA's state coordinator, that was the decision.
I am going to make her surgery appointment today.
The vet recommended waiting three-four weeks
to let her milk dry up completely and her leg heal even more.

Mattie enjoying her freedom in the outdoor pen

Things are moving quickly since 16 December,
when we took the seven girls into rescue!
Ginger was adopted. Mattie will be adopted.
Three pups have homes when they are old enough.
But two pups still need forever homes,
one of which is Ms Green with the blind eye.
Your prayers & good wishes are helping.
We so greatly appreciate it.