It Takes A Village!

 

March 2, 2008   We are ecstatic to report that Betty Boop is walking and running again and the diapers have come off!  After 2 months of physical and water therapy, Betty went from dragging her legs to standing occasionally, to taking her first steps, to walking 50% of the time, to walking and running 95% of the time and now it appears that Betty has almost fully recovered.  She has regained bladder control and no longer needs to be expressed or wear diapers.  She is running and playing with the resident dogs in her foster home and is ready to start looking for a new home of her own.         Betty Boop February 2008 Betty's first steps February 2008 Betty in her foster home Betty and foster brother Ice Betty at swimming therapy Betty with her therapist   January 4, 2008 Rescuer Sally Ives is no stranger to the sad little refugees from the puppy mills that surround her.  As founder of Flawdogs Adoption, a rescue group in Morse Mill, Missouri that specializes in rescuing dogs from the Missouri puppy mills when they are no longer of any use to the millers, she deals with heartbreaking stories on a regular basis.  She  didn't know the background of the four year old brindle pied French bulldog female turned over to her by a commercial kennel owner who no longer had any use for the dog, but she could see that the little dog was dragging both hind legs, and that, with a back injury, every day without treatment could well mean an opportunity lost forever.  She immediately called the French Bulldog Village, and within two days, thanks to a hardworking volunteer, Betty Boop had boarded the Bus.  That same afternoon, Betty Boop visited the local veterinarian, who determined that Betty still had feeling in her hind legs, and who immediately dispatched the same volunteer on a 200 mile round trip to the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, so that Betty Boop could have an MRI and be scheduled immediately for back surgery before any more damage was done. As it turned out, after reviewing the results of Betty Boop's MRI, the surgeons at the veterinary school provided us with an entirely unexpected diagnosis, Betty had suffered a Fibrocartilaginous Embolism (FCE), a stroke which is caused when a microscopic piece of disk breaks off and cuts off the blood supply to the spinal cord and makes it start to die off, which causes a degree of paralysis.  The veterinary staff also performed a spinal tap to rule out infection in the spinal cord.  Betty Boop does have feeling in her toes on her right rear leg but there is a concern that she does not appear to have feeling in the left rear leg or at least very little.  They do believe she has a chance of recovering with extensive therapy over the next 2 or 3 months but, even if she does recover she will always be a little wobbly.  There is also a chance that if she regains motion in the right leg and not the left, she may have to have the left leg amputated.  The worst case scenario is that she may be on wheels for the rest of her life but the veterinary staff are optimistic that she will recover at least to some degree.  An additional concern is that Betty will be prone to frequent urinary tract infections which could ultimately shorten her life span.  For now, she needs to be in diapers and has to be manually expressed. How impressed is our unfortunate little Betty Boop by all this tragedy?  Not much.  After several days at the veterinary school, Betty was cleared to fly to her next destination, a long term foster home with a volunteer willing and able to put in the time and effort required for her therapy.  Arriving in Colorado, the little dog that emerged from the travel crate was anything but an invalid.  Even with just the use of her front legs, she managed to thoroughly investigate her new digs, pulling off all of her bandages on her hind legs in the process, and then to climb the baby gate of her new bathroom ICU, just to see what was on the other side.  She was quickly apprehended and rewrapped.  This little girl is determined to ambulate if she has to use her knuckles and her chin!  Betty Update February 12, 2008   The day Betty Boop arrived into FBVillage custody, our first thoughts were that Betty was suffering from a ruptured disk. Betty was dragging both of her back legs, a sign of a possible serious spinal cord injury and any delay in immediate treatment could result in permanent paralysis. FBVillage volunteer Debbie Goode wasted no time taking her straight away to a local vet. As it happened, Betty Boop didn't have a ruptured disk at all, Betty was suffering from the after effects of a stroke! That was almost four weeks ago. Find out what's happening with Betty now, and while you're visiting her page, please consider making a donation for her care. Betty Boop is cute, but she certainly isn't cheap! Betty arrived in her new foster home on January 4th of this year. She has quickly acclimated to her foster family including 4 other dogs and 2 cats and she has adapted well to the family routine and  household rules.   Her foster mom reports that even though Betty doesn't have the use of her back legs, she is full of energy and very fast!  She keeps her foster mom busy!  Her entire foster family have come to adore Betty and think she is quite a character.  She is full of spirit and loves life!  She has picked up a few new habits though like taking items from around the house and stashing them in her crate!  Now when anything goes missing around the house, the first place they look is in Betty's crate!  Turns out Betty is quite the little hoarder!    We have high hopes for a good recovery for Betty!  She has been evaluated by 3 different vets, 2 in Missouri and most recently with her new vet in Colorado, French Bulldog specialist, Dr. Tom Geiselhardt.  All have expressed a good feeling about some degree of recovery.  Dr. Geiselhardt recommended therapy for Betty so she was recently enrolled in underwater treadmill and physical therapy at the Canine Conditioning and Rehabilitation Group www.dog-swim.com The photos you see here are from Betty's first session.     Betty has already made a lot of progress in her foster home.  Foster mom says Betty is starting to stand!  Betty attempts to stand when she eats and when she gets excited.  Although she doesn't stand for very long, it is a very good sign.    Betty is a long way from a full recovery, she needs 10 weeks of physical therapy twice a week and she is still being treated for a urinary tract infection. We are grateful for the  generosity of  Dr. Tom Geiselhardt, University of Missouri, Columbia and the Canine Conditioning and Rehabilitation Group who have discounted their fees to help Betty but her expenses are still extensive.  Betty says, "I'm worth it!".

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