Snake-bitten Dog, Carmella, The Healing Continues

Carmella rested comfortably on my bed most of the day while I read, and took care of some Etsy business and then it was time for her dinner. She ate most of her food but still is a little reserved and her stomach isn't back to normal 100% just yet so she left a little in her bowl. She still has diarrhea, and is peeing alot more than she usually does. On her walk tonight she must have gone 4 times and I don't mean a little bit each time; but more like 4 bladders-ful! Hopefully that is a good thing and means she's getting rid of excess fluid. The vet did say she might have blood in her urine and that was normal; a way of flushing fluid and dead blood cells out.

Luckily her hind leg looks less purple today. The rest seems to be paying off. I think I see hair growing back where they shaved her too. I removed the bandage on her front leg this morning where they had had the IV. Both front legs have patches of hair missing. The left from the IV they gave her at the emergency clinic, and the right from that given at Dr. Norwood's office. There's some bruising on the left "forearm" leg.

It is encouraging that the color seems to be returning to normal in the leg that was bitten by the Copperheads, so maybe she'll be lucky and not have any necrosis. That odd dark vein is still visible though.

After dinner Carmella stretched out on the floor in the kitchen, chewed on one of her steak bones, then sacked out again to sleep some more.

I think the whole ordeal has made her exhausted. I have been pretty tired myself, so I can imagine how tired she must be after the assault upon her body.

Today I received a product I ha ordered earlier this month that is a newly developed probiotic for her breath called EvoraPet.

I first heard about EvoraPet on a TV infomercial. There are alot of products on TV that I don't order because they seem kind of iffy, but this one seemed plausible, so I took a look at their website; http://evorapet.com/ and read more about it and looked to see what people were posting about it, then also did some searching in other places online. Somebody was even giving away a box on their blog Is There A Bathroom on This Ship. I signed up but didn't win.  Most reviews were favorable and I did not find any reports of negative side effects. For further information go to http://www.oragenics.com/
They have two 800 numbers; (866) 998-9935 and (877) 803-2624 Ext. 251

It only costs $14.95 plus shipping for a 60 day supply (for a limited time; usually that price is for just 30 days' supply), and since Carmella seems to be prone to bad breath I decided to give it a try. It's most likely better than having to rub her teeth and gums with anti-plaque mouthwash every few days (which only works temporarily). Most people seemed to notice an improvement in their dog or cat's breath and whiter teeth in anywhere from a few days to a month.

The beneficial bacteria used in this mixture is supposed to be specifically to balance mouth bacteria unlike those longer-known vaieties that work on the digstive tract.

Inside the container is a small scoop and yellowish sort of pale peach-colored powder. The directions say to take that pre-measured dosage and then sprinkle it on the dog's (or cat's) food once a day. The beneficial bacteria act the same way in this same dosage for any size animal, and start to crowd out the potentially harmful bacteria that cause bad breath, dental problems, or gum disease. It will be very interesting to see whether it really does work as well as it claims. If so then it will be very helpful to my readers who have dogs and/or cats. If it is effective it sure beats having Carmella's teeth cleaned every year. Last year I had that done and it was expensive and with all the other medical expenses I'm struggling to pay off for Carmella's medical care it would be nice to find an alternative that is cheaper, works just as well, and doesn't requre that she go under general anesthesia!

Tomorrow night I will give this to her at dinner, and will keep you posted over the next few weeks on how it goes and if/when I notice any improvement. As a control, I'll take pictures of her teeth tomorrow for comparison. They don't look too bad currently but might have some yellowing in some areas. Her breath right now is not the worst its been but it's not great and if she breathes on me it definitely stinks!

If you would like to help Carmella, this adorable special needs dog please consider starting your holiday shopping in my Etsy jewelry shop; Giftbearer and for jewelry or craft supplies; GiftbearerSupply , use the donation button at the top righthand side, or purchase a little banner ad on my blog where it says "Are you in my Top Spots", through Scratchback. Thanks for your support of my work and of Carmella.

Carmella Gets Her Leg Brace!

A box arrived on my doorstep today that was about 1 foot square. It seemed smaller than I imagined, but when I opened it there was the brace sitting diagonally amongst balls of newspaper.  I took it out and looked it over. There was no assembly required other than to position the straps with velcro that was attached to screws on either sides.

Trying it on Carmella was a little tricky. She got a little irritated with all the fiddling around with her foot because it didn't seem to want to fit into the shoe part.  She lay on the bed and didn't want to get up at first.

When I did get her to stand she started off on tiptoe.

but gradually as she wore it longer her foot slipped down into more of a correct position.

I had to watch her to make sure she didn't try to chew it, and I gave her a rawhide chew to occupy her until she got used to the brace.

For awhile she hopped like a bucking bronco or held it out to the side and tried holding it up and walking on three legs, but after about an hour she seemed to almost forget she had it on.

I decided to se how she did outside in the back yard, and it wasn't long before she started running with it on. She still looked a little like a bucking bronco, but over time ran more naturally.

I was kind of surprised that she didn't trip even once! She began to look like all the dogs in the videos I watched! Alot of photos were too blurred but I managed to get a few good action shots.

Here she is carrying a stick in her mouth. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining.

Carmella looks like a racehorse when she runs! The instructions said to just keep the brace on her for an hour or so a few times a day, so once statred getting tired shelay in the grass for awhile.

Then I took her back inside, took it off, and went back to working on my custom order metal clay ring so that it would be ready to ship on Saturday. Carmella had a look of satisfaction on her face as though she knew that things were on the way to healing.

Sales have begun to pick up somewhat on Etsy in recent weeks!  Keep it coming. I just paid a chunk on my Care Credit bill, but there's still a long way to go before the balance is paid off.

My new copper flower line is out now, so to help contribute towards Carmella's medical costs please consider purchasing some of these pieces, buy an ad on my blog, and/or use the donation button in my sidebar.

Thanks to all those who have already purchased or donated.

Blogging about Carmella's situation, tweeting about it, and posting links on your various social networking sites will help, as will sending your friends to either of these shops;

http://giftbearer.etsy.com/

http://giftbearersupply.etsy.com/

I need to start planning now for Carmella's stem cell transplant, and in the meantime the brace will prevent her injury from getting worse while I raise the necessary funds.

There's a vet reviewing her X-rays as we speak. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Spring (and Regeneration) is In The Air

 Yesterday the sun was shining and it was one of those days in which the leaves seemed to glow like good chalcedony. I walked over near a peach tree I'd had for 6 years or so which never had gotten a successful crop before (what peaches it had the first year promptly fell off and never reappeared) and lo and behold this year there are peaches growing! They were very well camouflaged because if I hadn't been looking at a certain angle and the sun hadn't been shining in just the right direction I might have walked right by and missed them altogether!

As you can see here, some are already as big as a golf ball and are showing just a hint of color! Peaches are just about my favorite fruit of all, so I plan on guarding these with my life. Once they get bigger and are closer to being ripe I'll wrap each one in mesh to keep out the bugs and birds. I'd say there are probably 20 or 30 on this tree. I planned ahead to save on my grocery bill, and it seems this has finally paid off.

The two Granny Smith Apple trees in the back yard have only gotten one or two apples in the past year or so, but if the peach tree is bearing fruit that could be a good sign for the apples this year.

Carmella has been having a good time and has been a really good sport while waiting for her leg brace to be made.

She really enjoyed the warm weather and walked and nosed around the yard looking for squirrels and birds. We've got a few nests on the porch's eves that look like they might contain some expectant mothers ready to lay their eggs soon, busily flying back and forth carrying twigs and soft material in their beaks. Carmella finds this fascinating, looking upward and barking as they go about their business.

Then when she tires of that she eventually lies down in the grass to soak in the sunshine.

I stayed out there for hours to catch her in her cutest poses. Getting her to stay still long enough is not easy, but after she'd burned off some of that excess energy I was able to get some really regal shots. She has some really beautiful expressions, but you have to get very lucky to catch her in those before she moves or changes how she holds her face.

A friend of mine says she looks like Gene Simmons when she pants.

Finally she was hot and tired and went onto the back porch to lie down in the shade.

Next for Carmella; I need to continue looking into contacts and pertinent research for Carmella's stem cell transplant to regenerate the ligament tissue and neural cells.

I've been preparing for the show coming up in just two weeks, getting all my ducks in a row. My jewelry shop sales number continues to hover at 89 sales. Need to break that soon. It's been stuck there since January 21st.

Please help Carmella and consider making your purchases at http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/  for your Mother's Day gift or any other occasion for which you might want jewelry and in the process get yourself or a loved-one some unique and beautiful jewelry.  If you've looked, hearted, (or didn't) and said to yourself "someday" this would be a good time to take the plunge.

Also, please keep the donations, blog ad purchases, and supply sales coming. Each of these will bring me closer to my goal. Thanks to everyone who has helped so far. Blog, tweet, and spread the word to all dog-loving buddies!

For jewelry:

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com

For supplies:

http://GiftbearerSupply.etsy.com

Carmella Needs a Miracle

Today Carmella saw Dr. Muller about her right front leg. I was thinking mostly about the stem cell transplant when I went in there, and getting the EKG so she can get on the medication, Procainamide, for the myoclonus but now there is an even more immediate situation with her worsening wrist. This is the second vet in the past week to tell me that she is going to end up lame if she continues to jerk. The continuous impact is making it worse and worse and the wrist if left untreated will end up lying flat on the ground.  Also, then her left leg could go bad in the process of trying to compensate for the right, and then she'd be in really bad shape.

If it hasn't already, the ligament will eventually tear. She needs surgery and the particular surgery he said they do for this is basically fusing the bone by putting a metal plate inside. She would not be able to bend her foot flat when she lies down and it would be forever in a locked position so she could walk on it.

I can't stand the thought of it, and I can't stand the thought of her going lame either. I hope that's not the only option, and on top of all that it will cost thousands of dollars.

If we can't find a way to control the jerking the surgery might not work.

While my friend and I were there, Dr. Muller called a pharmacy in Canada and one here and came back and said that neither carried Procainamide. It looks as if it used to be used in humans for heart problems but was pretty much made obsolete in recent years by newer drugs.

I don't know what we'll do if we can't get it. I'm going to see if I can check online pharmacies in India and a few other developing countries.

Now I'm really going to have to raise major money to get her through this. I don't know why this had to happen to her after all the stuff she's already been through.  After she was cured of distemper I thought she was home free, but now we are faced with another huge mountain to climb.

I just had a thought; I hope it wasn't the Zithromax she was on for her opportunistic infections that caused the problem with her ligament. I know it has been linked to that in humans. All the macrolide antibiotics have.

Dr. Muller suggested not doing the EKG since we don't know if we can get the Pracainamide anyway, and he said the only heart problem that is at all possible in a dog this age is heart block and that's very unlikely.

He told me he knows an orthopedist for animals who works over in the Northlake area who is good and also compassionate that he can talk to about Carmella's case and he thinks he'd charge less than they would at GVS.

He's also going to call the Neurologist Carmella saw over there the other day and talk to her.

Biarcliff Animal Clinic where Dr. Muller works has a charity that usually helps in cases like this but donations have been way down and they don't have the money.

Just a few more inches, and my hair will be long enough to sell.

I want to thank Janice at Heartworks for buying an ad on my blog! Please check out her wonderful plaques, mandalas and other handmade items by clicking on the new banner at the top of my TopSpots.

If any of you readers would like to help Carmella you can purchase an ad by clicking on the link at they bottom of that list and for $5.00 you can have a presence there too.

If jewelry, scarfettes, hats, or other accessories are your thing your purchase will help there too. Everything needs to go in my Etsy shop; http://giftbearer.etsy.com/ , jewelry and wearables. My goal is to turn it over completely and start phasing in all new pieces. Be sure not to miss the new hair flowers that wer recently listed; great to match Spring outfits! The buyer who brings my sales number in this shop to 90 will receive a free gift with their purchase.

or if you're more in need of supplies you can get some really unique ones here; http://giftbearersupply.etsy.com/ 

Carmella needs the help of the community now more than ever. You can be a part of her miracle so that she can have the comfortable and healthy life she deserves. There's much work to be done, but I promised her I would never give up on her and I intend to stick by her. She's had too many turn their back on her like so many other dogs have that came from shelters. There's something about Carmella that just reaches into your heart and that's why I chose her out of all the others.

The Secret Life of Trees

The other day I was reading through some of the various online groups' e-mails I belong to and saw a call for entries into an online exhibition called "The Secret Life of Trees". This intrigued me because I have always felt a special kinship with trees, so I read further.

Amanda Makepeace with Worldwide Woman Artists (also on Etsy), has put together a very lovely variety of art in several mediums, among them, drawings, paintings, fiber, and jewelry. (My piece is Hemlock Wreath Reflecting Mountain Stream), the heavily fringed bracelet with quartz crystal briolettes.

http://amandamakepeace.com/pages/wwao-june-exhibition.php

You are sure to uncover some buried treasure you haven't seen before!

I'm getting ready to enter a few more soon through Cafe; http://callforentry.org/

if I can find out how to submit jewelry dimensions in their image upload and item description form. The way it's worded is definitely geared more toward larger-scale artwork rather than jewelry. It literally won't let you save unless you enter in whole numbers; exact inches, centemeters, etc; no fractions (even if that is the true size of the piece). I'm not one to lie or misrepresent my work, so I hope there is a cohesive way of conveying the true measurements in "jewelry terms" that will be comprehensible to those looking to buy.

As part of my current marketing plan, this is my year to enter as many exhibitions and competitions as I can that I feel my jewelry might fit. With the economy as it is a career artist has to think outside the box.

My goal this year is also to get at least one piece of my jewelry published in a trade magazine. That is one experience I have not yet had and I hear from others that it's a great way to bring in interested buyers.

This blog article would not be complete without some adorable pictures of Carmella.

She is almost over her mange completely and her coat is growing back in nicely, even on her flanks where it was the worst. Only a little area near her tail is still red. She feels nice and soft now and has more pep in her step. I have the impression that her immune system is finally normalizing (Thank God!). I was really beginning to wonder if these residual immune issues would ever resolve.

More is happening in the fight to save dogs from Distemper; some hopeful, and some not-so-hopeful. As in any war we lose a few along the way. The ones in underdeveloped countries have the most difficult time obtaining NDV because facilities tend to be much more primitive and the regulation of drugs and vaccines varies from country to country.

Next hardest are the situations in which the owner doesn't have the money or credit to travel to one of the main vets doing this treatment, and doesn't have the staying power to convince any of their local vets to use it there. Unfortunately also family can influence the main caregiver into ending the dog's life before he/she has a chance to try the treatment. This is particularly sad because in some cases the logistics can be worked out but there are the ties that bind in that caregiver's closest relationships that ultimately result in the sacrifice of their beloved pet.

On a positive note, there is one more case in California right now with two puppies under 12 weeks old now trying to arrange obtaining the serum from people in Texas. That sounds like it will have a successful outcome as long as arrangements are made without much delay. These puppies must have the dog-based serum (not the bird-based commercially manufactured NDV) because they would not be able to tolerate the bird-based substance. I suspect it's because it is too foreign for their as of yet not-fully-developed immune systems to assimilate and adapt to.

Suzanna Urzuly (also from California), the one I wrote about earlier who drove all the way to Texas to have her dog treated, is very happy to report that her dog, Hunter, once 80-90% blind now has 100% normal vision just a few weeks after the CSF procedure! Here is Hunter before treatment.

5/7/09 Squinty, unfocused eyes


5/7/09 Discharge from eyes and nose

5/7/09 Cracked and crusty nose

And here she is afterwards! Look at the difference in her eyes.

5/20/09 eyes brighter and clearer-getting better; a new lease on life!

5/26/09 even healthier; eyes bright and wide, more playful, coat shinier, more muscle-tone

If all goes on schedule we should hear of another success soon with the two young puppies! Carmella continues to be a shining example that lives can be saved, that a dog's quality of life can be beautiful, and that such lives are worth saving! Her face absolutely glows in this picture!

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/