Help A Fellow Etsy Seller and Her Dog

Debbie of Debs Crochet has been crocheting for almost 30 years and can crochet almost anything (see the cute penguin in her avatar, for istance).

I was reading and promoting tonight in the Etsy forum and posted in a thread about blogs when I clicked on hers and saw that she is having a health crisis with her dog, Max.

Debbie recently had to put her other dog to sleep because it had terminal cancer. She is very concerned about Max because he needs medical attention but she doesn't have the money to take him to the vet. No other clinic has stepped in to help as of yet. He's whining and rubbing his face and has started losing weight. She thinks there may be something wrong with his teeth.

People have helped Carmella by featuring her story on their blogs, so I thought I'd pay it forward and see what I can do to promote this woman and her dog.

The Fall and Winter is coming so I hope you'll consider purchasing something warm and cozy for yourself or for gifts from one or both of her stores;

Etsy:
http://www.debs1967.etsy.com
Artfire:
http://www.artfire.com/users/DebsCrochet

If you can't purchase right now, please tweet, put a message on facebook and/or your blog and pass her links along to anyone you think may be interested.
Here is the link to her blog; http://debs1967.blogspot.com/

Carmella Cone-head Fights Unseen Enemy

Just as my own health seemed to give me some reprieve and I thought that Carmella was on the way to total health something tiny but deadly attacked her feet with a vengeance. Getting one's butt kicked by something microscopic is not a pleasant way to start a new week and Carmella found herself compelled to lick the bottom of her paws between the pads, only making a raging infection worse.

Nothing I had on hand was any match for this miniscule, aggressive creature. It seemed her paws just got redder and redder and increasingly blistered and her face around the whiskers looked as though it had been burned in a fire.

Now I know why they refer to these things as "opportunistic" infections. The little bastards seemed to take full advantage of the fact that Carmella was licking and thus adding moisture to her sore paws. The more she licked the more it itched, and the more it itched, the more she licked. Then one of her back feet started bleeding again last night. Giving her a bath with aloe shampoo only seemed to provide temporary relief and then this morning she was back to licking between her toes every 5 seconds.

I took her to the vet this afternoon and asked him whether she might have a fungal infection since we already had her on an ointment that was a mix between an anti-bacterial and steroid and the flea drops that also are supposed to treat the mange, both of which failed to prevent this current flair-up.

Dr. Norwood thought about it a minute and then said that is a possibility, and/or it might be some sort of antibiotic-resistant bacteria she picked up from the ground outside. Oh, God, no! That's all we need.

I asked if he could culture it and he told me that there is a very good test available (although there is some costliness involved) that will identify the type of microbes she has and actually test what grows with certain antibiotics and other drugs so that we can be absolutely sure what will and will not work against these bugs. If it is bacterial, or fungal we should know what it is and how to treat it in about 10 days.

Although I was not looking forward to adding to my already towering vet bill on Care Credit, I figured this looked like a "pay kind of big now or pay HUGE later" situation, so choosing the lesser of two evils I bit the bullet and forged ahead.

Knowing that there are lots and lots of antibiotics and at least as many microbes, we could spend the next 5 years guessing and that could REALLY run into some money. Like they say, "A stitch in time saves nine".

The female vet tech was working today and remarked that Carmella looked really good (other than her feet and around the mouth). She weighed her and commented that she was down about two pounds (43) on this visit, but that it probably wasn't anything to worry about as changes in exercise could account for some small bit of weight-loss. I have been taking her for walks lately in addition to her usual running around in the back yard. I hope she hasn't picked up anything nasty from the street.

Dr. Norwood took the culture, which Carmella wasn't thrilled about, as she pulled her raw back left foot away reflexively and whined slightly as he obtained some material on a Q-tip and dropped it into a small test tube to be sent to the lab.

Then he recommended she have one of these plastic collars to keep her from licking her feet, and prescribed some more Entederm ointment, some other liquid called Conofite (an anti-fungal medication), and said to continue the Pro-Meris flea drops on an every- 2-week schedule for awhile more. He covered all bases and said that at least while we're waiting for the results of the culture she should not get any worse with all three of these medications and the collar to keep her from licking her wounds.

I walked out of there with almost another $200 tacked onto my Care Credit. Gwen had put it in for 3 months same as cash but upon reflection thought maybe she could have done it as 6 months. I told her that I sure hope this works because I can't get reimbursed anymore for mange by Carmella's insurance, and the new year doesn't renew her yearly limit until July. If this turns out to be something new then it might be covered then if it is still going on, but I really hope it will be all over with by July. It seems like just when I think Carmella will have no more health problems something else happens.

She will have to go around for awhile with what looks like a satellite dish on her head, but maybe that will give the area a chance to dry out so that it doesn't continue to fuel whatever these vicious beasts are feeding off her flesh.

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/

Friend Me And Carmella On FaceBook

Just a quick note to let all of Carmella's fans out there know that I've started a FaceBook group Support Carmella; A Former Shelter Dog to help speed up the process of raising money for Carmella's vet bill, and to invite you all to friend me, join, and send over your friends. I've linked that to this blog and to my Etsy shop as well, so it will be interesting to see what the results are over the next few days, and where people enter from one end to the other.

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/200981?m=96aaaf39

I have had a FaceBook account for awhile now and have just recently started using it once I joined the Saving Dogs from Canine Distemper group there and getting heavily involved in growing it.

I'm finding the atmosphere quite interesting as I look around to see what's going on there. There are many dog groups of one kind or another, not all of them in English. I think I noticed a few more Distemper groups in other countries and wish I could communicate with those.

There seems to be unlimited networking potential on FaceBook, although I'm not familiar with howe to use all the features.

I would like to thank Theresa for purchasing a slot on my blog. Gradually those slots are starting to fill up, and I hope more people will purchase one in the near future.

I've also entered Carmella in a photo contest sponsored by the Humane Society.

Be sure to check out my Facebook profile to learn more about these various activities and how you might get involved;

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1039042031&ref=profile

Carmella's Mange is continuing to get better, and she seems to be more energetic after her second dip. The hardest part about it is not being able to give her a bath until all these are finished because she sort of stinks on some days more than others. I find that wiping her down with lemon seems to help in the meantime in addition to also helping dry up the Mange.

She's been gnawing away at a ham bone much of the day, thoroughly enjoying herself.

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com

A Necklace To Benefit Carmella

Art PAINT HoRSE * Western CoWGiRL * Necklace Heart

Tracey of Wildhorsemoon has listed a necklace on Ebay, the proceeds of which will be donated to Carmella's vet bill. Check out the detail in the mane in the close-up above.

Made of polymer clay with painted acccents, this necklace was hand-sculpted and includes Turquoise nuggets.

To go to the auction click on this link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=370093170485&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=024

If there is an animal lover on your holiday shopping list (especially one who loves horses) this will make a great gift and it will go to a great cause at the same time!

This auction runs for just 6 more days, so bid as much as you can and if your finances are such that you can't then be sure to tell all your friends about it and promote wherever you have the opportunity.

Thanks Tracey for your generous contribution, and thanks to all who bid on this necklace!

I would like to pay off Carmella's vet bill as soon as possible and sales have been slow for me lately, so if you haven't done so there are several additional options if you'd like to help with these expenses.

*Click on the donation button at the top of my blog in my sidebar

*Purchase a $5.00 ad here by going to "Are You In My Top Spots" (click on heart)
*Buy handcrafted jewelry from my store

As Carmella recovers you can be a part of that process by reducing the financial burden of these medical expenses. Blessings to you all from Carmella and I!
With Love and Action All Things Are Possible!

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/

Carmella's antibody titre test came back today positive for Distemper in the CNS. Briarcliff Animal Clinic called me around 11:00 am EST this morning to let me know. She was saved just in time! Had she not received the CSF procedure when she did I am quite sure it would be just a matter of time before she'd have died.

Starting To Catch Up

Today was relatively uneventful. I called the vet in Perry again to see if he'd read my e-mail and it turned out he never got it. It had not come back undeliverable, so either their spam blocker intercepted it or maybe someone printed it out the day I sent it and misfiled it. I re-sent it and the receptionist told me he'd either call me after hours tonight or in the morning. I didn't hear from him tonight so I guess that means tomorrow will be the day I will have some news one way or the other. I am praying that this one will do it.

No response yet from the news reporter so I may have to do some calling tomorrow about that.

I'm now working on the logistics for a new line of jewelry. Since my PMC seems to be what's most popular and most everything else has just been sitting in my shop it occurred to me that I should go back to that and develop some new and exciting designs in that medium. I have had it planned to make some interesting molds for quite awhile but other things kept getting in the way. Now that the silver market is going down again it looks as if I may be able to pick up where I left off. Next I will be developing some pieces made from my artwork. If I can get Carmella's treatment all squared away then I may be back on schedule with my business plan. The original Budding Vine bracelets are unique but recently even they are starting to be copied in one sneaky way or another (and they are trademarked and published which affords them more protection than a copyright). I'm not in the suing mood right now, as I've got enough on my plate with Carmella's situation, but that is not an open invitation to encourage anybody to go on doing this. I probably need to zag in another direction for awhile and give these people a run for their money. If they are following my work trying to come up with cheaper versions of my most popular pieces I'm about to make it alot harder to pull off. I will be incorporating some things into my next line that are not at all easy to copy, and anyone who tries will spend so much time it will eat up whatever profit they hope to make on it.

It rained today for a good bit of the afternoon and Carmella began to get increasingly antsy as time went on. She still cannot be trusted wandering around the house by herself because she'll chew up vital things like electrical cords and clothing, blankets, and other items, but she has been whining to get out of the kitchen alot more often than she needs to go out in the yard to go to the bathroom and she does not want me to leave the room after I go in there to snuggle and pet her. She tugs on my pants leg and even tries to hold on with her front paws.

Tonight when I let her outside her front right leg gave way and she fell down. She got right back up, but I am getting worried about this falling because at first it was mainly stumbling but now she actually ends up on the ground. This is not good and probably means that the demyelination is still getting worse. This could be also why she's so restless and clingy today. She seems to sense when there is disease-progression.

I was pleasantly surprised today when I checked my e-mail and found several donations and another person had bought an ad space on my blog! Thank you! Thank you! Keep it up, everybody. Each bit helps.

Also in the mail I received a Hill Tribes leaf from April of ALJ designs from a blog contest that I won. I will make something very special with it. Check out her shop here: http://aljdesigns.etsy.com/

Slowly but surely I think I'm catching up on my sleep as well.

I spent some time today researching brass and what I found out was very interesting. Apparently there are many different alloys that are considered brass. Brass has mostly Copper and Zinc in it, but it can also have a number of other metals included, and some Brass alloys even have small trace amounts of arsenic or lead in them. One site I was reading on listed 11 different types of brass but they said that this was just the tip of the ice burgh. There are many more. I guess that's why there's no "standard" way to preserve the patina or the shine on brass, because depending on the proportions of metals in it it may respond better to one method and another brass might respond better to another. It seems to me that some standards for manufacturing should be made as they are for copper, silver, and gold as to the composition and purity of the component metals in it. To have such a broad category called brass seems to cheapen it. I've never been a big fan of brass myself, but I must admit I am temped to try some of those lacy antiqued beadcaps and components that dress up a single bead or other focal piece to look really fancy, and I do like the dragonflies that wrap around things. I love Copper but have been unable to find such detailed components in it as I see in the antiqued brass.

Tonight Carmella's jerking is particularly bad. It is making her ears and entire head jerk from the sheer force of it. I hope tomorrow a vet will have mercy on her and go ahead and make a committment.

If you would like to help please go to the donation link on the right, buy a $5.00 ad on my blog, and/or buy some art jewelry from my shop. Thanks to all of you who have been contributing in one way or another to help Carmella get well! With Love and Action All things are possible! http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/

Not So Fast...

With all the false starts in this process I think I may get whiplash. I thought this new vet was about to give the green light to the CSF procedure, that everything was pretty much set to go, but I guess I shouldn't count my chicken vaccine until it's hatched. Just when that might be seems to be anybody's guess from one day to the next.

Saturday was one of those roller coaster rides I wished I could get off, sooner rather than later. First, the trip out there by taxi cost me $22.00 each way after I realized nobody I knew could take us to the consultation and going by cab was the only option. I wasn't about to keep the guy waiting if in fact he was ready to commit, and I worried that rescheduling would only derail whatever mojo had finally been set in motion to bring this thing to a happy conclusion.

The taxi driver got lost on the way over, seeing as the Google map instructions said to turn right where it should have said left. We arrived a little early though so it didn't throw us off schedule, and I took Carmella over to a grassy area on the side of the building so she could pee, which she promptly did, not having liked being cramped up in that small cage on the way there. She was a ball of nervous energet never having been anywhere but home and Dr. Norwood's office since being brought home from that jail cell of a shelter.

The clinic was set back off the main road through a gate that looked like the entrance to a ranch, and the several hundred feet of blacktop which acted as parking lot seemed to swallow up the place. At the back of the property sat a flat rather unassuming one-story building divided in the middle by a quaint little courtyard with a plot of grass framed in rought-iron decorative fencing and a few little sculptures in the center. To the right was the front entrance with glass door and windows slightly tinted. Carmella and I went into a long waitingroom with a tile floor and decorative New Orleans style benches. To the left just beyond was a bird cage with two cocatiels inside perched atop a wooden dowel swing, and on top of the cage a black cat curled in a comfy bed. As we passed it regarded Carmella with large watchful eyes, its head turning with her as she and I walked by the first receptionist desk where a 30-ish woman with slighly longer than shoulder-length brown hair sat typing, just getting off the phone. I approached the desk and said, "Hi, this is Carmella. We have an appointment to see Dr. Brantly."

"Oh yes, " she replied smiling, looking from me to the dog. She came out from behind the desk and reached down to pet Carmella as she jumped up to lick her hand. "Hello, Carmella!" She said enthusiastically reaching into a pocket to pull out a milk bone. Carmella ravenously chewed it into a thousand little pieces, then bolted it down.The receptionist picked up a clipboard and asked, "Have you had a chance to fill out the new patient information sheet?"

"No, not yet" I answered reaching to take it from her. Carmella seemed as if she'd had a shot of adrenalin, and I found it hard to hold the leash and fill out the form too. Several more people came in with their dogs and she could hardly stand being in the room with out bounding over to them. She began whining and barking to get to where they and their owners sat, like a hound intent on the hunt. Trying to get her to sit or lie down had no effect. She was riveted on the other animals. The receptionist asked if I had the form ready and I told her I had managed somehow to get most of it done but that Carmella was pulling so much it made it hard to write. She told me they had some rooms down the hall where I could take her away from the other dogs if I wanted. We followed her down past another receptionist desk and saw two such rooms each containing one of the same ornamental rought-iron and wooden slat benches, and a magazine rack. We entered one and closed the door.

"You can let her run around free in here if you want. I'll be back in to check on you in a little while." The receptionist turned and went out closing the door behind her, and I let Carmella run around but left her leash on just in case somebody came in and she made a beeline for the door. I finished filling out the form as she investigated around the room looking for something to play with. Finding no dog toys in there, Carmella set about trying to chew the tile, the edge of the bench, my foot, her leash, and just about anything she could get her teeth on.

She crawled on her belly under the bench at one end and I heard the sound of something tearing. I looked and saw her come up with a wad of kleenex in her mouth, which she proceeded to tear into little bits of confetti. I leaned down to see a box underneath the bench to my right. Finally I had to put it on top of my napsack in order to save it from being torn to shreds.

It was quite a job to prevent her from tearing the place apart while we waited for the doctor and I hoped he would be out soon because quite frankly I was getting exhausted trying to keep Carmella from doing irreperable damage to the furniture or knawing clean through her leash. It was past 11:00 and still the doctor had not come out, and soon after a vet tech came in to take some information. She sat on the floor against the wall that had photos of Westies hanging on it and wrote in the chart as I recounted the events of the past few weeks. After she'd entered it all she got up to leave, telling me the doctor would be in soon. I waited about 15-20 more minutes with Carmella bouncing off the walls when finally there was a slight knock at the door. I grabbed Carmella's leash, and in came a man who appeared to be in his 30s or early forties with thin red hair, dressed in scrubs. Carmella was sitting on my lap at this point and he reached out to pet her introducing himself as Dr. Brantly. Carmella took this opportunity to lick his hand and when he shook my hand it was full of slobber. Yuck! Christ, where's the Kleenex now, I thought.

I thought he was going to have us go with him into another room but instead sat cross-legged on the floor. Carmella jumped off my lap and went to check him out, wagging her tail. She normally didn't take to men, especially strange men, but she seemed to know that he was no threat and immediately jumped up on him. He inconspicuously looked her over, listened to her heart and checked to see if she had any trouble with her sight by flicking his fingers in front of her eyes, talking to her as if she were just visiting somebody. I'm not sure she was even aware she was seeing a vet and that this was an examination. He certainly was not like any vet I've ever taken any of my dogs to before. He gave her a few more of those milk bones (it seemed as though that was a built in part of the place's approach), and when Carmella decided to chew on his stethoscope he just jokingly told her he couldn't afford another one of those and deftly removed it from sight, called her a "pretty little girl", petted her on the head, and began moving her by the shoulders from side to side to check her balance. She seemed to accommodate well and did not fall, but never stopped moving. I was afraid she might pee on the floor in all the excitement of the new environment but she didn't.

I asked him about the jerking she had when asleep or at rest and he said that it could be from something else other than the Distemper because it was intermittant, and of course she was not showing it then because she wasn't staying still enough.

The eventual and predictable topic came up about not having any journal articles written about thec NDV, and I told him that be that as if may, it was clear to me that this worked because she was at death's door and within two days of the IV being given her pads were already improving, and that I didn't need a bunch of research papers to tell me that my dog was dramatically better, that I'd even gotten pictures to prove it. I pointed out that all she had been given that week other than NDV were antibiotics and we all know antibiotics don't cure Distemper. I told him how ill she had been and how much her energy had come back, how well she was eating, and that she had even grown; a dog who was given a 50/50 chance of making it through the weekend when I'd first taken her to Dr. Norwood.

Dr. Brantly was not able to find several things he was looking for in the chart including Dr. Sears' number, some of the test results, and the concentration of Zithromax in the oral suspension Carmella was currently on.

He said that as he could see no clear-cut neuro symptoms at the time he wasn't in a big hurry to do the procedure, and was worried that it being so long since the NDV was given in the body may have allowed antibodies to form and that if those entered the CSF through blood when he stuck her it might cause an adverse reaction. I urged him to speak with Dr. Sears and ask him if that was likely to happen, and I also said that if that was not likely then I would like to be absolutely sure that the virus was not lurking in there to attack her later when we'd all turned our backs, and he admitted that could happen.

He said if she had been showing overt neuro symptoms in front of him he'd have gone ahead and moved on it expeditiously, but seeing as she looked pretty good he was not so sure he wanted to set it up right now.

He gave me his e-mail address and asked me to have Dr. Sears call him. I told him I would, then Carmella and I went out into the waitingroom where the receptionists were admiring her big ears and regal, arched neck, saying they were almost certain she had Pharoah Hound in her.

One receptionist called the cab I had taken on the way over and was told they could not pick up in that county.

"What do you mean you can't pick up in Gwinnet" she told the driver. "You gave her your card to come back and get her, didn't you? I've never heard anything so ridiculous. So what do you suggest she do? You can't just leave her stranded here!"

The man on the other end seemed unmoved. Finally he gave her the name of another cab company and she called to have one sent over.

I waited for quite some time and finally a large van pulled up and stopped out in the middle of the parking lot. A Jamaaiican man sat in the driver's seat idling the engine, not making a move to get out and help, as I struggled with Carmella's cage in one hand, and my napsack in the other. As I approached I asked if he could open the door. He didn't budge and I asked again.

"Excuse me, could you please open the door for me, I've got a heavy dog and both hands are full". He responded that I should just open the door. I told him I couldn't and tried to hold both up where he could see. Rather than getting out of his seat he told me just to put my bag in the front seat. I really didn't want to do that because he looked kind of questionable and unkempt, fearing he might take off with my wallet, but seeing as there was not much else I could do I took the risk, then opened the door and hauled Carmella's carrier and myself up into the back seat, then quickly grabbed my napsack and put it safely at my feet. I was nervous the whole way home thinking it looked as though he was under the influence of some illegal drug (something more than just weed). The van was in disrepair and the door handles looked as though they might come off in my hand.

I was thinking all the way home, "All this and still no appointment for the procedure! JFC!"

We made it home in one piece and I was glad to be home, as was Carmella. I let her out of her carrier, took her out on the leash, then after she'd had a chance to go to the bathroom, brought her back in. I checked my e-mail and there was a message from Dr. Sears saying he'd been in touch with Dr. Norwood, and that he was happy with the treatment and that Carmella was doing well, that he'd left a message for Dr. Brantly, and ending the e-mail saying he is very interested in following the case.

I wrote back asking a number of questions including some of the things Dr. Brantly had brought up. I also asked him how we'll know when she's cured for sure.

I took some new pictures of Carmella and added some of them to my Indie Public account to a photo album.

When I logged onto Etsy I found that I had made a sale! This was none too soon, as I am going to be getting that bill any day now (including a $75.00 charge for the consultation on Saturday).

Check out my Etsy shop at http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/ all proceeds going towards Carmella's vet bill.

Update on Carmella

Carmella pawing at an ant in my driveway

Carmella is doing better after adding a second antibiotic twice a day. She's beginning to spend less time sleeping, starting to look around her surroundings, and is more interested in playing.

You can see in the picture above where they shaved the hair off her front legs to give her the IV last weekend. She has a beautiful coat and it is getting even more lustrous by the day the more she is nursed back to health.

Her energy is coming back and she is beginning to act more like other puppies her age, yet she seems to have an "old soul" perhaps because of what she has been through at this tender age. Although I wouldn't wish hardship on anybody, it has a way of imparting wisdom beyond one's years.

Once barely eating a handful of dog food, she now downs a can of the prescription food the vet sent her home with twice a day and her apetite seems to be increasing. Soon she will probably put the weight on that she should have for her age. She may have gained a little already but I cannot see or feel a big increase yet. It may take some time to undo the malnutrition she suffered for several months at the shelter and possibly before that, on the street.

The vet wants to see her again in about 8 more days, and we're still waiting to hear the results of a few more tests, but things seem to be looking up.

The past few days I've been working on this new Carmella Collection of wedding appropriate jewelry and taking lots of pictures of Carmella. She is truly something special!

The pieces in my Carmella Collection are really worth more than I'm pricing them, but I am pricing them this way in hopes that those who see them will consider it worth their while to go ahead and purchase them now rather than wait, help with Carmella's medical expenses, and get something really nice in return. I'm not asking for a hand-out, just a hand up so that I can extend that help to this precious creature who definitely deserves the best!

I know that times are tough throughout the US right now and many are faced with harrowing decisions and daunting life circumstances; lay-offs, cuts in benefits, difficulty finding work, foreclosures, and slow sales in business, but if you can find it in your heart and your wallet your purchase would be greatly appreciated at this time.

There are many more out there, who like Carmella, must rely on the kindness of strangers to give them a chance at life and health, and although one person can't help all of them, this is a very direct way you can help if you love animals and believe in their preservation. More people will step up to the plate and adopt these animals if they know the community is behind them and they won't have to go it alone.

How can you resist this face?