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Our Journal on Sara is Here
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Newest pictures are Here
Newest Journal Entry Here
Sara (formerly called Mandy) comes from a shelter near Raeford, North Carolina. |
Sara - 2/7/2004
Sara wounds are healing really well - 3/1/2004
Sara is beginning to fill out and not look so skinny.
Sara & Fanny - March 20th, 2004
Notice - Sara's hair is growing back as well.
On May 15th, one can see how well her back has healed so far.
The two following pictures were taken June 15th, 2004. We think this is as good as its gonna get.
From what this little girl weent through, she has healed remarkably well.
Sara & Fanny begging for treats!
Sara's Journal
1/31/2004 --} This pathetic, tiny little girl arrived at our home as Mandy. She was so skinny one could see every bone in her body. And those wounds were so nasty and terrible looking. Bruno & Fanny were MOST UN-enthusiastic to see or have her here in their house! We have to keep her separated from Bruno & Fanny until we know that this poor little thing is safe as our Miss Feisty Fanny has copped a bad attitude with her here!
2/3/2004 --} Mandy made her first vet visit today. She weighs 29# and is roughly 2 years old, give or take 6 months. She is healing nicely and the Vet said she looks in good health. She will return to the Vet for Spaying on Feb 23rd + all her Blood lab-work, etc.
We need to work on completing her house training. She doesn't like walking on the grass to do her duty and she hates the rain. Once she lets you know by barking at the door or going to the door, you MUST let her out and not wait, as the resulting effects are not pleasant!!
We are also dealing with "Nose's bent out of shape" from both Bruno & Fanny. They don't want to share "their" humans with any other animal! Mandy has to be reminded which bed is hers and which one is not. She's a quick learner though, but needs reminding. We would rather do the reminding and not let Bruno or Fanny remind her!
2/4/2004 --} Mandy has developed full blown Kennel Cough and is being treated for it with Robitussin DM Cough Syrup. Hopefully, it will be a short-lived illness. Some of the smaller scabs on her back are falling off now, but the larger wounds still look terrible and we continue to apply triple antibiotic to help the healing process.
We have had to change her name to eliminate confusion with poor Fanny, who thought she was being told no or being scolded (Mandy was NOT housebroken when she arrived here!) We have chosen the name Sara Li, but simply call her Sara.
2/6/2004 --} Sara's cough has subsided considerably with the cough syrup. She is even leaving a little food on her plate now instead of hungrily wolfing it down. We find that she hates a vacuum cleaner and the electric Recliner also.
We are treating the healing wounds on her back and hips with Colloidal Silver as well as putting it in our Kids-with-Paws drinking water as a dietary supplement. Both Fanny & Bruno are much more accepting of her now and they even let Sara lay near them. That alone is progress!
Sara is now house trained and completely potty-trained to the outdoors. She was a very quick learner! Hoo-ray for Sara!
2/7/2004 --} Surprise, surprise, surprise. Sara is showing some signs of Alpha in her. Bruno spent time this AM following her around in the yard to "Remark" what she was marking and kicking those feet up, and soon we determined "another reason" for that following around the yard! Sara was also in "Full-blown Heat"!She is brazen and bold to be so tiny. However, since she is in heat, we hope she will "grow" out of this once she is Spayed!
2/8/2004 --} It's been a week since Little Sara came into our lives. Sara has made a place in our hearts as we [ Rosemary & Earl & Bruno & Fanny ] now have adopted her into our home and found her forever home with us. Fanny is even beginning to play with Sara but Bruno still avoids her for the most part.
2/10/2004 --} Sara's Cough is almost nonexistent now, however, her adopted sister Fanny has now come down with it terribly bad and adopted brother Bruno is starting to show signs of that cough as well. Both Fanny and Bruno have been started on the Cough Syrup as well.
2/13/2004 --} Sara's harness has been loosened some as she is showing signs of a little more weight on her. She is also an "attention hog" wanting to be petted constantly, and always has a "Front-Row Seat" for Treats. She seems to love having attention shown to her and begs for more!!
2/23/2004 --} Sara has a successful Spaying performed today. She has also gained 6# and now weighs in at 35#. Hooray for Sara!
However, she tested POSITIVE for Canine Heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis), a terrible disease. Heartworms live mostly in the heart and the large blood vessel that bring oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the heart and can result in death. Sara will begin Heartworm treatment as soon as her stitches are removed in about 2 weeks.
Heartworm Information can be found HERE - 1 or HERE - 2 or HERE - 3 or Here - 4. Heartworm disease CAN BE prevented. Yearly Vet visits and using prescribed MONTHLY Heartworm Preventative medicine will protect your canine companion from Heartworm.
2/25/2004 --} By watching and observing Sara, one would never know she just underwent major surgery. She is just as active as ever. Bruno & Fanny seem to understand what she just went through and are showing sympathy to her. Dogs seem to be so much more in tune than us humans, it never ceases to amaze us.
3/9/2004 --} Sara had her stitches removed today and has been started on a 20 day treatment plan for Heartworms. She will be taking 1/2 a Levasole pill (excellent article about Levasole, known as Levamisole, Here) twice per day for 20 days and then be retested for Heartworms about a week later to confirm the treatment has killed the heartworms. These 1/2 pills are huge and difficult to give them to her. But they are better than using the arsenic-based injections, which are very hard on a dog's system. The difficult task will be keeping her calm while on this medication. Our Vet has NOT had one failure with the use of this medication in treating Heartworm when his directions were followed. NOT one failure!~! However, by a lot of Vets, this is NOT considered an acceptable method to treat Heartworm. The fact of the matter is that if it works, and it does save lives, is good enough for us!~!
For some people, Alternative medicine, sometimes called Holistic medicine can be effectively used to cure Heartworm. You can read about one of these programs using Nature's Sunshine Herbs, here Bandits Story }.
3/10/2004 --} Sara has been vomiting since she started this Heartworm treatment, but this is normal while her system builds up a tolerance to this medication. She is lounging around a lot and very inactive. Hopefully, this medication buildup in her body will go quickly as she looks so pitiful right now.
3/12/2004 --} Sara is feeling much better and her body seems to have built up a tolerance to her medication and she is no longer throwing up. She even has a lot of that bouncy, puppy attitude, but we have to keep her as calm as possible. With her playful antics, it is hard to keep Sara calm.
Sara also seems to be finding her position in the "Pack" now and waits until Bruno (the Senior) selects his plate of food and Fanny (the top Alpha female) selects her plate before she goes to eat. She even waits until Bruno has finished eating most of the time. Sara is still trying very hard to fit herself into and gain acceptance into our family, but she has already stolen our hearts and is a part of our family.
3/21/2004 --} For the most part, Sara is tolerating the heartworm medication although her appetite is still low except when it comes to treats. She is most eager to get those treats!! She has the occasional hoarse-sounding cough due to the heartworms, but her hair is growing out over those wounds and she's looking much better now. She had a much needed bath today and fought initially when getting wet, like any Shar Pei will, but settled down and stood there while being lathered up & rinsed and is all pretty and clean and looking like a proper young lady. Still, we've got to work some more on those manners!
4/13/2004 --} Sara had her visit to the Vet today for a Blood work Retest for Heartworm. The 20-day Levasole Treatment was successful and she is now " Heartworm FREE ". We are just tickled and thrilled that she did NOT have to go through those arsenic injections. She does have a secondary infection from the dying & decaying heartworms which requires antibiotics for a few days as well as an immediate antibiotic injection to get it in her system right away. She is also to start on monthly Heartworm preventive medication as well. This is such a relief to know this little girl is rid of those nasty parasites.
5/15/2004 --} Sara has only an occasional cough left now. He weight is right where it should be and her appetite is BIG! For a little girl, she sure can eat. We are still working with the Alpha issues and Fanny has "her own program" for dealing with those issues and at times we have more than just a noisy spat or two. Sara stands her ground even though Fanny has 20# more of muscle advantage on her! We have had a couple of "blood-letting" sessions although they weren't serious to Sara. Once Sara learns her place in this pack, she will be just fine. She is still new and will test those waters and patience though.
6/13/2004 --} Sara has really healed nicely and for the most part recognizes her place in our pack and Fanny has even started to play with her at times. It is amazing to see Fanny allow Sara to playfully chew at her legs & know that a fight will not happen. For some reason, its like Fanny knows that Sara was an orphan just like her and there's a bond there. Although Fanny will never develop a bond with any other like she does with Bruno. Bruno tolerates Sara, but that's the complete extent of it. He will occasionally muzzle her gently or sniff her, but that's the extent of the Big Guy's affection for her!
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