Katrina rescues: Bad news for Bella

In addition to starting her "Snowball Effect" campaign, Phyllis DeGioia has taken two Katrina foster dogs into her home. In this report, Clint continues to improve and Phyllis receives some scarey news on Bella.

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Sunday before last Bella was spayed in a marathon spay/neuter event for about 30 of the Katrina animals. A very kind veterinarian and her staff volunteered their time and skills. It must have been a crazy day for them. Bella sure had a tough day! Not only did she get spayed, but also they removed a mammary gland tumor that I hadn’t even noticed (bad foster mom!!) and some teeth that had been worn down.

Typically, I get rescued mutts, and they usually show up spayed or neutered. I know nothing about females going into heat. So imagine my surprise when I had Bella on my lap the day before her spay, on her back and rubbing her belly, when I noticed that her external “hoo hoo” (that’s a technical term a veterinarian friend uses) was quite swollen. I checked it out by tentatively touching it with my finger. Blood! A drop of blood caused me to practically jump out of the chair! I can be so ignorant sometimes.

When I picked her up, she was pathetic. My heart cried for her. That lump I hadn’t noticed, most likely because it was adjacent to a teat – which I’m not used to feeling -- and required a fairly large incision that looked pretty nasty. She felt really miserable, but as every day goes by she feels better. She was only in an e-collar for a little bit.

Now she faces heartworm treatment. I’m requesting good treatment Zen and the sacrifice of virtual goats for Bella. I hope it all goes well. Hopefully it will all go well and she’ll be in her new home soon. I’ll really miss her, and so will my visiting niece, Meg. Bella has glommed onto Meg totally and worships the ground she walks on. It’s quite mutual.

After Fred’s new bed arrived and he’d been using it for a couple of days, I found Clint had managed to take over the new bed. Little macho man! I put him into the bed he’s already peed on. No point in marking everything. It’s enough that I have to do a daily load of Leaky Clint laundry without adding two beds into the mix.

This morning I once again found Clint in Fred’s bed, but this time, Fred was standing over the bed licking Clint’s ears. It was unbelievably cute. Fred’s tail was wagging. It was the first time I’d seen them interact like that; usually, Clint is stealing a bed and Fred looks devastated, or Fred stands by Clint sometimes when Clint is outside doing business (leaking on appropriate grassy spots). I was thrilled to see them interact.

This afternoon Clint snarfed down some little pieces of cheese like the land shark he is. Now that he’s in Wisconsin, it’s nice to know he’s an official Cheese Head.

Clint’s getting so healthy on all that good nutrition, love and vet care that he’s picking up twirling speed. He’s getting so fast that I’m a wee bit afraid he’s going to concuss himself by bonking into an object that’s harder than his head. However, that’s probably hard to do, even at his speeds. This morning he walked a semi-straight line, or at least, didn’t twirl from room to room. Watching him blossom makes me unbelievably happy.

Today came the news that broke my heart: Bella’s mammary gland tumor was malignant. They got “very thin” margins on it, so Bella will have another surgery to remove some more tissue. However, it is a localized tumor, and they feel that it will not alter her lifespan and that Bella is going to be fine. Many people have kindly told me that their dogs had the same thing and yet lived to a ripe old age. Still, the mere thought that she has cancer brings me to tears. Homeless from a hurricane and yet to face heartworm treatment, it seems she’s been through enough. But at least she is getting the medical care she needs. I don’t know yet when her next surgery will be.

I’ve been keeping her crated at night because I don’t know if her future forever family will want her on their bed, but last night I broke down and “accidentally forgot” to crate her at bedtime. She stayed downstairs most of the night but was on my bed with the rest of the crowd in the morning. Ginger threw her entire body across my torso to say “mom is mine, mine, mine!”

Clint has medical news too. He was dropping some serious weight and when he got down to 7.5 pounds from 8.3 pounds in three weeks, we went back to the vet. After a chem panel, a heartworm test and a fecal, we think that Clint is now so heathy that he’s burning up a lot more calories twirling and that his metabolism has revved up, and I just haven’t been feeding him enough. An expensive visit to learn that! They sent home some high calorie canned food with us, so Clint is essentially eating ice cream for meals. After Bella’s bad news, the idea that he’s losing weight because he’s become so darn healthy is music to my ears.

Clint is officially mine and his vet bills are now my responsibility, but Bella is still a foster. Her medical care, as well as that of the 100-plus other dogs and cats brought here (several of which are tiny puppies and kittens), has a high price tag. What Shelter from the Storm needs, as does every other rescue group who took in Katrina and Rita animals, is a lot of cold hard cash. If you could see your way clear to sending a few dollars – any amount will help – either to Shelter from the Storm or a rescue group in your area – it would be more beneficial than you realize. Shelter from the Storm has 15 heartworm positive animals, many intact animals that need to be spayed or neutered, multiple kittens and puppies that need vet evaluations and first vaccinations, and sundry surgeries like Bella’s tumor and removing Clint’s rotten teeth all cost money, no matter how much labor the kind veterinarians in the area donate.

And good news to help offset the news of Bella’s cancer: Shelter from the Storm has its first reunion between cat and owner! Jasper’s people lost their home in Katrina.  The foster family that has Jasper in their care will hold on to him until his owners are able to take him in again. They had four cats and Jasper is the only one they’ve found, so let’s all celebrate in the joy of their impending reunion once the family has a home again! -- Phyllis DeGioia, editor, VeterinaryPartner.com