Your generous donations helped Bella get the surgery she needed. Surgery was performed by Dr. Fry from Cascade Veterinary Specialists in Issaquah, WA on January 3, 2012.
Bella is eating oatmeal and ground turkey to help with the “runs”, drinking water on her own, and getting her leg iced without protest. She gets her pain meds every 7-8 hours, and a tranquilizer every 12 hours as needed. They want her quiet, but not too woozy to get up and do her business outside. She goes back on Jan. 19th to have the staples removed, and Dr. Fry will do another examination to evaluate soft tissue healing. At 4 weeks, we can begin water therapy work with Cindy at La Paw Spa. At 8 weeks, Dr. Fry will take radiographs of the surgery site to access healing of the bone. He will also discuss whether or not we want to do the right leg at this time. Final Checkup: At 16 weeks a final physical examination will determine if Bella is ready to resume normal activity.
A special thank you to Dr. Fry and the staff at Cascade Veterinary Specialists for their exceptional service and continuous dedication to Bella!
See 4 new pictures of Bella's progress in Image Gallery 2!
December:
Bella has gained 10 lbs., the sores on her body have healed and her coat is growing back. She’s eating well, taking her vitamin supplements and getting stronger every day. She’s on pain medication until her first surgery, which is scheduled for January 2012. By then she’ll be strong enough to go through the surgery and long recovery. She’s in a loving foster home, sleeping on her own new bed and getting lots of love and attention. She was afraid of all strangers from not being socialized, but her foster parents are working with her on that and she’s much better.
September:
On September 12, 2011 WAG rescued Bella from a bad situation. The owner could no longer properly care for her and she was failing. Bella is a 2 year old St Bernard that looks and acts like she is 10 years old. She is 30 lbs. underweight and horribly scarred from chewing due to fleas. Bella is the sweetest most docile girl we have ever seen. Due to not being properly socialized she is also fearful of strangers. She was taken to the groomer to get the dirt and fleas off her poor body. The following day was the trip Pacific NW Veterinary Hospital. Due to Bella’s poor condition it was not advisable to give her vaccinations at that time. Because of the lack of proper nutrition Bella’s muscles have atrophied and she will need slow steady exercise to rebuild her strength and stamina. She is currently getting the best dog food available, multiple vitamin supplements and lots of love.
The following week Bella went to the Vet for her second check-up. It was noticed that now Bella was limping. X-rays were done and it was confirmed that Bella needs surgery on both of her back knees. Because Bella is a large, heavy dog only the expensive TPLO (actually sawing the bone to reposition it) will work.
WAG is doing a fund raisers to raise money for Bella’s surgeries. Her first surgery is scheduled for January 2012. See more photos of Bella in Image Gallery 1.