Day 12...Emergency Vet Visit

Today, Dos had a cough. A dry, strained, painful sounding cough. I kept thinking perhaps she was just trying to cough something up and I kept an eye on her...but as the day progressed, it got worse.


I e-mailed the APA Medical Team with my concerns. They are super busy throughout the day, so I contacted their foster co-ordinator for some direction. She got ahold of them and they contacted me immediately and asked about her condition.


With heartworms, a cough can be bad, bad news-so they told me to come in right away.

By the time I made it there, they were closed...but they took her inside and did an exam and the doctor asked a lot of questions and spent a long time sitting on the floor with her listening to her heart and lungs.

The vet reassessed her..looked at her teeth...gave her a twice-over...and said she probably wasn't five...and there is a bit of time before the heartworms entirely take over-and she should get the treatment before then...because...She is probably only three.

She prescribed her some kennel cough medicine, in case the bordatella was administered before she showed symptoms but was still infected, some cough tablets, and some special shampoo to clear her hair folicles(which was unrelated to the cough) she said it would help any irritation left and also take the smell away...because she still does smell very yeasty/bacterial, even with all the treatments and baths.




She was thorough, she was problem solving, she was productive. She is seriously one of the best vets I have ever met..and I wish I could remember her name..in everything that was going on, her name slipped my mind..but when I find out, I'm going to send her flowers.




Dos came home with a slew of new meds, and a little treat from their lobby..and a better prognosis than before.


Oh...and, she is passing tapeworms now, the the wormer is working...which...is both gross and awesome...one ailment cured at a time, right? :)

It's easier to hide the medicine when it's chicken flavored

On another note, she has become very attached to us, and wants to follow us around and sit next to us all the time..she's learning to love and be loved in return.

Day 11...

Today was Dos' APA appointment........and her skin scrape came back clear of the sarctopic mange! Already! After 11 days! I feel good about it, because her first skin scrape had a good amount of larvae and mites in it, just from a tiny area-and this one showed nothing!

At the vet, she was in good spirits..and she actually wanted to sniff things and greet everyone. It seemed she was excited to even get in the car to get there and back.

She weighed in at 59 pounds today-which is 4 pounds less than she weighed when I first took her to the vet, but I'm not sure if someone's scale was just off or she's somehow lost four pounds...she's definitely eating a LOT,  so I'm more inclined to think it was just a difference in scales.

They prescribed her 14 days of eye drops for her goopy eyes, started her on another 2-week round of antibiotics(1/2 the amount she was taking), she got a bordetella vaccination, and they gave her a dewormer and a topical treatment for her skin, in case she still had some demodex mange that needed clearing up. (different than the sarctopic-sarctopic is the really bad contagious stuff)
And, she got a microchip!  THANK YOU SO MUCH AUSTIN PETS ALIVE!

 This appointment is a big step because as soon as she's cleared of all infections and in better health, they can do the heartworm treatments-and she's already improved so much in the short time I've had her, that this should fly by!


She was one tired puppy when we got home. I fed her some plain yogurt (her favorite snack), mixed up some dry dog food with some brown rice and beef broth-and she ate and fell asleep in her little bed.

She's going to be all better, soon.

Day 11 of Dos' Recovery.  Her eyes are the most notable improvement so far!

Day 10 & Bath 4!

 Day 10 is another bath for Dos! I'm going to wait to see what the APA! medical team says before giving her another treatment, as it seems to have healed a great deal and I don't want to overdo it if she won't need them as frequently, if at all.

So, this time, just mild doggie shampoo and water-and a good scrubdown.
Michael really did a good job on her ears...he worked on them for a good twenty minutes altogether to get the dead skin off, and they look great! She's starting to grow even more fur on her ears:)

Day 10 bath-soaped up!

Michael really got her ears clear of the dead skin...it's been a hell of a process...

Here's the after-bath progress shot:)

Does anyone have any speculations as to what could have happened to her ear? It's missing a piece:/

Dos' eyes have cleared up tremendously!

She has decided that she really, really likes belly rubs after last night.

Day 10 was also Dos' day to finally leave the garage. (Not to worry, it's climate controlled and stays temperate!:) ) Her mange has cleared up a great deal and we are no longer concerned about spreading it to our other dogs. She still won't be in close contact with the other dogs, because we want to be extra cautious, so after her bath, I cleaned her kennel and bedding extra well and moved her stuff inside.

She at first looked confused as to why I was walking her off the porch, but once  inside, she acted like she'd lived there forever. She did a quick sniff at the air, and made her way to her bed, where she's curled up now.

Our dogs sniffed her a little through her crate-which is the most attention they've paid to her since she got here. Other than a quick glance, they haven't acknowledged her-which is odd, because they are very curious dogs. I assume it's because she's been sick, and they can tell she doesn't want to be bothered. I'm taking their sniffing as a good sign that she's starting to smell more like a regular dog.


And, as requested, a video of Dos being excited in the morning, waggly tail and all. This is the 2nd day in a row this has happened!

And...tomorrow..is THE DAY. Dos' APA appointment. I'm both excited and nervous as to what the prognosis will be on her heartworms...

Please keep her in your thoughts tonight...

Day 9-Belly Exfoliation Time

This morning-for the first time since she's been with me...Dos was up and ready to go! We keep her in a crate when we're sleeping/not at home so she's confined, but she spends a lot of time just sleeping in there even with the crate door open. It's her little den, after all..

When I woke up and went to her crate, she was  standing up, tail wagging, back end wagging, and ready to go potty. I see this as a very good sign! It usually takes her a good ten minutes or so to pull herself up and adjust to being awake.

She's almost done with her round of antibiotics..tomorrow is the last day! Then....vet on Tuesday and it's going to be a whole lot more getting better from there!

You can do it, Dos!

Today was belly exfoliation time. I started to rub her belly and she flipped all the way over, so I took the opportunity to slough off some of the dead skin I haven't been able to get to. I was afraid it would hurt her..but as you can see from the video she was loving it. It went on for probably forty minutes..leg kicking, stretching her arms up, making little grunty noises....that's a happy dog with a super special belly rub:)


(Sorry about the video...it's the wrong direction again, it was the only way I could hold it and brush her at the same time...)

EDIT: Is the video showing up at all? Hmmm:/

Day 8

Day 8 video (I'm not sure I did it right..it was requested I hold the camera the other way around...is this better?)

She's scratching and licking herself..a good sign because she's continuing to be more active, but it's time for the doggy socks again.

Day 8 for Dos hasn't showed any notable progress..or notable regress for that matter. She's been sleeping for most of the day, which of course, is expected due to the heartworms.

I did learn last night however, that Dos really does not like thunderstorms. She doesn't have the physical capacity to shake a great deal like most tthunderstorm-anxious dogs-she just heaves and breathes a bit sporadically, much like someone looks like when they are crying, so it was heartwrenching to watch. I wrapped her up in a towel just for a little security and petted her until she fell asleep, but when I got up she woke up and repeated the process. It was a long night, but today she seems no worse for the wear. I imagine she has been outside in thunderstorms a good deal, from the look of the ring around her neck.
(She was dropped off with two leashes tied together, which was muddy like it had been used as a tie out.) However, this is speculation on my part-her collar may have just been too tight for a long time. Either way, the callous-like redness on her neck and the fact that before I shaved her down, she had no hair where a rope would have been leads me to think I am correct on this.

Dos has now been here Saturday-Saturday....here is a day 1 vs day 8 comparative.  She's less red, and looks like she's in less pain. :)

She's loooooooves that bed:)

Day 7-another mange treatment..

Day Seven and time for another mange dip for Miss Dos.  I'm almost out of the dip itself, and will need to get more, but Dos will soon have an appointment with APA's medical team and we'll see how she's improved and if the treatments can be spaced further apart now.

I've seen a noticable improvement in her skin; it's still scaly and cracked in a lot of places, but the inflammation is definitely decreased by a good amount.

Dos is not a fan of the mange dip itself, because I'm sure it burns the open sores a bit, but during the bath she is the happiest dog in the world...lots and lots of attention and cool water to soothe her skin.

First things first: lunch time! I came home from work to an eagerly hungry Dos. She knows lunch time means meat..and today it meant beef which she was very excited about.:)

....and potty time...she walked directly to her 'potty spot' and back to the porch....she's starting to get into a good routine..



And then the bath. She knew was was coming as soon as I brought around the hose. She followed me to the fence where the leash was hanging. (I keep her on the leash during her bath, so she can't wander off and accidentally drip soap into her eyes!).

I've been using gentle oatmeal shampoo before the mange treatments...and she seems to really enjoy it. She even arched her back a little today as I gave her a light scrubbing with the soft side of a dog brush. A little exfoliation goes a long way in getting the mange out.

She likes the hosewater on her skin. I think it gives a slight massaging effect. She didn't want me to stop!



I applied the mange treatment. While I know she enjoys the attention she gets as I'm slathering the mixture on her, it's got to hurt her-and it's got to dry on her. Mange treatment is a necessary evil-but as bad as it must feel now, it's got to better than untreated mange...poor wittle Dos-y.


She will be a yellow color for a couple of days from the treatment...and hopefully the next one won't be for a while and we can space them apart a bit more and give the ol' girl a break.

Day 6

Dos is feeling a lot better today than yesterday, she spent more time standing up, and even took herself to go potty!

I noticed today that her fur seems to be growing back a bit is some places...she has the equivalent to a 'five-o-clock-shadow' on her back.  She also seems way less itchy-so the mange treatments are working! She gets another one on Saturday-which will be a WEEK since her initial rescue. Time has flown by and she's already made so much progress from where she was that I have a great feeling that she'll be healthy enough for the heartworm treatments soon! Here's hoping! I'll be making her an appointment with the medical team at Austin Pets Alive! tomorrow and we'll see where she stands...



Hendricks Boards has begun a wonderful campaign to help save Dos. I saw these below on the APA! Facebook page, and my heart just melted.

(By the way, I learned this week how hard APA! works. I'm seriously amazed by the kind souls with their organization.)
She really is a beautiful girl.

And, as requested...a day 6 video. I don't think she was terribly happy about the light from my phone, but she was happy about the beef for certain.

Thanks everyone for the outpouring of love for this girl. I'm going to write every single one of you back-and I know Dos has got to feel the love.