August 25th: Penny was found running on the PA turnpike by people from NY. They picked her up, and took her to NY with them. I do not know how long they had her, but somehow she jumped off a roof or second story window in NY and injured herself very badly. The Mayor's Alliance for animals was called in and paid for her initial surgeries and vet care. However, They needed a rescue to take her after she was ready to leave the vet clinic where she was. So Penny came to WHDR and is being vetted at VCA.

You could not imagine a more pathetic case than this -- it is just so sad to see her. She has both front legs in splints (she hyper-extended both of her wrists, and they had to put plates in one of them and fuse the bones together). She will never be able to bend that wrist. They may have to do the same to the other -- just have to wait and see. She also smashed her right rear femur -- they did extensive surgery on that hip and leg also.

Through all of this she is just the sweetest girl!! You just look at her, and she wags her tail so hard you think she will fall over. She gets around surprisingly well. She needs to keep the splints on for 8 weeks (2 more) and then we will x-ray them and see how they are healing. We change the splints often, but she has a severe rubbing wound on the one leg -- it is down to her tendon, and still she is just so sweet. The vet washed and cleaned her leg today, and she just stood there, and wagged her tail!!

September 8th: She continues to heal well. She is such a sweet dog!!

October 11th: Penny had the surgery on her other wrist today to fuse her wrist and repair the tendon damage. The surgeon from NY hoped that just splinting it for 8 weeks would be okay, but he told us that she may have to have this surgery. It just was not healed well, and I took her to a surgeon in Lititz, PA. She is a very good surgeon who does excellent work, and does not charge outrageous prices. She knows that she is a rescue dog, and she did not charge me a consultation fee when I first went to see her. She just called and said that she is out of surgery and doing well!! She will have another long recovery, but hopefully she will now be able to get along pretty well. I cannont stress to you guys just how sweet she is. She has been living in her "little condo" in my fixed up basement, and quite enjoying herself. After she starts her recovery, there is a couple that I have in mind for her -- just hope that it will work out. I will let you know how she is doing when I pick her up tomorrow.

October 12th: Hello!! Penny had her surgery to repair her carpus on her right front leg on Monday. I picked her up yesterday (Tuesday), and she is doing very well. She has a splint on which will stay on for at least 6 weeks (changing it every 5 days or so), and I then have an appointment with the surgeon for reevaluation. She is getting around very well, and is back in her "basement condo" lounging on the sofa!! I will let you know how her healing process is going.

UPDATE 3/27/06:

Penny is having trouble with her wrist. The screws holding her wrist together have worked loose and are causing her pain. She is scheduled to have surgery on Thursday 3/30/06 to correct the problem. This surgery will cost $2400. Penny has come so far and is such a sweet girl we can't give up on her. We can't put a price on her love. We pray that this will be the last surgery she needs.

UPDATE 4/1/06:

Hello All! I picked up Penny yesterday after having her surgery on Thursday. She seems to be doing fine -- she does not seem to be in pain, and she is getting around very well. I have to greatly restrict her activity for 2 weeks, but she will only have her bandage on for 48 hours. The bone has to fill in where the screws were, and just get stronger. She said that walking on it without a splint will help it to get stronger faster. She is just lounging in her basement condo. I have put the cushions off of the sofa to make her a soft step to get off of the sofa. She is a bit of a load to carry up and down the steps, but we are managing. She should be doing just great by the picnic, and you will all be able to meet her then, but of course it would be great for her to have her own family by then also, but we will see. The right person is out there somewhere for her -- it will just take time to find them!! I will keep you posted on her progress.

Betsy :)