This desperate plea for help came into GRRI’s (Golden Re-Triever Rescue, Inc.) email account on a Tuesday evening. It was immediately forwarded to the GRRI Board of Directors, and within hours of receipt, an action plan was decided upon and Susie’s adopters were called. A message was left on their answering machine that “yes, we could help”.
They were first offered the option of keeping Susie and obtaining an emergency line of credit via a program called CareCredit® to help pay for her surgery. Her family stated that they could not afford it. GRRI asked that they return Susie to rescue so that she could get the emergency care that she desperately needed.
Hours passed and they continued to delay a decision. They were attempting to feed Susie despite our admonitions not to. Feeding a dog with a suspected blockage is extremely dangerous. GRRI’s attorney recommended having them bring Susie to an emergency hospital with the understanding that GRRI would pay for the emergency treatment and they in turn would make a donation back to GRRI. A 501(C)(3) organization such as GRRI cannot pay for private veterinary expenses. At this point saving Susie’s life was the main priority. This is not a practice that GRRI normally offers. The adopter again refused to take her to the emergency hospital that was recommended. Finally, at 4 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, March 18, 2-year-old Susie came back into rescue.
GRRI volunteers were in place, just waiting to hear the words “go get her”. “I have her” was relayed across cell phones, and another GRRI Board member and her husband jumped into their car and drove to a designated meeting area so they could get her and bring her to one of the rescue friendly vets that work with GRRI at a reduced cost. Dr. Joseph Zuckerman of Village Animal Clinic in Ardsley, NY had been notified of our emergency and was on alert, waiting to help.
Because of her stress level she wouldn’t let anyone near her. She was given a mild sedative before radiographs were done. The films revealed that there was a suspicious area in her small intestine “larger than the width of a vertebra”. This is always suspect, so the approval was given to perform an exploratory surgery.
About 20 minutes into the surgery a vet tech came out and said there was a really l
arge foreign body obstruction (FBO), the worst Dr. Zuckerman had ever seen. It was wrapped around the coils of her small intestine. There were two pieces, each about 9-inches in length, 1-inch in diameter. 1-1/2 feet of her small intestine was shirred around it like a curtain would be on a curtain rod. Putrid black fluid leaked from her blocked intestine. We later found out that Susie had ingested a skein of knitting yarn.Two hours after surgery began, at 8 p.m., Dr. Zuckerman came out. He said she was resting and he and the tech would stay with her until she awoke, then he’d give her some morphine. He had to make a large incision down the center of her stomach. Then an incision was made in the center of the small intestine where the blockage was; he cut the rope-like mass in half, then made another incision to one side so that he could remove half of the sock/rope mass’. He did the same on the other side and extracted the other half. We had to hope that he’d gotten it all.
The following morning Susie was very combative and didn’t want anyone coming near her. She was vomiting a black tar-like fluid and swampy smelling bile. She looked terrible. She was receiving IV fluids and antibiotics. She couldn’t have any food or water until bowel sounds could be heard, indicating her intestines were functioning properly. Normally this occurs within 24-48 hours.
Our GRRI volunteers cooked up some boiled chicken and sweet potatoes and pureed it in a Cuisinart so it would be easy for her to eat. Probiotics were purchased to help restore the “healthy’ bacteria in her intestinal tract. They were allowed to visit her later that afternoon and both were shocked by her appearance. This was clearly a very sick dog. Dr. Zuckerman said she wasn’t doing as well as he’d hoped, but then she’d been through an awful lot the past couple of days. She didn’t let them touch her either so they quietly sat on the floor with her until she fell asleep.
On day two, fearing the worst, we received a new update, “She’s showing some spunk and we hear faint bowel sounds. She’s letting one of the techs examine her. Her temp is normal, the incision looks clean.”
She was giv
en a small amount of water. If she kept it down she could have an Italian meatball sized portion of the chicken mixture. Again, our volunteers went to visit her and received a very pleasant surprise. Susie remembered them and actually wagged her tail a bit! She went outside for a walk and then came into a treatment room for a visit. Again, patiently waiting for her to accept them, they sat on the floor with her. Soon she came over to be petted. She ended up with a full body massage, which she loved. She rolled on her side so they could see her incision. Then it was time to feed her. Dr. Zuckerman brought in a small amount of food which had been warmed in the microwave. She was ecstatic…FOOD! She gobbled it down and then looked around for more. “If you keep that down, then you can have some more every hour”, she was told. Life was looking better and better for Susie.The 3-5 day period following any kind of intestinal surgery is always the most critical. The body needs protein to heal. If a dog’s blood proteins are low, then it increases the risk at the surgical site that the sutures can break down, spilling the infection into the stomach membranes. This spillage results in a serious condition called Peritonitis.
Susie was discharged from the hospital three days after her surgery. She was moved to a foster home where she continued to receive the love and pampering that she needed. During her stay in her foster home GRRI discovered that Susie was terribly un-socialized and fearful of people, particularly men. We learned she had been disciplined with a newspaper. Her emotional healing would certainly take longer than her physical one.
Susie’s foster home decided to adopt her. She is now under the care of a homeopathic vet and her prognosis is excellent. She runs and plays with the other Goldens in her forever home, and is an affectionate, loving dog. Her new parents make certain that there is nothing left around that this curious little girl can get her mouth around.
It’s for dogs like Susie that we do what we do. GRRI saved a dog’s life on Wednesday, March 18th. The love and thankfulness shining out of Susie’s eyes as she gazed at our volunteers spoke volumes.
None of us ever want to be put in the position where we have to look into the eyes of our beloved friend and say I love you so much but I can’t afford to help you.
Thankfully GRRI didn’t have to either.
written by Eileen McFadden
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