McDonough, GA.......Juliet is a Yellow Lab / Shepherd Mix that was picked up as a stray in the most horrific condition. She was in such bad shape that the Animal Control person in charge was treating her but not planning on sending her around to the rescue community. She just wanted her to be comfortable before they put her to sleep. The day came when they were going to put Juliet down and she got up and walked to the front of her kennel and wagged her tail. They couldn’t believe it. Her eyes were so infected that she couldn’t even see and she was happy and wagging her tail. The AC officer decided to send her pictures around and see if anyone would step up for her. It was around Midnight when I got the message and the pictures. As full as we are, I took one look and knew I could not let this incredible dog die that way. She deserved a chance and I was going to do everything in my power to turn her around. When we got Juliet I was shocked to see what terrible shape she was in. These pictures make her look good. She is 1000 times worse than this. She looks like she is as old as the hills and in reality she is only around 10 years old. She does not have Demodex but does have what we think started out as a flea allergy. The skin condition went so long not being treated that she got horrible secondary infections all over her body. Her eyes and ears are in horrible shape because of all the infection, yeast and fungus she has. She has so many things wrong that we don’t know if she was starved or if she is emaciated because her body has been working over time to rid it of the infection and the allergic reaction. She is also high heartworm positive. For the last 5 days we have had her getting round the clock care treating one condition after another without stressing her system out. On Saturday she quit eating and on Sunday she took a turn for the worse. Her bloodwork came back that she has IMHA (Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia). In other words, her red blood cells are being attacked by her Immune System. On top of this, she is high heartworm positive and has pneumonia. The only place i knew that would be equipped to give her the best possible chance was Charleston Veterinary Referral Center. With IV’s and Juliet, I rushed to Charleston. After their initial consultation they said it did not look good for her at all. When I left her last night, she had a 5% chance of making it through the night. I told the hospital that as long as she was not suffering and was still waging her tail, do whatever it takes to save her.
I do not post for an animal, If I think they will not make it. I get them the best possible care and only when I feel good about the situation will I post for them. Juliet is now up to 25%. She still has a long way to go but has a fighting Spirit. The compassion and love this incredible dog has will leave you speechless and gasping for air. She is that special and is so deserving of all the love and medical care we can give her. She is a Gentle Angel that was put here on Earth for us all to learn how to unconditionally LOVE. She is all that and more.
Our sweet girl is finally out of Emergency Care ICU. She is back at her regular vet where she is still getting round the clock care. She is doing so much better but is still not out of the woods. We are still waiting to see what the cultures we took are growing. Her skin and lung cultures are growing something, we just don’t know what yet. She appears to be responding to the antibiotics we have her own. She has gained 13 pounds since we rescued her and she still is emaciated. We are slowly increasing her food which she is loving. Juliet will be in the hospital for a quite some time recovering. She is being spoiled rotten while she is there. Her days are filled with lots of hugs, kisses and gentle touches. She will take her stinky skin and rub it all over you. She loves to be right in your face, looking directly into your eyes. We have discovered that when she is resting she has a constant tic. She has already been vaccinated for Distemper so we cannot test her for another 4 weeks because we would get a false positive. She is being closely monitored for any new signs that point in that direction. We also believe she is a Golden Retriever / Lab Mix. Her personality is all Golden. Please, let us know if you are interested in her once she is well. She is going to make the most loving, loyal dog for some lucky Family or person. We cannot get enough of our beautiful Angel.
Sweet Juliet has stolen the heart of everyone she meets. She may look sad here but she is a very happy girl. Her skin has improved a lot since we got her. All of her cultures came back that she was growing a lot of different kinds of bacteria, some of which are very bad. We are getting good results with the antibiotic she is on, so we will be keeping her on that unless she stops improving. She has gained 5 more pounds and is beginning to fill out some. Her eyes are finally beginning to stop oozing. One step at a time with our dear sweet huggable girl. We love, love, love Juliet.
Our sweet girl is hanging in there. She is feeling a lot better. She is feeling well enough to bark and let us know when she wants a treat or a hug. The main problems we are having is that her body is in a Catabolic State because of the heart worms, kidney issues and skin problems. We can't seem to keep up with her food intake because her body is using up all we are giving her to fight off the problems she has. It isn't a maker of giving her more food. We are giving her all we can at this time. It is just going to take time to address all of her problems and get her body to catch up. Her Spirits are wonderful. She has become the constant companion of anyone at the hospital that will let her love on them. We love this incredible girl. Juliet will be in the hospital for quite a while healing and getting all of her treatments. Here she is smelling the flowers and enjoying her new life. Hospital life for our animals is quite different than what you might think. They are pampered and loved, as if they are in someone's home. Whatever they need, they get and then some.
Sweet Juliet is finally putting weight on. Her skin issues are improving and we have sent off some allergy test to see if we can determine exactly what she is allergic to. She is getting more energetic each day. She is an incredibly sweet, loving girl.
Sweet JULIET has become the apple of everyone's eye. She has stolen the hearts of everyone that meets her. She is doing so well that she gets to wander all around the clinic and give everyone lots of kisses and hugs. Her favorite past time (which we are breaking her of) is counter surfing. She is so tall that it seems like her nose is too close to the top of the counter without her wanting to check things out. We are now resorting to mouse traps on the top (in a plastic container with a lid) to snap when she does this. Hopefully this will take care of the problem. Juliet's skin is healing beautifully and her eye infection is slowly improving. It just takes time when you have that terrible a skin problem. The big issue with Juliet is her kidneys. She is always going to have kidney issues and will have to be closely monitored. She will also probably have to be on supplemental fluids at times to regulate her kidney values. Juliet is one of the sweetest, most gentle dogs you will ever meet. She is one big Angel.
Juliet is doing great in our Hospice Program. She is slowly getting shortness of breath from the tumors in her lungs but it is not slowing her down. She loves getting outside and being around the other dogs. She is being showered with buckets of love and affection and loves her new life. We don’t know how long our sweet girl will have but what she has left will be the best life ever. Here she is hanging out with Roxie outside.
It is with incredible sadness we have to let everyone know that our dear sweet Juliet crossed over the Rainbow Bridge today. We took her to the critical care facility in the beginning of the week because she was not her normal self. She didn’t want to eat and was slowing down a lot. We were elated when they said she was very anemic and needed a transfusion. This we could fix. We gave her two transfusions and she started feeling so much better. She was eating, wagging her tail and was very alert. Two days later, she crashed again. We decided to give her one more transfusion and this time she did not spring back. She was ready to go and she let us know it. I went in today to spend time with her to make sure this is what she wanted. We got her as comfortable as she could be, she raised her head and looked into everyone’s eyes one last time. She then laid her head down with us all loving on her and peacefully went to sleep. She had her Angel Wings and was gone in a matter of seconds. Juliet had always been dealing with skin issues since we had her. She had improved a lot but her hair was still rather course because of the skin problems. Within seconds, her hair became as soft as silk and turned a beautiful silver white color. We were all amazed at what had happened. Juliet stole our hearts from the first day we had her. She was a walking Angel that we all adored. When all the World gave up on her, we marched in to grab the love of our life. She knew she was home and would never be homeless again. Our sweet Angel is now looking over all of us with her beautiful silky fur coat. Letting a loved one go is the hardest thing we do. It is our final gift of unconditional love to them. She will forever be missed and remembered for her gentle ways and loving Spirit.
