OCALA, FLORIDA......Sweet Juliet is an eight-year-old Shih-Tzu that was attacked by two French Bulldogs that belonged to the same Family. The vicious attack resulted in both hind legs broken, a broken pelvis and a damaged eye. This pup was lucky to be alive. The Family, the dog, belonged to was not interested in saving her. A good Samaritan offered to help and took her to a Vet to be treated. X-rays were done that confirmed sweet Juliet's broken bones. They could not afford any further care, so her legs were bandaged and she went home with the Good-Samaritan. A month went by, and the person called a Rescue in the area pleading for help. Sweet Juliet was not doing well. The Rescue was not able to take care of an animal with this type of injury, but they did want to do something to save her. We were contacted, and they agreed to drive her up from Florida so we could get her to our Specialists in Charlotte. If anyone could put Humpty-Dumpty back together again, it was Dr. Michelle Nanfelt.
I did part of the transport and immediately knew there was a lot more going on than a broken pup. Juliet would just lay there and not make a peep. She would just look at you with those Soulful eyes begging for help. I tried to get her to drink and urinate on the way to Charlotte but she would not. I explained to the ER Team when she arrived that I suspected this sweet pup had been holding her urine was days.
The first thing they did was express her bladder and was surprised how much urine she had been holding. For the next two days, she was stabilized so surgery could be done later in the week. She did not urinate on her own for two days. We now knew we had another pretty serious issue going on. The pain was so devastating that sweet Juliet held her urine so she would not have to endure having to get up because of her broken pelvis and legs. Most dogs would have become incontinent by now, but she was just the opposite. Her bladder kept stretching to accommodate the volume. It is a horrible feeling to be in constant pain from an injury and to add the pain of having to hold your bladder into the mix, makes it unbearable.
Sweet Juliet had survived by sheer WILL. Once the Surgeon and the Specialists realized what was going on, they put a catheter in. Juliet was then started on Valium to relax her body and to allow the natural flow of urine to happen. It has taken almost a week for this to show any improvement but we see progress.
It is one thing to repair a break that has just happened and something entirely different to repair an old injury that has calcified and reformed incorrectly. Juliet's legs had to be re-broken and plated. Dr. Nanfelt called me to discuss all aspects of the surgery. Surgery was a long-shot but was Juliet's only shot at ever being able to walk normally again. I told her to proceed and prayed it would work.
The surgery has just been done, and braces were made to help Juliet get up and walk. We will not know if the surgery was successful for quite a while. All we know right now is that we have her pain under control, and she made it through surgery. The next couple of weeks will tell us a lot. Juliet will need lots of Rehab once the braces are off.
Juliet is scheduled to see an Eye Specialist in the next week to determine what can be done to save her eye.
We are so glad we grabbed this wonderful little dog. The thought of her suffering and not being able to get help was unbearable to even think about. She is going to make a wonderful family member for anyone that does not have small children around. We believe we can get her bladder functioning normally, and she will be able to walk eventually. We need lots of prayers for this adorable eight-pound pup. Her bills are BIG because of the complicated surgery she had and the fact she was in the ER before surgery could ever be done. Please, DONATE, whatever you can to so we can keep going with Juliet's Medical Care. This was Juliet's only chance and we have given it to her.
