If you haven't read the story of how we got our puppy Belle, read Rescue From The Rescue first.
We brought Belle home from the puppy ICU on Wednesday, June 29. They gave us a bunch of antibiotics to keep giving her, plus a list of other things to do like nebulizing and coupaging (which is NOT the same as decoupaging, rather disappointing because I could totally get into puppy decorating).
We could immediately see an improvement in how Belle acted. She had longer periods of time with more energy. Apparently no one explained to her that she's on restricted activity for a month, now that she could breathe better she was in full Puppy Mode. Explore! Chew!
Squeaky Toy!!!!
Oh, wait.... rawhide bone!!!
OMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM
NOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM
Over the holiday weekend, we went to the family cabin, taking both cats and puppy with us. On the drive there cat Sebastian was freaking out at the moving car, and Belle was a little concerned, so they called a Truce.
Sebastian: Belle, Hold me! Belle: Zzzzzzzzz
They did great at the cabin, though Belle was an early riser every day and trying to keep her quietly occupied so as not to wake everyone else up was a challenge!
Belle had a followup vet appointment today, and her x-rays show that her lungs are getting clearer. She's still a little wheezy when she breathes. Not 100%, but a definite improvement over a week ago. Still on same meds and special care, but there's hope for a full recovery. Her temp and heart rate were perfect. Yay! She's gained a little over 3 lbs since she was there last, probably a lot of it fluid weight from her prior dehydrated state.
Belle's favorite way to sleep is on her back. She also loves belly rubs more than any dog I've ever seen. She's quite the exhibitionist.
Rub it! RUB MAH BELLAH!!!!!!!
Laser Dog commands you to rub the belly!
ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Belle has decided that Sebastian is one big chew toy. Sebastian actually wrestles with her, and never claws her even though he could.
If Belle gets too rough, he just escapes and hops up somewhere she can't reach. This drives her crazy with frustration, which Sebastian delights in. Sometimes Sebastian stands his ground, and you get the Mexican Puppy Stand-off. Which again drives Belle nuts. Ignore the patch of color on the wall, we're test painting colors to figure out what colors we want to paint the walls.
She loves to sit on the couch with her Daddy.
It's a rough life, but someone's got to do it
And no, the costs have not been exaggerated..
That's just the hospital bill, not our local vet bill. Oy.
A coworker friend Leslie works with animal rescue, and she spread the word about Belle's plight out to the animal lover community and my work. I received an email from Kerry with Animal Advocates in Spokane, Washington saying they wanted to help out with the mounting medical expenses we've been incurring for Belle. Neither Leslie nor I have even met these folks, and they still reached out to us. How awesome is that??
They sent us a card with a generous check made out to Belle's Vet. I can't even thank them enough for their kind hearts in helping our little sweetie get better!!
Hopefully things will continue to progress well, and Belle will make a full recovery. A big THANK YOU to all the friends and family that have expressed their concern and support during this whole situation, it's really helped us stay positive and focus on what is important -- Belle getting better!
