Heidi 09-244

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Sponsored by: Mary and Paul T. of Owatonna, MN

 
RAGOM's newest young girl could use all of your prayers. She is 6 months old and was found as a stray. She is very sick and spent the night in the ICU at the U of MN Vet Hospital with a high fever and getting a blood transfusion. For some as yet undiagnosed reason, her white blood cells, platelets and red blood cells are very low. She had a bone marrow biopsy today to try and figure it all out. They are thinking it could possibly be a tick borne infection, something toxic she got into or a blood cancer. The blood cancer looks slightly less likely today as her blood counts improved a little. We hope to know more by the end of the week. The first two potentials are likely treatable. The last cancer is not.
 
Heidi was rescued by a wonderful woman from probable euthanasia at the shelter due to her illness. Kathy wanted to give Heidi a chance and so took her into her home. She called RAGOM when it was clear Heidi needed specialty vet care. The diagnostics and care are expensive but it is too early to give up on her. We need a better idea of whether this is something she can recover from. Thank you to Kathy and the staff at the vet clinic for giving her a chance!
 
So Heidi is in my home and getting along great with the three other big dogs here. Despite her illness, she is a puppy and has been wrestling with my other foster Chloe. She weighed only 39 pounds on Friday and every bone shows but she has gained four pounds in four days. She LOVES to eat! She is a LOVE and comes for pets and kisses and just LEANS into me. A typical velcro Golden.
 
If you have a few dollars to spare--I know times are hard--Heidi could use a bit of help with her medical bills. Paws crossed that the results will be good news at the end of the week. I will keep you posted.

 

 

At a Glance #09-244

Golden Retriever Born: November 2008
Female 39 lbs

Status: Deceased

Profile

Sponsored by: Mary and Paul T. of Owatonna, MN

 
RAGOM's newest young girl could use all of your prayers. She is 6 months old and was found as a stray. She is very sick and spent the night in the ICU at the U of MN Vet Hospital with a high fever and getting a blood transfusion. For some as yet undiagnosed reason, her white blood cells, platelets and red blood cells are very low. She had a bone marrow biopsy today to try and figure it all out. They are thinking it could possibly be a tick borne infection, something toxic she got into or a blood cancer. The blood cancer looks slightly less likely today as her blood counts improved a little. We hope to know more by the end of the week. The first two potentials are likely treatable. The last cancer is not.
 
Heidi was rescued by a wonderful woman from probable euthanasia at the shelter due to her illness. Kathy wanted to give Heidi a chance and so took her into her home. She called RAGOM when it was clear Heidi needed specialty vet care. The diagnostics and care are expensive but it is too early to give up on her. We need a better idea of whether this is something she can recover from. Thank you to Kathy and the staff at the vet clinic for giving her a chance!
 
So Heidi is in my home and getting along great with the three other big dogs here. Despite her illness, she is a puppy and has been wrestling with my other foster Chloe. She weighed only 39 pounds on Friday and every bone shows but she has gained four pounds in four days. She LOVES to eat! She is a LOVE and comes for pets and kisses and just LEANS into me. A typical velcro Golden.
 
If you have a few dollars to spare--I know times are hard--Heidi could use a bit of help with her medical bills. Paws crossed that the results will be good news at the end of the week. I will keep you posted.

 

 

Updates

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Heidi finally cornered FD and made me sit down long enough to give all of her RAGOM fans an update on her.  Our little Heidi girl must be feeling better, just look at her in the latest pictures.  She can often times be found running through the house with her toy Du Jour (whichever one that may be at the time).  One of her more favorite activities is to engage FD in a rousing game of tug of war.  Heidi usually ends up winning as FD fails to pay full attention and then Heidi changes her grip and sometimes gets a hold of FD's hand.  She knows to release and is learning to mouth gently.  One of Heidi's other favorite activities is to go for a walk.  Just the mere mention of the word and she is always the first dog at the door waiting to go.  We have been going early in the morning this weekend to avoid the heat and humidity.
 
Heidi has been back to see the vets at ACH.  She has actually managed to gain almost five pounds.  She has started to eat dry kibble and has been known to completely empty her bowl, can you say good girl!  Heidi is now up to date on her vaccinations and this Wednesday she will undergo the spay surgery.  They will also run a few other tests while she is under anesthesia.  We will let all of her RAGOM fans know the results when we get them.
 
Heidi wants to thank her sponsors, Mary and Paul T, for their generous support!  Thanks to you she is getting the medical care she deserves.  She also wants to thank Kathy who was helpful in getting her into RAGOM too!  To look into her big brown eyes is to see her gentle soul and feel her love.  Thanks for reading the latest on Heidi's story.
 
XOXO
Heidi

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Heidi here checking in with all of the faithful RAGOM fans.  Heidi was able to get a weekend getaway up to FD's family lake home.  Boy did this girl have fun, fun and more fun.  She played really hard with her furr sisters and brother.  She did wade into the shallows of the lake for a drink of water and she even went out in the boat and did a little fishing.  The fish were not biting fast enough so she took a nice little nap on the boat floor.
 
Heidi will be going back to the vet on July 27th for a re-check on the UTI (urinary tract infection).  If all is clear, which FD thinks is the case, then she will get some vaccinations.  We will also find out about the possibility of her spay surgery.  Keep your paws crossed for good news on the 27th!  This girl hopes to soon be ready to meet some potential forever homes.
 
Heidi's future home ideally would have:
 
Another furr sibling
Parents and children 7 or older (she is young as does like to jump when excited)
Someone committed to obedience training to help her to be the best dog she can be.
 
What you will get in return is a love bug.  She really does like to be near her people and she likes to give many kisses.  She has a very soft coat and her feathering is just starting to come in.  She is medium red on top and has a lighter chest and tummy.
 
If you are interested in knowing more about Heidi, please contact your placement advisor.
 
XOXO
Heidi

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Heidi wanted to give her fans a brief update on what she has been up to lately.  She must be feeling somewhat better as she will sometimes play with the rest of the pack.  She will chase after a ball or the flying disc if it is thrown a short distance while the rest of the pack is chasing another ball.  I wish I could capture a good picture of Heidi in chase as she is a bit awkward and not always so graceful.  When she gets hold of the flying disc she will swing her head from side to side and throw it up in the air.
 
Heidi has an appointment to see the wonderful vets and staff at the ACH clinic this Saturday morning.  We will run a few more tests and see if everything is okay.  Hopefully we will also be able to get her up to date with vaccinations and have her micro-chipped.  Keep your paws crossed for good news.
 
Heidi will benefit greatly from some obedience training.  She has learned sit, down, and come so far.  We are working on taking treats gently.  She sometimes like to grab, I would guess she didn't get a lot of treats from her life on the streets.  We are also working on potty training.  She has kept her crate clean every day but she has had a few potty accidents in the evening as FD has not fully learned her signals.
 
Thank you to Mary & Paul T. for sponsoring this RAGOM girl!  We will send another update after our next vet appointment.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Heidi wanted to share some good news to all of her RAGOM fans regarding her bone marrow biopsy and latest CBC (complete blood count) test.    Dr. Hardy of the U of M said "her BM (bone marrow) shows signs of producing new blood cells--they are still immature but they will mature and it is great news that the bone marrow is working again. He said there were a few odd looking cells that they couldn't identify but they didn't worry about those. Their diagnosis is either a toxic substance or an infectious process. We don't need to know for sure, he said, because she is recovering". 

 

Heidi had another CBC done on Thursday night and it too showed signs of improvement.  The blood transfusion that was done at the U of M really has helped this little girl. 

 

What FD is trying very hard to do is to get some pounds on this frail little girl.  She weighs in at only 40 pounds and you can feel all of her rib bones and spinal column.  Getting her to eat is no easy feat.  We have tried a blend of canned wet food mixed with dry kibble.  She can spit the dry kibble out faster than a contestant at a watermelon seed spitting contest.  We have tried turkey breast with some success.  This morning she turned her nose up at some tasty "satin ball" hamburger food.  FD will keep trying and eventually we will find the right food for Heidi.

 

Because Heidi was a stray and living live on the run it is very likely that she did eat something which was toxic and caused these problems.  For now we will continue to give her lots of good things to eat and plenty of love.  In a couple of weeks we will bring her back to the vet clinic for another CBC test.  Provided things are good then we hope to bring her up to date on vaccinations, get her micro-chipped,  and also find out a possible time frame for a spay procedure.

 

For Heidi being such a young dog (6 to 8 months old) she follows commands very well.  She is young and is very inquisitive of new things.  She has done some counter surfing but was disappointed to find that FD puts all of the good stuff away and out of reach.  She went for a long walk yesterday with the pack and did really well after she found out that her position was in between the two other goldens and trailing behind one cocker spaniel.  Heidi is medium red in color and is so soft thanks to her first FM (Dayle) for a great bath on Thursday.

 

Heidi would like to thank Mary and Paul T. for their generosity in sponsoring her!  Your support is greatly appreciated and will help defray the medical costs incurred.  Thank You!

Heidi also says thank you to Kathy for getting her to RAGOM and kisses to all of her fans!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Heidi is certainly a puppy! She may not have a lot of strength and stamina but her puppiness shows through. Today she tore up a roll of toilet paper and she has been carrying my shoes, socks, whatever she can find, all over the house. She brings them out and shakes them around. She has destuffed the new toy the Girl Scouts gave her. Digging holes in the yard (see the dirty nose pic). Ah well...that is what makes puppies adorable! She and Chloe 09 224 are good buddies and wrestle a lot. They have had a few scuffles but more like fighting sisters than fighting dogs because when the scuffle is over they both immediately give each other kisses. So cute!
 
The final bone marrow results are not in yet and I am trying to be patient! She does not seem to have a fever and her gums are just a bit pale but nothing like last weekend. She is still eating very well. The little stinker still counter surfs and prefers to eat alone so the other dogs don't get a chance to come near her food. I have her almost completely switched to dry kibble and she eats 3 times a day. It is hard to tell from her pictures how skinny she is. Suffice it to say you could have a skeletal anatomy lesson by just running your hands over any part of her body.
 
Keep your paws crossed for good news!