Tessa 10-172

Profile

Sponsored by:Cindy G., Kraelyn (08-062) & Lilly (10-042)
~ Pawing it forward! Congratulations on your successful surgery! ~

Hello Sweet Tessa!  Welcome to RAGOM!  You can’t keep this little girl down…

Tessa is an 11 month-old pure-bred GR, and was surrendered to RAGOM after being hit by a truck in her neighborhood. She broke her left front leg near the elbow and had a nearly 360 degree laceration around her left ankle.  

Her owner couldn’t afford the surgery she needed and surrendered her into our care.
Tessa is a furry ball of energy who just wants to be with/next to/on top of the people she is with!  She loves to have her belly and ears scratched and I suspect she will be a very playful girl once she isn’t hampered by the terrible-horrible-no-good-really-bad cone, and the orders from the mean, old vet who wants her to stay quiet while her leg heals (Seriously!  What is wrong with that guy?!?).   Tessa is pretty sure he doesn’t know what he is talking about, because she thinks it is just fine to jump, run, roll and play despite what must be considerable pain!  Keeping her calm really equals keeping her in her crate… Fortunately for her, FM does have to take her to the bathroom once in a while and she takes complete advantage – Getting as much action as possible into the 10 feet from the crate to the door, down the two steps to the yard, and for the duration of the 30 seconds it takes her to do her business.

We are waiting for some more information from the vet she originally saw in South Dakota to determine where to go medically from here, but this is what we know so far:  The open fracture of her ulna has been surgically repaired and the vet is optimistic about her future leg function.  The staples from the surgery are still in, but will be removed in the next few days.    She has a large fluid pocket over the elbow (the vet will decide whether or not to drain it when we see him again this week) and the entire leg remains swollen, as well.  The stitches placed around the cut on her ankle have been removed, but the area is raw because she keeps catching the scabs on her e-collar and knocking them off.  After talking to the vet, we are going to try wrapping it up to see if we can protect the scab long enough for it to heal up!

Here are her vitals:

11 Months old (b. 7.6.09)
Approximately 60 lbs (could stand to lose a few, especially considering her leg)
Only one accident in the house so far (FM’s fault as I thought I could do “one more thing” before I let Tessa out)

Crate trained and likes to hang out in there

Knows her name and some basic commands, “sit”, “come”, “kennel”, but not “stay”

Gets along great with other dogs, but is so people-focused I think she would be fine by herself as well
Probably cat approved (wants to chase, but stops immediately when I call her and shows no aggression)

Loves kids (but may knock over little ones until we can help her get her jumping under control)
Will need either a physical or invisible fence (got hit chasing a dog)

This is a high-energy girl who will be ready to romp once her leg heals!  She will be a super pet for anyone who loves to be bowled over with puppy energy and slathered with kisses and love! More to come as we get to know Tessa!  

 

At a Glance #10-172

Golden Retriever Born: July 2009
Female 59 lbs

Status: Adopted

Profile

Sponsored by:Cindy G., Kraelyn (08-062) & Lilly (10-042)
~ Pawing it forward! Congratulations on your successful surgery! ~

Hello Sweet Tessa!  Welcome to RAGOM!  You can’t keep this little girl down…

Tessa is an 11 month-old pure-bred GR, and was surrendered to RAGOM after being hit by a truck in her neighborhood. She broke her left front leg near the elbow and had a nearly 360 degree laceration around her left ankle.  

Her owner couldn’t afford the surgery she needed and surrendered her into our care.
Tessa is a furry ball of energy who just wants to be with/next to/on top of the people she is with!  She loves to have her belly and ears scratched and I suspect she will be a very playful girl once she isn’t hampered by the terrible-horrible-no-good-really-bad cone, and the orders from the mean, old vet who wants her to stay quiet while her leg heals (Seriously!  What is wrong with that guy?!?).   Tessa is pretty sure he doesn’t know what he is talking about, because she thinks it is just fine to jump, run, roll and play despite what must be considerable pain!  Keeping her calm really equals keeping her in her crate… Fortunately for her, FM does have to take her to the bathroom once in a while and she takes complete advantage – Getting as much action as possible into the 10 feet from the crate to the door, down the two steps to the yard, and for the duration of the 30 seconds it takes her to do her business.

We are waiting for some more information from the vet she originally saw in South Dakota to determine where to go medically from here, but this is what we know so far:  The open fracture of her ulna has been surgically repaired and the vet is optimistic about her future leg function.  The staples from the surgery are still in, but will be removed in the next few days.    She has a large fluid pocket over the elbow (the vet will decide whether or not to drain it when we see him again this week) and the entire leg remains swollen, as well.  The stitches placed around the cut on her ankle have been removed, but the area is raw because she keeps catching the scabs on her e-collar and knocking them off.  After talking to the vet, we are going to try wrapping it up to see if we can protect the scab long enough for it to heal up!

Here are her vitals:

11 Months old (b. 7.6.09)
Approximately 60 lbs (could stand to lose a few, especially considering her leg)
Only one accident in the house so far (FM’s fault as I thought I could do “one more thing” before I let Tessa out)

Crate trained and likes to hang out in there

Knows her name and some basic commands, “sit”, “come”, “kennel”, but not “stay”

Gets along great with other dogs, but is so people-focused I think she would be fine by herself as well
Probably cat approved (wants to chase, but stops immediately when I call her and shows no aggression)

Loves kids (but may knock over little ones until we can help her get her jumping under control)
Will need either a physical or invisible fence (got hit chasing a dog)

This is a high-energy girl who will be ready to romp once her leg heals!  She will be a super pet for anyone who loves to be bowled over with puppy energy and slathered with kisses and love! More to come as we get to know Tessa!  

 

Updates

Sunday, July 11, 2010

So, Tessa fans… A lot has happened since we last updated. 

First, Tessa discovered The Boat.  The Boat is something she thoroughly ignored the first couple days at The Cabin.  We couldn’t take her out because it was really choppy and we didn’t want her to be uncomfortable, or further injure her leg with all the bouncing.  Finally, on the Fourth of July, we had a nice calm evening.  She got in like a champ – no fear --  and took a long ride with her nose twitching in the air and her ears flapping!  It was great!  Then, when she came down to the lake the next day, we couldn’t keep her out – she kept trying to sneak her way in for another ride!  So, she can add that to her list of good things!  She did reasonably well with all the fireworks, too.  She didn’t want to be outside, but was comfortable enough in her crate to go to sleep despite all the booms.

On the fifth, Foster Dad drove her down to Bloomington to wait for surgery with her new friend Cindy, and Cindy’s two RAGOM girls.  Together they celebrated her birthday with another first for Tessa, Frosty Paws! Yum!  After a few days of great snuggling, Cindy got her dropped off with Dr. R in Inver Grove Heights.  Big, sloppy, thank you kisses to Cindy and the girls for helping us out!

Tessa had surgery Wednesday morning.  After a thorough assessment, Dr. R determined that she would try and repair Tessa’s leg rather than amputate.  When she got in, she found that some healing had taken place in the bone (good news) and that the alignment was acceptable.  In order to give her the best chance at recovery, she inserted a plate and screws at the end of the break that was not healing in order to hold it tightly to the bone.  She removed the tension band used in the original surgery, but left the pin in place as she felt it was helping to stabilize the fracture.  The pin may need to be removed in the future if it loosens as the bone heals, but otherwise will stay in place.

With that done, a quick assessment of her right foot indicated it was healing as well as could be expected with the amount of weight she is bearing.  Dr. R. also did x-rays of her hips to check for possible hip dysplasia.  The films indicated that there is some looseness in the hips, though the joint is intact.  This has resulted in mild arthritis on both sides. 

After a long car ride back to Iowa, and a restless and uncomfortable night, Tessa and her pretty green bandage arrived at Iowa State to begin PT Thursday morning.  They are updating us frequently on her progress.  When they called last night, they had begun to work with her on passive range of motion activities and she was doing well.  By the end of this week, or early next week, they will begin more active rehab.  As always, she is a little scared in new environments, but she seems to be settling into the groove.

More to come as her therapy progresses and her prognosis becomes more clear, and a big thank you to Dr. R and her team for taking great care of Tessa!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Hi guys!  Sorry it’s been so long since we updated, but there’s never a dull moment around here!  Just when you think you are settling in, it’s time to get in the car and go somewhere…So, the first stop was… You guessed it!  Another vet.  I feel like I’m on tour here, and these are not destinations that are high on my list.  Now that I think about it, the vet isn’t on my list at all.  FM doesn’t ask whether I want to go or not though, she just snaps that leash on me and we’re off.I got a little frisky, but Foster Mom eventually got me in the door and we checked out the new place.  Pretty busy, not too impressive, but everyone liked me so that was good.  We talked to a couple of ladies who  tried (key word) to hold me down, and messed around with my legs a lot and decided that they could fix me up.  To make a long, boring story short (lots of phone calls, Tessa this, Tessa that) I am going to make another stop in a place called the Cities, where I am going to see a different doctor.  She is going to give me one last check, and if things look good, she’s going in.  I say, get on with it already!Now here is the extra-good-girl-at-the-vet- bonus… The second stop on the trip was a place called The Cabin.  The Cabin is my new favorite place!  First of all we got to “go” to get here, and I love to “go”.  Then when we got here there was so much to check out!  They have all sorts of grass here, trees, woods, small furry creatures and best of all, The Lake.  The Lake is all new to me, and unlike some of the other new concepts Foster Mom has introduced me to (like “wait”, “quiet”, and of course the tour of veterinarians) this one is all good.I had my first small swim and a nice gentle wade on the sandbar.  It feels soooo good to move around without stepping down on my dumb-old legs!  And get this!  I am a great swimmer!

Then, Foster Grandma took me up on the dock and gave me a wonderful towel massage and a good brushing.  She must be very proud of her work because she keeps telling me how beautiful I am and how soft I feel!  Check out the pictures of me on my adventures at The Cabin!

 

FM says I could really use a sponsor because I am a costly little bugger.  They are going to use special plates in my leg to make sure it heals up really good this time and I get to go to the spa (they said rehab, but spa sounds better to me) for three weeks of therapeutic stuff to help me get my range of motion back (I don’t know anything about that, but FM says its “not cheap” – whatever that means).  So, if anyone thinks I am pretty sweet and wants to help out with this fixer-upper, handy-man special, I’m all for it!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Well, Sweet Tessa has added two new words to her vocabulary in the last few days, “Go” and “Bed”.  Both make her very happy!

She has figured out that it is usually a good thing to be invited to go in the car (like errands or a trip to visit foster Grandma’s house) and only rarely means a stop at the vet – which she can resist once she gets there by refusing to get out of the car!  Check out the picture of her in one of her new favorite places!

She also loves to snuggle on the bed and I think she would sleep there overnight with no problem.  I haven’t let her try yet because I am afraid that the 2 large people, the 95 lb resident golden, and the resident cat that share the queen size bed (which used to seem soooo roomy) might accidently push her off in the night!  During the day if I lay down to read or snooze, she curls up right beside me.

We are still working on sitting and waiting for dinner.  Her latest strategy is to lay down and crawl toward the bowl, testing to see if I will let her have it as long as she doesn’t stand up...  A creative idea, but unfortunately not one that gets her dinner any faster!  She has lost some weight since I first posted.  The original estimate I received was 60 lbs.  Then she was 56 at her vet visit here, and down to 52 the other day.  Her waist is starting to show, and the vet hopes the lighter weight will help with her recovery.

Speaking of which, we are planning to do follow-up x-rays next week to see how her leg is healing.  Hopefully, if the bone is healing up nicely the vet will let her do some short walks and gradually increase her activity.  She still has a significant limp (it got some better for a while and then I think she tweaked it again), but she got to take her bandage off the laceration yesterday! Yeah!  And you know that means adding another new word to her vocabulary… B – A – T – H!

                                               

Just a reminder of what Tessa is looking for in a forever home:

A fenced yard

Other dogs or cats are fine – or not!
Someone with patience to help her with her fear of loud noises

Kids are fine (jumping is considerably improved)

Someone who loves snuggles, silky ears, walking, and the thump, thump, thump of a wagging tail!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Hi Everyone!  This is Tessa! 

I went to see that vet -- you know, the “Keep her quiet” guy?  He obviously knows nothing about what golden retrievers need (FM explained “quiet” to me and it is not a concept I am interested in exploring further).  But, he does understand how to accessorize!  He took my staples out, let me ditch that dated Elizabethan cone and gave me a pretty pink leg warmer that matches my collar and my tongue!  It’s very fashion-forward and I look fantastic in pink!  I’d show you my before and after pictures, but trust me you don’t want to see the before!  My foster fur brother was so jealous while FM was giving me a fresh leg warmer, we gave him a small pink leg warmer too. Check out our picture! Solidarity!

 

I have to tell you about this thing I love to do.  You know when you are super lucky and come upon a fish that’s been hanging around in the sun and sand for a couple of days?  And you roll on it and wiggle around, and it feels so good and it smells so good?  And you keep thinking if you could squish it a little further you would absorb its very essence?  Well, there aren’t too many fish in this neighborhood, so I like to do it to my people instead!  They don’t smell quite as good and they are much harder to squish, but I give it the good ol’ GR try!  They don’t seem to mind.  In fact, they think it is pretty funny to watch!  And – bonus --- I don’t have to have a bath afterword either!

I did share some of my secrets with Foster Mom this week.  I let her know that I don’t like sharp, loud noises like doors slamming, because I startle easily and the sound makes me want to run and hide.  I come back out pretty quickly though, and the good news is that thunderstorms don’t bother me at all except for those huge lightning cracks that startle everyone else, too!  I’m also showing FM how smart I am by learning to not jump for attention and by sitting and waiting for my dinner (that one’s really hard!). Once in a while if someone new approaches me I pee a little.  FM thinks this might get better as I get to know more people and find out that most of them love me.  She says it is hard to pee and get good scratches at the same time. I’m going to try real hard to remember that little tidbit because I really like the scratches!

FM shared some secrets with me, too!  Yesterday was her anniversary with FD – can you say “fillet mignon” – cause I can now!  I got to have a couple of small bites on my dinner!  Then, because of this same anniversary thing, all of us got in the car and went to a place called Cold Stone.  The other fur-butt and I got to split a kiddie cup.  Outstanding!  I like those kinds of secrets!
I’m going to have sweet dreams tonight!