Am I surprised that it took me more than two months to get this final installation of Heartworms, Heartbreaks, and Healing completed? No, because this has been one hell of a two months. We were deep in the trenches, folks. I mean, it was stressful, tears were shed (by me, of course), and I considered running away from home multiple times. But here we are on the other side and thank God, we can see the light now.
So a recap from Part 1 and Part 2: I have nine dogs and five cats. One dog, Justice, has heartworms and mass cell tumors. Another dog, Maybelline, has come in with heartworms, as well. Could things get worse? Yes, they could.
We had just gotten Maybelline (aka May) back from the shelter during her brief hold. Because of the possibility of kennel cough, we started quarantine as soon as she got back. Ha! That did not work. Within a week, kennel cough spread like wildfire through our pack. As dogs got sick, we segregated them from the pack - in bathrooms, bedrooms, living rooms, even the garage. Soon we had no place to put the sick to keep them from the well. There was coughing, phlegm, and sick dogs everywhere. We were on a rotating schedule of medicines, individual walks, and giving special loving to the sickly. It was exhausting.
In addition to the rotation, we had our special cases that required even MORE attention. Bella, our lab, got so sick that she stopped eating. For me to see my 75 lb baby looking frail and gaunt broke my heart. At the vet's suggestion after day four of no eating, I had to begin force feeding. One spoonful at a time, for two meals a day, for five straight days. At each meal, I had to make a special blended smoothie of boiled chicken, potatoes, and dog food. It was the nastiest thing to ever create, but for my dear dog, I would do anything.
Then we had Biscuit, our Chihuahua mix, who not only had kennel cough, but an ear infection. This poor boy gets ear infections EVERY year. So once every year, we have to fight him to put drops in his inflamed ears, which he hates. Another round of antibiotics and meds for him also.
And finally, we had Justice. Poor, poor Justice. This girl just cannot catch a break. Cancer, heartworms, and now kennel cough. But with already damaged lungs, the kennel cough took it to dangerous levels. We went through several antibiotics, cough meds, and steroids, but nothing was working. She was coughing, wheezing, and could barely breath. We went to the vet where she was given one last antibiotic and told that if it did not work, then there was nothing else they could do and we would have to see a specialist who would have to do a $2,000 lung cleaning. We couldn't afford that. I left that day in tears.
We were three weeks into "the epidemic" as I like to call it and I was at the end of my rope. The dogs were not improving much and it was continuing to spread. And we had one dog who literally was on her last lung. And to make things worse, I was in the midst of the busiest time of the year at work. Crystal...Rope...End.
Then with lots of prayers for patience and for healing...and after some very expensive vet bills, things started getting better. Bella began eating on her own again. Biscuit's ears got better. And Justice's wheezing got less and less. Her lungs will never be perfect, but she now sounds less like a chain smoker and more like a regular dog. We are now about two weeks from the last dog being sick and we are starting to get back on track. We have had a few hiccups in those two weeks, but in general the pack is getting back to themselves.
As I was going through these trials, the constant thought of "did we make a mistake" came up many times. Did we make a mistake in taking in a very sick dog like Justice? Did we further make a mistake in fostering May who then gave our my pack kennel cough? Should we foster again in the future? The answer was that we definitely made the right decision in saving lives. We were sent May and Justice for a reason. They needed patient and loving people to get them through their sicknesses. They needed someone who understands the animal welfare issues that relate to pit bulls. They need people who will continue to take care of them until needed.
However, we can definitely say that we are going to take a small break from fostering after this. We need to get a baseline back for our pack. We need to reassure our babies that they are safe and loved like they always have been. This past three or so months have been an adventure. Like most adventures, though, after, you want some calm. That is what we all need and that is what we will do. It may be a few months or more, but we will get back to taking in other dogs in need. In the meantime, we will volunteer, spread the word about other animals in need and donate. Those three things are needed just as much as fostering.
With every test, there are lessons and we learned some valuable lessons from this, including patience, unconditional love, and how to cope even during the worse. And most importantly, it has taught me about the plight of heartworms in dogs, which has led me to exploring new projects and ways to help. (More on this as time goes on, though.) For all of this, I am thankful.
I will keep you all updated on the progress of the fosters. For now, I am going to go cuddle up with my babies and enjoy health and happiness.
Talk later!
Crystal
