Sweet Betty is slowly improving. Since the last update, we have discovered that she is 13 years old. The Owners came forward and told the Animal Control officers their story about her missing. She will remain with Noah's Arks Rescue and will not be returned to them based on the condition she was found in and the fact she had not received medical care. I could go on and on but have chosen to focus on Betty and do everything we can to get her back some quality of Life. The Animal Control officers were great when it came to Betty's welfare. They wanted her to get the love and support that she so needed. Betty has improved this past week. She still doesn't eat or drink as well as we would like. Her bloodwork improved enough for us to do surgery on her this morning. We removed the large mass on her back that had ruptured and the smaller one near her tail. Both masses have been sent off for biopsies. She was stable and did great during her procedure. We have chosen to not remove her mammary gland tumors until she has improved a lot more. We do not want to do anything that will cause her pain that will last for quite a while. The surgery we did today is not as invasive as the mammary gland surgery will be. There also might be a time when we decide to not do surgery on her tumors. It all depends on how she is progressing. Her spirits are up and we occasionally get a slight tail wag. She is definitely happier than she has been since we rescued her. We also spoke to the lovely Lady that picked Betty up on the side of the road. We are so thankful she chose to stop and offer assistance for Betty to get to the vet. As it turned out, the Veterinary practice she took Betty to was the initial one she had seen for spay surgery 3 years prior. The Vets had no idea Betty was a dog they had ever seen before. They were horrified by her condition. We have done more bloodworm to make sure our sweet girl will not need a transfusion. She has been borderline. As I said earlier, a transfusion has it's own set of risk. We do not do them, unless an animals life depends on it. Betty is still in ICU being showered with lots and lots of love and encouragement. She has her own schedule that she likes to stick to. She will eat in the morning and in the afternoon but refuses to eat in the evening. All she cares about doing in the evening is sleeping. The problem is that we need to get more calories in her. She is a stubborn little Lady that when she makes up her mind, no one can change it. We are all beginning to adapt to her schedule and do all we can during her so called Business Hours. We all love and adore this incredible dog. I cherish all of my dogs and do whatever I can in their latter years. Those are the years they need us to give back all the unconditional love they have so freely given to us. We are hopeful that in a couple of weeks, Betty will be strong enough to get out of ICU. She gets lots of short walks outside all during the day. Those seem to be the best parts of the day for her. Keep Betty in your prayers. If you can donate toward her on-going medical bills, we would greatly appreciate it.
