TUSCUMBIA, AL.....Adorable Judy is an 8-10 year old female Chihuahua that was found on the side of a road in Tuscumbia in a box. We do not have any idea how long she had bee there before a nice lady drove by and went back to pick her up. She was taken to the Colbert County Animal Shelter. We were already working with the shelter to get some dogs to safety after the terrible storms they had. Judy is named after the wonderful Adoption Coordinator that let us know about her. When she arrived she was covered with fleas and was dirty all over. Her nails were so long they had curled into the pads of her feet and she could not walk. Her ears are terribly infected and she does not have any hearing at all. She is covered with scabs and bald patches which we believe is from demodex. This wonderful little dog has been through HELL and back. Her back legs have to be operated on because she has bilateral luxating patellas. Her legs cross in the back when she tries to walk. On top of everything else, she is BLIND. We do not have a clue what has happened to this poor little ANGEL but are going to do everything we can to put her back together again. We are going to be treating her in stages. Once we get one area taken care of, then we will move on to the next medical issue. We have to first get her demodex under control and then her ears which are terrible. Her eyes will be done next to see if we can restore some of her eyesight. Only after we have her comfortable and on the mend will we do surgery on her rear legs. It is so sad for Judy to have been abandoned like she was with no food or water. She will be with us for as long as it takes to get her well. She is so sweet and loving and is finally beginning to realize she is safe and loved. JUDY is in Columbia, SC being treated.
UPDATE ON JUDY.....She has had a terrible time of it since her surgery. She had surgery to fix luxating patellas on her rear legs. She was barely able to stand or walk and only briefly when we originally rescued her. Her back legs would cross over in the back because of it. It was heartbreaking to see. All the doctors and surgeons recommended surgery so she would have a chance to ever walk normally again. We did the surgery. This is one of a few times since I have been in rescue that I really thought I had made the wrong decision and Judy was going to pay the ultimate price. I was physically sick over Judy but was more determined than ever to get her through this. After her surgery, she became very fragile and was having a very difficult time. That is normal but we were hoping she would improve a lot more because the main problem was fixed. Judy did not. We decided the best thing to do was to have an MRI done to rule out neurological problems. The MRI came back normal. Our only hope with Judy now was to get her to a rehab specialist that could be hands on and manually work with her legs and spine. Judy is tiny. She barely weighs 2 lbs. and can fit in the palm of your hands. I tucked Judy inside my shirt and off we went to find the best person to get her well. She was happy as a clam and I cried all the way to Aiken, SC where I had to leave her for 6 weeks. After lots of rehab, acupuncture and water therapy, I am delighted to say, Judy can finally walk and walk fast. Her muscles are finally stronger and her limb deformities have straightened out. With all the dogs I take in, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to get them well. The bills for Judy have gone way beyond anything we expected. Her rehab care alone was right under $8,000. That doesn’t even include the MRI or anything else. I am going to do a Chip-In for $4000. in hopes I can recoup some of the funds I personally have in her so I can use those funds to help other abuse cases like Judy. If we get more than the $4000. then I will raise the Chip-In to reflect that. If the funds don’t come in, Judy would have still gotten the care she so desperately needed and is walking. Judy will be the only Chip-In we will be doing this week in hopes we can cover some of her cost. Judy has also seen an eye & ear specialist and we have restored about 50% of her eyesight and hearing with treatment. That will improve as she gets more treatments. She is finally a happy beautiful little pup that can now live a normal life walking, free of pain and suffering. Please, help us with her medical bills by DONATING.
