UNION, SC.....We were contacted by Animal Control concerning a beautiful four-year-old Red Heeler that had been hit by a car and was in shock from all the injuries. This sweet pup was seen by a Vet but needed a Specialists, or they would have to PTS. The original e-mail said she had four broken legs and was in incredible pain. I immediately said we would take her because I knew no one else would. Minnie Pearl was taken to Carolina Veterinary Specialists in Matthews, NC where she was immediately taken to the ER, and Dr. Sean Gallivan took over her care since he was on call.
Minnie Pearl does not have four broken legs but has three and also has a broken pelvis in addition to a lot of other things going on. Radiographs revealed a fracture of the right radius and ulna, fracture of the left distal tibia and fibula, fracture of the right ilial body, craniolateral luxation of the left elbow, left sacroiliac luxation, fracture of the left ischiatic notch, and pubic fractures. On top of all this, someone had stapled shut a wound she had that was now terribly infected. This sweet pup was a hot mess and in terrible pain. The ER Team got her stabilized for the night so the Surgical Team could take over in the morning.
Surgery got together and decided they had to start stabilizing some of the breaks to give her some relief. We have been working on Minnie Pearl for the past week, and there is still more surgery to do. We have seen a lot of broken pups, but this one seems to have been hit hard enough to have been thrown with incredible force. Dr. Gallivan repaired the pelvis and the tibia in hopes it would give Minnie Pearl some much-needed relief. It helped, but she was still in incredible pain. We had to wait a while for her to recover from the surgery before Dr. Nanfelt could do her surgical procedures. I am not sure if Minnie Pearl has a very low tolerance for pain or if the pain had gotten completely out of control for so long that it was hard to get her comfortable. She has been in ICU since she arrived and will have to stay there until she is stable and comfortable.
Minnie Pearl has an entire Team of Specialists over-seeing her Care. They finally got Minnie's pain under control so the next phase of her surgery could be done.. So far so good but this pup is having a difficult time. One of the main areas of concern is where her leg was stapled shut. Her culture came back that she is growing Enterococcus (susceptible to the Clavamox she has been on) and Staph Pseudointermedius (resistant to most things, MRSP - but susceptible to chloramphenicol, which she was started on this morning). I think the bulk of her discomfort is coming from her infection and her right sciatic nerve that was damaged. Minnie Pearl refuses to use that leg. We are not sure if it hurts or if she is so used to it hurting that she will not even give it a chance to heal. The other issue we are dealing with is the leg has become very swollen which is why more antibiotics were added.
This wonderful pup is still in the throes of recovery and needs more surgery. She will have to remain in ICU until we get the infection under control and the swelling has gone down. Minnie Pearl's bills are through the roof, and right now, we do not see the light at the end of the tunnel. We have to keep doing what we can to get on the other side of her injuries, but for now, she has to stay in ICU. We cannot afford for her to even take on step backward with the infections she has. Please, DONATE toward this sweet dog. You know as well as I do that she would be DEAD if we had not stepped up for her. We WILL get her put back together, but we are a long way from that happening. If you can't Donate, then please, forward to all of your animal-loving friends so they can help us with her care.
Minnie Pearl is going to be a wonderful dog to adopt once we get her well. We just have to have the funds so we can do everything possible to save her. Thanks for caring and making her Journey to Heal and find Love, possible.
