I am happy to report that our little girl, Willow, is slowly improving. She is still in danger of Re-Feeding Syndrome, which is why she has only gained two pounds since we rescued her. She is still in Critical Care being fed a small amount of high caloric food every four hours to prevent her from getting Re-Feeding Syndrome.
The extra food has finally taken away most of her drive to eat everything she can get her mouth around. Today is the first day she will be allowed to go without her muzzle. Willow is skin and bones and therefore needs to have a padded bed with lots of blankets for her comfort level. The muzzle allows the Medical Staff to do that without her eating the bedding and her IV lines.
The type of muzzle CVRC uses is one that does not pose any danger to the dog. Willow can drink water, take treats with it on, and have no issues with getting plenty of air. What is does not allow is for her to get to her IV lines or bedding to chew. Willow has shown everyone that given half a second unsupervised, is all it takes for her to remove her IV line and eat it with a huge cone on.
The best news is her IV lines have been removed, and she is resting comfortably with the muzzle OFF. Everyone is watching her like a hawk, but so far as long as she gets to eat every four hours, she appears to be content and relaxed. Getting a dog as starved and sick as Willow was when she arrived is not an easy task. Food becomes the enemy until you get their body to function normally again.
Willow's condition was further compromised by her having foreign matter in her GI Tract that was causing a blockage. A lot of foreign matter was removed when Dr. Welch and Dr. Tynam did Willow's scope. The smaller, metal items they could not remove have since been passing with the addition of extra food she has been getting.
It may not seem like Willow is improving, but she has made lots of progress. The last transfusion has held, and her blood is now regenerating. The food she has been eating has also stabilized her glucose levels, and she no longer needs for us to supplement. Lots of positive results that will eventually enable her to leave the hospital.
We still need as many funds as we can raise for this very sick pup. We are just at the beginning of Willow's Journey to healing, but the good news is we are making progress. Any amount would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your love and support for this extraordinary girl.
