Willa

Posted: September 26th, 2009

Meet Willa:

This email was received from the Baltimore Animal Shelter this morning (09/26/09):

 

Hi Everyone,

This adult female just arrived. She had been hit by a car and has a broken jaw, broken leg and swollen tongue. She needs to be rescued immediately. SHE WAS GIVEN PAIN MEDICATION and is receiving supportive care. BARCS does not have the resources to treat her injuries. We will be keeping her as comfortable as possible until the end of the day but she must be rescued TODAY.
 
Willa has been pulled from the shelter by ABR and as of 5:00 today, is undergoing emergency surgery. ABR is already struggling financially and Willa’s surgery will be very costly.  Any donations towards Willa’s care would be most appreciated.

WARNING- EXTREMELY GRAPHIC PHOTO

Willa’s Photo

We added a photo album just for Willa and you can leave your comments and well wishes for her. We’ll hopefully be adding pictures in the next couple of days as she travels on her road to recovery after tomorrow’s surgery (kb 09/29).

 

Updates on Willa:

09/27/09-
8:20 a.m.- As of 8pm last night Kim Barnes heard that they x-rayed her entire body….everywhere. chest, legs, back and so far jaw is shattered. Dr. Molesworth who owns and runs the practice is coming in 1st thing this AM to read the x-rays etc and decide if he can fix her today or if she needs to go to a specialist to have her jaw plated.

2:00 p.m.-  Willa’s jaw is shattered. With a normal broken jaw they would wire the pieces together but there are not any pieces big enough to wire.  She is going to need a plate. Dr. M is going to get her to a specialist on Monday. Initially she couldn’t stand. She is now standing on 3 legs. They will re-X-ray for possible broken toes but they need the swelling to go down. She is being fed intravenously. She is interested in eating but her tongue is too swollen for her to eat. She loves everyone at the vet. Chest x-rays are good. They can’t check her teeth yet because they don’t want to mess with her mouth yet.
 
09/28/09-
Willa will be undergoing surgery on Wednesday morning for a jaw plate and knee surgery. The estimate for the surgery alone is $2,000 (that’s with a substantial discount). Our thoughts and prayers are with you Willa!
 
10/01/09-
We have pictures to post. Willa is doing fine. Will post an update in the morning along with all of the additional donations. We’re having a moment of silence today, or a quiet day today. Jodi lost her personal 4-pawed companion this morning- Chopper. Our thoughts are with you tonight Jodi. Be good to yourself while you heal.
 
10/03/09-
Willa had surgery Wednesday. She had one side of her jaw plated and one side wired. She had her cruciate repaired and meniscus replaced with a cadaver meniscus. We’ve posted pictures of Willa in her photo album before her surgery and hope to have some new pictures of her soon.
 
10/09/09-
Willa may have a scratched cornea or an ulcer on her eye, Dr. Molesworth can treat these. She has kennel cough. Her surgery was 6 hours and 20 minutes. Her leg was 3 times it’s normal size for the first few days, it is now only slightly larger than her other leg. In the days after surgery, she drug herself around with her two front legs and couldn’t stand. She graduated to standing, then to walking on three legs. Today she has started putting the injured leg on the ground. She can now take a 3 minute walk and next week will begin 5 minute walks. Still doing the hot & cold compresses 4x a day. She is a terrific eater, still canned food blended with water. Leila (Willa’s foster mom) has to flush out her mouth with a syringe after every meal. She is gaining noticeable weight, don’t want to stress her out by trying to weigh her. Taking LOTS of antibiotics and pain meds. Willa absolutely loves people and is eager to please. She is VERY attached to Leila and great with her two boys. 
 
10/15/09-
Completely house trained, sleeps on the floor near Leila’s bed. Responds well to voice commands. Now going for 5 minutes walks and putting more weight on injured leg every day. Has a follow-up appointment this week. Leila was thrown off a horse and has 3 broken ribs and a swollen spine.

11/08/09-
We posted some new pictures of Willa (and her foster friends) this morning. She’s recovering beautifully! Willa has to stay with her foster mom for another 2 weeks. There’s a great potential adopter lined up so hopefully we’ll be posting Willa’s Happy Tail story soon. A huge Thank You to each and everyone of you that helped with her medical care!!!!

 

 

The response to Willa’s story from our supporters has been just amazing. We are forever thankful  for the generosity. There’s simply no words that could express our extreme gratitude for the help. American Bulldog Rescue would like to thank the following people and businesses for coming to Willa’s rescue:

Mary+ GRACIE Fox Christopher Capo Tara Rohren William Lowrey
Palace Simulations Annick Le Parque Marie Sarro Timothy Franzen
Robin Feiger Lisa Langeneckert Carol Ann Schirmer Dawn Maynor
Angel Cardenas Dorothy Hewitt Annette Puente Heidi Leonard
David, Deegan &
Big Daddy Fargon		 Allison Ford Michele Schols Dianne Inman
Elizabeth Ackerman Jay Kay Products Lauren Albanese Leslie Shakespeare
Thomas Becker Angela Sera Elizabeth Cling Holly Brown
Agnes Eichman Barbara Robertson Travis Shaw Min E. Bear & Sam *
Sally E. Mitchell Phyllis Colmar Teri Parkhouse Sharon Long
Tara Eisenhard Robert Cooper

Craig, Melea,
Jordon & Jacob

 Vicki Kloske
Gary Brod Debby Cornacchia    

 

 * Min and Sam wanted to send a donation to help with Willa’s vet care. They are very grateful that they have you for a voice. With love from Susan who is owned by these two bully loves.

Categories: Rescue Reality