[KathyinCali]

Good morning,
For those of you who have been following the story of Miss Tweedle, she had her surgery yesterday! Below is a note from her foster mommy, Valeri. Many of you sent cards and gifts to Miss Tweedle and Valeri said she is overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness of YT members. Personally, I can't thank you all enough for your prayers, well wishes and kindness for this angel. She is on her way to being well and ready for her forever home and much in part to your prayers.

Have a happy safe New Year!


Dear Tweedle fans,
Today was the first knee surgery. The right knee was done as planned.
Tweedle incase you did not know has been debarked by her former owner(s).
Debarking is done frequently by breeders and those who want to hoard dogs
but as not to have neighbors notice etc. It is a delicate procedure where
the vocal cords are notched in order to deal with 'volume control'. There is
not a way to do this with precision. You will not know if the dog will be
able to make some sound or none at all. You need to be very careful that
only a tiny amount of cord be removed as not to cause a lot of scar tissue
build up over the years. Tweedle can make no noise, this means that she had
a real butcher job done on her vocal cords; she has extreme scar tissue
which made it almost impossible to intubate her for the surgery. When she
was finally Intubated she was completely purple due to lack of oxygen! Very
scary for just the beginning of the procedure. During the surgery she did
great!!!! She is resting comfortably on medication and the more we keep her
off the leg the better.

She will have her spay, the left knee surgery and a surgical excision of the
scar tissue in her throat to prevent her from having heart failure at a
later date. We are planning for early Feb. I do have a couple of photos from
the surgery, not for the squeamish. I will send later.

Valeri