Meaty Bones! (Update on Khaleesi)
 

Update on Leesi: As I’ve posted before, my little one has been through a great deal – Coccidia, tapeworms, fleas, poorly docked tail, food issues, losing hair, etc. We have been making progress and putting on some weight, but has always been small and skinny. She will be 13 weeks old tomorrow.

When I love on her, I often rub my nose and the side of my cheek down the length of her body, perhaps like her mother might do. What little hair she is as is soft and silky and almost irresistible to the touch. Last night when I did this I noticed there was something between her skin and bones ...


... fat, muscles, I don’t know and I don’t care – IT WAS FLESH! She actually has some meat on her bones! :D I can’t tell you how delighted I am!

After hearing about Papa Joe’s family losing little Willow (who had many similarities to Khaleesi - I can’t even go in that thread without cracking up), I am more grateful than ever! Just wanted to share and thank you all for your excellent guidance in helping this little girl on her road to recovery. We've a long way to go, but we've come far!

Congratulations on your excellent nursing that baby through all she has been through! LETS HEAR IT FOR MUSCLES OR FAT!!!!! I am sure you feel like every inch you have clawed, crawled, drug, and struggled forward with this baby, has been gruelling, to say the least....to feel and see you have actually made some gains, is emotionally bolstering! Congratulations to you and your little fighting trouper!

Well, I'm sure a lot of it had to do with luck, but I've tried to give her every chance. Thank you for your kind words. She's actually grown into a couple of her XXXS dresses!

At the first of November we are due back to the vet for her last set of shots (for now) and I may change vets for that visit. The current one doesn’t specialize in small animals (... to put it mildly). His specialty is large farm animals so I don’t feel as confident with him, but he was close and available when we needed him. When I asked about her thinning hair, he said that puppies just do that, but she has lost even more since then (at least half) and that concerns me. If it's just a reaction to meds and illness I'm fine with that. I will keep her warm in the A/C. But, I just want to make sure there is nothing else going on.

We are well on the road to recovery (three steps forward and two steps back) and I do not want to step back any further!

Aw! Wonderful news! She may still loose hair, as any hair that was damaged will continue to fall out. Look for new hair growth at the skin.

I am so glad she is doing better. It has been a hard road for you and Leesi

I had a nice reply and lost it, so I'll just hit the highlights!

Thank you for your well wishes (from both of us). I laugh when I recall that I just wanted a lap dog who would sit and let me pet it while I worked on the computer. It didn't necessarily need to be a Yorkie (I know - blasphemy! ;-)) I envisioned leisurely evenings by the fire, perhaps relaxing and reading a book, which is particularly fantastical because my life wasn't that way before!

Would that I had come here first. I'm sure I wouldn't have taken her so young. The idea of a runt wasn't initially off-putting to me because I grew up around farm animals and always enjoyed bottle-feeding the little runt pigs, but being a runt and taken away from her mother at 6 1/2 weeks old and sick to boot was more than I bargained for, and I'm sure I would have refused had I become educated first.

Having said that, if I hadn't taken her I suspect the Coccidia would have gone undiagnosed and I don't think she would still be with us. That scenario is unacceptable to me now.

Leesi does have short hair covering all of her skin under her longer (now straggly) strands and no real bald spots, with the exception of the back of her ears where she scratched so much. (I guess it was fleas because the vet checked her for ear mites.) I've been putting Skin Works on the spots and even they have a fine regrowth starting now, so maybe I'm just worrying unnecessarily.

So much for highlights! :rolleyes:

Connie,
The Worry Wart