Puggles & Pitties

Wow, we have got one sick little girl on our hands.

So, as fate would have it, this dog’s name, as given by her previous owners, is KARMA. Ironic, no?

I just got off the phone with Dr Kristen Van Maele of Animal Medical Center in El Cajon. She’s the doctor who performed the surgery on Karma yesterday.

First, to clarify, Karma does NOT have torsion, the twisting of the stomach. She had dystocia, which simply means “difficult childbirth.”

However, Dr Van Maele said this is one of the Top 3 worst c-sections she’s ever seen. Karma also has peritonitis, which is a generalized infection in the abdomen cavity. She also had a severe infection in her uterine wall. Some of the puppies in her uterus had mummified, which is why they were not able to be born. One of these had become lodged in the birth canal.

Dr Van Maele performed the c-section (the babies had died in utero because the owners has waited 2 days to bring her in for help) and the ovaro-hysterectomy (spay). There are now drains in her abdomen so that the infection can drain and she’s on IV antibiotics.

The biggest concern is that they were not able to remove the entire infected uterus. Apparently in order for the rest of Karma’s lady bits to function properly, they need to leave part of the birth canal in the dog, including a “stump” of the uterus. They removed more than they usually do, but were still not able to remove every part that was infected. There is a chance that because this infection remains inside her, she will become septic and die.

Additionally, Dr Van Maele advised that most dogs who have abdominal drains have a severe drop in their protein levels, to the point where they require 1 – 2 plasma transfusions.

Dr Van Maele had not known at the time of the surgery that we had taken over care of the dog. She said had she known she probably would have recommended euthansia at the time Karma was already under.

She has a long road ahead of her and still may not recover. The Chip-In will in all likelihood need to be increased to cover an extended hospital stay as well as the transfusions. They are faxing a new estimate over and we will update this page as soon as we receive it.

Please keep Karma in your thoughts and prayers, and thank you for all of your help and good thoughts.

OH – if anyone is interested in making a donation directly to the hospital, they are:

Animal Medical Center
http://amcofeastcounty.net/default.aspx
(619) 444-4246
600 Broadway Ave
El Cajon, CA 92021

Please reference Kelly Gibson / Karma.

If you’d like to donate via ChipIn, here is the link:
http://pugglesnpitties.chipin.com/pregnant-pibble-emergency-surgery

Thank you!!