Truffle

Truffle arrived into rescue late on Sunday, October 23rd, after a long drive from somewhere near Lincoln, NE. Our wonderful volunteers, Katie and Heather, handled the transport and it was not an easy trip. Poor Truffle was scared to death and would only get back inside the truck if her traveling companion Sam would go in first and show the way. She was pretty stressed out when she finally arrived to CO where she was picked up by her foster mom, Deirdre.

Truffle's story is a very sad one. She came to us from a puppy mill where she was bred so many times that her nipples are about four inches long. She also was locked in a cage that was too small for her, evidenced by the scars along her spine. She’s missing a chunk out of her ear, her nails were so overgrown they were starting to curl under, her eyes were very red and irritated, she was covered in calluses and she was leaking some sort of discharge.

We were pretty concerned about the leaking in particular, so we decided to make her a vet appointment immediately for the following day. Truffle was seen by Huron Animal Hospital on Monday, October 24th. They gave her a physical exam and drew blood for some tests, but they told us it was highly likely that she may have a condition called Pyometra or Endometriosis.

Truffle went with Deirdre to work and then home again so that she could be supervised at all times while we waiting for the results of the blood test. As of Wednesday, Truffle still had not gone to the bathroom since she arrived on Sunday and she had not been drinking or eating. We decided to take her to see Dr. Landry at TLC Animal Hospital in Lafayette for a follow-up emergency vet visit because we were very worried!

Her blood work looked good. The x-ray was inconclusive. The doctor did notice a fluid filled uterus which is draining and all signs point to Pyometra, Endometriosis, and Vaginitis. In addition, poor Truffle has a condition called Entropion. Entropion occurs when the eyelids and therefore, the lashes are turned in towards the cornea. This is why Truffle is tearing and has conjunctivitis. If allowed to persist, permanent damage to the cornea will lead to blindness so we need to act quickly and have it corrected through surgery. As if that wasn't bad enough, she also has spondolosis pretty bad in 2 areas, which means her spine is fused together and painful. He will be prescribing pain meds to use as needed for that. He thinks that she is probably older that 4 due to the condition of her spine and her teeth, but we were told by the miller that she was 4, so it is hard to say.

The Pyometra is life threatening and we were told we needed to do surgery immediately. Dr Landry requested she stay the night for observation and he plans to operate first thing on Thursday, October 27th.

Truffle is a very sweet, very scared girl right now. She needs lots of prayers and her surgery will be very expensive, so if you'd like to donate to help us cover some of the costs involved, please do so!

Oct 27, 2005 am

Truffle went with Deirdre to work and then home again so that she could be supervised at all times while we waited for the results of the blood test. As of Wednesday, Truffle still had not gone to the bathroom since she arrived on Sunday and she had not been drinking or eating. We decided to take her to see Dr. Landry at TLC Animal Hospital in Boulder for a follow-up emergency vet visit because we were very worried!

Oct 27, 2005 pm

Truffle underwent surgery and did very well! Dr. Landry found that she had very cystic ovaries and a pretty severe case of Endometriosis. When he removed her uterus, a flood of urine came out, so she finally went potty! He was able to successfully fix her entropion and he also scaled her teeth. She woke up from her anesthesia without a problem.

Now, it is time for recovery! She is very excited to get home with Deirdre and Greg to start working on gaining some confidence AND some weight. We are all very relieved that everything went well and she is okay.

11-15-05

Truffle is doing much better physically. She recovered quickly from her surgeries and is responding well to the pain medicine for her spondylosis. She had a much-needed bath this weekend and seemed to enjoy her fresh new scent. Truffle still hasn’t come around in terms of trust or confidence, but she’s making baby steps. She’s spending more of her day standing upright instead of crunched. She loves her foster sisters and follows them everywhere. She’s still very scared of people and will run from her foster parents when they walk toward her, except when she’s lying down. When she’s lying down and feeling secure, she seems to enjoy being pet. Truffle is making slow progress. It will take a lot of time and work to build her trust, but we’re confident that soon this sweet little girl will see just how much she’s loved and start to come out of her shell.

12-7-05

Truffle has been struggling with bouts of diarrhea since she came into rescue. A few days ago she vomited as well, so we decided to have her seen by a vet again.

Dr. Landry saw Truffle December 6th and he did a fecal to see what is going on with her. She has an overgrowth of all sorts of bacteria, intestinal parasites, and stress colitis. She is also on Rimadyl for her spinal issue, which is contributing to the problem as well.

Colitis is an inflammation of the large bowel (colon). This inflammation may be acute (sudden onset of brief duration) or chronic (long-term), which would affect her normal bowel habits long term. Dr. Landry has prescribed metronidazol and asked that we cease using the Rimadyl for the time being. We are hopeful that Truffle is only suffering from an acute case that will be cured in a couple weeks on meds.

1-03-2006

Truffle is feeling much better, is eating well, and is starting to put on some weight. She’s making baby steps in terms of coming out of her shell in the house, but she’s still very frightened. Out of the house, though, she’s a completely different dog. She loves to go for walks and to the dog park. Her first trip to the dog park brought tears to her foster mom’s eyes—she romped around, ears flapping, tail wagging, and even approached new humans and let them pet her. She’s been visiting the park several times a week, and she loves it. Whenever another Great Dane comes into the park, she lights up and follows him or her around.

She still adores her foster sisters, especially Daisy, the alpha dog. She’s rarely more than a step behind Daisy, though she is starting to get a little more independent and go outside or upstairs by herself.

Truffle has a long way to go in terms of trusting people, but she’s learning a little more everyday!

02/24/06

Truffle has been gaining weight since her foster family started adding wet food to her kibble. She seems to be feeling well, and continues to make emotional progress. A friend came over last night who hadn’t seen her since December and commented on how far she’s come—she even sat next to the new person and allowed her to pet her! The dog park is still her favorite place in the world. She bounces around with the other dogs, but she never lets her foster mom and her foster sisters out of her sight. Everyone who meets her falls in love with her!