Sweet mummy Zoey did not seem to be any better after the surgery that removed her dead mammary tissues. The vets who did the procedure said that Zoey did not have enough skin on her stomach to close her wound, thus they only stitched the top and bottom, leaving the middle portion of her stomach open. We were terribly concerned about this and her being susceptible to infection, so we decided to take her to Dr Ly for a second opinion, after her present vet gave the all-clear that she was stable enough to be moved.
An extremely worried Zoey
Waiting for her turn to see Dr Ly
Volunteer, Peishang, assuring Zoey
Boy, are we glad we went for a second opinion! When Dr Ly first laid eyes on Zoey, he was shocked. Dr Ly did a quick check on Zoey and informed us that she was running a high temperature, was about to go into septic shock and could die any time! Dr Ly noted that her abdomen was very hard and bloated, and requested an ultrasound be performed on her. Zoey was given some injections for pain management and to help keep her infection under control. She was admitted immediately and put on drips to stabilize her condition. Dr Ly also put her in the hyperbaric room for Oxygen Therapy as wounds tend to heal faster in a highly oxygenated room.
That’s not all! On top of all these, poor Zoey’s hip was fractured on the right and dislocated on the left! Life has not been kind to this poor stray. All these were likely caused by the impact of her hit and run.
Her stomach was left open by the previous vet
Zoey’s abdominal ultrasound scan showed that her uterus was infected, possibly due to the aftereffect of her puppies that had died while still inside her. Zoey is currently on antibiotics to clear her uterus infection, and her wound is attended to twice daily for cleaning. Zoey is scheduled for surgery this afternoon, to try to stitch up her huge gaping stomach wound. Dr Ly also noticed that her private part was extremely swollen, as if she had TVT or a tumour so whilst she is in surgery, they would also take some flesh and send it off for a biopsy. Her two broken limbs will also need to be fixed during this same surgery. Poor poor Zoey is going to go through so much pain when she awakes. We don’t even dare to imagine the cost of her entire surgical procedure and her stay after.
Her front leg was swollen from water retention and too much poking of needles
Zoey hasn’t exactly been her usual sweet self of late, grouchy and snappy, but with so much pain who wouldn’t be too? She has been through so much pain and suffering as a stray, and as a responsible mommy dog trying to care for and protect her babies from harm. And she is in fact still suffering at this point of time while I’m typing this, and is still in as much pain, albeit slightly lesser if any.
Her private part is extremely swollen, which could be from a tumour or TVT (biopsy needs to be done)
On a side note, our cutie little Lily is currently doing well at her foster place. Though it is too soon now to tell if she is suffering from any neurological damage, let’s pray and hope that she will grow up healthy, safe, happy and loved!
On behalf of Zoey, and her sole survivor, little Lilliputian Lily, thank you!
Written by Venetia Neo
