11:00 P.M. Sat. Night. Our 9 Mos. Old “Poppy” Chewed Her E-Collar Off And Now Needs Immediate Life Saving Surgery. Letter From ER Vet. Help Needed.

9 Month Old “Poppy”

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Late Saturday Night, July 23, 2022

Gem of the Day: No Time For A Gem. URGENT Medical Emergency for a 9 mos, old Bichon Mix.

9 mos. old “Poppy” was in the last newsletter with her sister, Blossom. Poppy is on the left with light grey ears.

Around 6 this evening, I got a phone call from an emergency care clinic that is located just a couple of blocks from our main vet office, which is Plainfield Veterinary Clinic.

Like thousands of other of our dogs, over the years, Poppy had been spayed and was wearing a thick plastic Elizabethan Collars, used to prevent dogs from chewing at their incisions.

The clinic had closed at 3 and Dr. Blaso had gone home. 

Somehow, and this has only happened to us twice in over 17,000 dogs and 24 years, Poppy was able to chew her collar off with her teeth.

One of the vet techs found her around 5:00. She called Dr. Blaso at home and he asked her to Facetime so he could see Poppy. Poppy was standing up and wagging her tail with her intestines outside of her body.

He instructed the vet tech to take her to the ER down the street, but this was beyond what they could really handle. We needed a Board Certified Surgeon if we had a chance to save her life. 

Dr. Paul Blaso, our main Chicago Vet for many years, drove there, picked her up himself and drove her to VCA Arboretum View Animal Hospital in Downers Grove IL.

Dr. Blaso called VCA ahead so that they could call in our great surgeon who happened to be on call, Dr. John Pryzywara DVM, DACVS. We call him Dr. John.

He’s the one who put our broken little “Thrown out of a car Elf” back together again and Elf is now living the life of Riley.

Dr. John has done many surgeries for Small Paws and I trust him, completely.

Dr. Bozelka, an Emergency Medicine Specialist, was the first to see Poppy when Dr. Blaso came in with her. He wrote this for all of you, regarding Poppy.

“Poppy was brought into the ER service in relatively stable but critical condition. Her spay incision has dehisced, (Editor’s Note: This means gaped or burst open) and some of her internal organs were outside of her abdomen. Her blood pressure and blood sugar were stable, but she was in a state of shock and cold. Upon arrival, the previous bandage was removed so the organs could be flushed, and a new sterile bandage was placed on before starting Poppy on supportive antibiotics and fluid therapy. Given the organs are no longer in her abdomen, immediate stabilization prior to surgical exploration was advised. We are worried that Poppy has cut come of her intestinal loops open with her nail while in her run, and she may need to have some of her small intestines removed. While complications such as those that Poppy is currently experiencing are certain something that animals can pass away from, we have seen plenty of dogs survive these same exact injuries with quick intervention and aggressive care. While we can make no guarantees, we do feel it is worth trying to stabilize and take Poppy to surgery so we may better assess what damage has been caused by this incident. If the damage is found to be irreparable, we would be able to make decisions about letting Poppy go while under anesthesia.”

We wouldn’t try to save her if three separate vets hadn’t felt she could be saved and could have a normal life. She’s only 9 months old. I hope this is what you would want us to do, to try to save her. I’ve always felt that you can always make more money, but you can never make more life.

In 24 years, we have never euthanized ANY dog due to a lack of funds.

I’ve been telling you about veterinary costs rising, like everything else. When I spoke to Dr. Bozelka, he told me that we are looking at around $12,000 to save her life. That is not including our rescue discount. The bill from the first emergency care clinic, to stabilize her, flush her wounds, wrap her wounds, and give her capped IV pain and antibiotics to travel, was $492.92.

There is no time for matching challenges tonight. If you are able to help, Poppy needs you.

They are getting ready to go into surgery now. Lord God, we need You.

I will give you all an update in the morning.

It’s going to be a long night. Please help us to get started with surgery. Robin