Squeeson's Greetings!

I hope everyone had a wonderful winter holiday, if they happen to celebrate one, and may your new year be filled with friendship, happiness and a healthy dose of good fortune. 2014 will be very exciting for Squee, as this is the year when she will get her surgery! We'll find out in mid-January when she'll be ready, and it may be that she has an improved and reformed leg by the end of January! This means, however, that we could really use some help. People have been amazingly generous in their donations, and if folks can keep on posting about Squee and getting the word out, I am hopeful we will have raised enough for the surgery by the time she needs it! Please click here, if you'd like to donate to Squee's surgery and medical bills.

Here's another short video of Squee at play. This time she took on Pico the Chinese Crested and Louie the Italian Greyhound at once!

We're Back!

Hello from the other side of finals and December interviews! I apologize for the quiet on the blog, but things were rather hectic over here for reasons completely unrelated to Squee and totally related to my academic career, such as it is. But! Now it is winter break, and definitely time for an update on everyone's favorite three-and-a-half-legged eskie pup!

Squee is doing well and growing like a weed. She's a bit over 6 lbs now and nearly 5 months old. We are charting her weight about once a week so the specialist can determine if she's going to be close enough to her adult size, by January, to undergo the surgery. When her leg is straightened and the joint fused, that limb will stop growing, so we need to make sure the rest of her body is pretty close to done growing, as well.

Squee uses her cart when she is outside, though the cold and snow as kept us all mostly indoors, lately. In the house, she mostly flops about as usual, but keeps to pillows and dog beds, so her arm isn't developing another abscess. Hopefully, we can keep it healthy until January, and then after her surgery, she'll be able to stand on her foot for the first time, ever, and we won't need to worry about abscesses any longer.

Here is a video of Squee playing with Pico, my Chinese Crested. I love watching these two wrestle, because Squee is the fuzziest and Pico is the opposite of fuzzy, so seeing them paired up always makes me smile.

Squee Are Thankful

For those of us living in the United States, today is the holiday of Thanksgiving. It's a day where we're meant to reflect on all of the people and blessings we have in our lives for which we are thankful. Those who are able spend the day with their loved ones, and those who are unable think on the people they miss. On this day of reflection and gratitude, I wanted to share's Squee's list of some of the things for which she is thankful:

Help given when it's needed

Technology

Good health (even if it isn't perfect)

Friends who will be ridiculous with you

Sunshine

Moments of safety and peace

Laps

Those who continue to support us and cheer us on

Thank you to everyone who continues to follow us on this journey. Have a safe and wonderful holiday!

Cart Before The Squee

The cart is back and has been modified! It no longer tips over, thanks to the addition of a wheel in the front crossbeam. It's a tad awkward, though I will say the little pillar poking up from the front does make it much harder for Squee to squirm out of the cart. She's not too sure about it, yet, but I think with some time and practice, this will be a way for her to get around until her surgery.

Which brings us to... Squee's recheck. She went back to see the specialist today, and it was great news. Her leg has fully healed from the infection, and the doctor feels that we are back on track for reconstructive surgery! We're going to leave her leg unsplinted, and unless further complications arise, Squee won't be back to see him again until she's six months old (which will be in mid-January). I am to monitor her weight, weekly, between now and then, and if her growth is tapering off, we can perform the surgery in January. If she's still growing like crazy, we'll have to wait a little longer.

Thank you so much, everyone who kept Squee in their thoughts and prayers, and thank you to Karon Stewart and Lucy Franco, once again, for the cart! Please keep spreading the word and encouraging folks to donate. We may be looking at a surgery in January, and we're a bit less than a third of the way there. I'm hoping we can still get the funds raised by the time she's ready for surgery!

Quick Update

Hey, all!

I just wanted to share a brief update on Squee and how she's doing. Her leg has almost completely healed, and so far as I can tell, she does have nerve awareness in her foot (or, at least, she pulls it away when I squeeze between her toes). So, hopefully, her leg hasn't been permanently damaged by infection!

Two incredibly generous donors, Karon Stewart and Lucy Franco, have purchased Squee a cart made by Wheelchairs for Small Dogs LLC. It's a great interim cart to try and keep Squee off her front leg. However, the company's owner, Beverley, hasn't made too many carts for dogs with front leg issues, and the cart kept tipping forward, whenever Squee was in it. So, we've sent it back to be modified and hopefully, with a couple changes, we'll be able to give Squee some extra mobility!

Squee in her cart. If I let go, it tips over. :(

She goes back to the specialist vet next Tuesday, and he'll assess the leg. We'll discuss which option, amputation or reconstruction, is most likely to e her better option at this point, and we'll go from there.

Please continue to share Squee's story! Both surgeries are expensive, and we can really use any help we can get! And thank you, once again, to those who have donated. We couldn't do this without you!

Squee Thank You #4

Once again, it's time to thank those generous folks who have donated to help Squee with her medical bills and her future surgery!

Our most recent donors are: Amie, Brendan and Jack Cousins, Meagan Spooner, Roseann Mask-Block, Juliana Acosta, Vicky and Farrell Jaeger, Cheryl Petrochko, Casper of 'Casper N Caboodle', Sandra Nadrowski, Caroline Sedlak, Nancy, Dennis and Mischa Schmit, Thuy Le, John Dimatos, Katherine Pan, Kathryn Meyer, Catherine Raley, Gale, Tibs, Jazz, Miakoda Haugh, Bernie Manley and Virginia Vasquez.

Thank you so very much!

Leg Progress

Squee went back to my vet, yesterday, for a checkup on her leg, and so far the news is good. It seems like the antibiotics and regular cleanings have the infection under control, and the wound is beginning to dry and heal. Now, we have to let it finish healing and see if her foot still retains feeling. We also have to keep her from forming another such abscess.

Squee is a fan favorite at the vet, she gets s lot of cuddles and kisses whenever we come by!

Squee remains in good spirits. I can tell her leg is still tender, but she is her playful, bouncy self, again!