Piglet

Rescued on Friday, 30th April, 2004.

Limping, her coat an absolute disgrace, depressed and in pain, I just couldn't leave her behind when her time was up in the pound. The amount of burrs and twigs in her coat made walking and being held quite painful, but managed to give a few kisses and had a 'look' about her that asked for a chance.

Piglet is approximately 3 years old

It took almost 2 hours to clip her off and as it was so distressing for her (very painful), we had to heavily sedate her to do it. Her feet and lower legs have urine scald and are swollen due to being constantly wet. She has an ear infection, but we have also managed to find out why she is limping..... she has some deep bruises and her hip was dislocated!! The injury and subsequent bruising has been caused by a very hard blow. Due to the position... it is quite likely that poor Piglet has been kicked very hard indeed.

The red area on the inside her of her left thigh are burns caused by the constant moistness of her matted fur.

Thankfully, whilst her hip was being checked by the vet, it popped back into place. Piglet is staying inside (except for toiletting) with restricted activity for a week to help the ligaments heal. She will need an x-ray to be sure her hip isn't actually broken.

She has now been clipped and bathed and has a full belly and is a much happier and calm girl. She is only a little underweight, but the way she loves her food, it won't take long at all to rectify that!

She loves her new coat and is starting to come out of her shell a little today.

There was a rather gorgeous girl hiding in all that mess!!

UPDATE: 4th May, 2004.

Piglet is slowly recovering from her injury and is starting to use the injured leg which is great.

She has started to play a bit and it seems that Piglet thinks she is also part cat, as she loves nothing more than lying out in the sunshine!

She is a truely beautiful girl and should be ready for adoption soon.

Update: 21/5/04

Piglet has had a very hard day today. She was mauled by another dog and has numerous stitches and drains in place. She is on antibiotics and will take a few weeks to recover from her injuries.

Piglet's hip has not dislocated again, but she has been diagnosed with a Luxating Patella (dislocating kneecap).

Sponsorship will be needed if her knee is to be surgically repaired prior to being ready for adoption.

Update 26/5/04

Piglet is slowly recovering from her injuries. She has started another course of antibiotics after one of the bites abcessed yesterday. She decided to remove her own stitches from the large gash and the decision has been made (to ease her distress) to leave it open to heal naturally. She is more settled this way which benifits her recovery.

Update 6/6/04

Piglet's injuries are now healing very well. She has brightened up considerably and is due for her next vet assessment on Wednesday 9/6/04. She has finished her antibiotics with no further setbacks and is starting to play again.

When Piglet is ready for adoption, she MUST be allowed to live solely as a house dog. She is reliably house trained and safe to leave inside unattended for several hours. If left alone outside, she will bark and become distressed. No negative behaviours occur (such as barking/crying) when left alone inside. She is also completely safe around cats.

Update 3/7/04

Poor Piglet has had a rough time. After the June weekend of Fireworks (till all hours of the morning), she injured herself jumping off the lounge in a panic (at the first cracker let off in the neighbourhood). She was unable to use her back legs for a day and has slowly been regaining the use of her legs over the last 4 weeks.Aside from this, after further investigations, we have found that Piglet has extensive medical needs for the rest of her life.

Both knees are dislocated and need to be replaced. She has advanced hip dysplasia requiring a bilateral hip replacement, she has totally worn elbows and these too need surgery to repair. She has an elongated soft palate which now causes her to faint from lack of oxygen when she becomes stressed or excited and she also has a curvature of the spine with several compressed discs (which causes her to lose use of her hind legs every now and then). She is now on pain meds for life to help her live out her days comfortably and as pain free as possible.

Due to all of her problems, I have decided that Piglet will live out her days here with us until she is ready to cross over the Rainbow Bridge.

Currently, she is relatively pain free and happy. She is playing again most days (for short periods) and has decided that my son belongs to her. She has her place on his bed of a night and this has improved her outlook on life enormously.

I would like to sincerely thank everyone for their kind wishes for Piglet and for her sponsorship. This allowed me to have her x-rayed to determine the true extent of her problems.

Sadly Piglet dissapeared in early 2007 and was never found, she is dearly loved and will be greatly missed.