Connie
This little 1kg pup came to us as an emergency. She was taken into a vets after apparently being found under a bush in a car park.
She was extremely cold and weak, and is severely malnourished, has diarrhoea and fleas.
Read about Connie's journey as we work to support her back to health and the life she deserves.
Connie is very poorly, but is managing to take some small amounts of liquid food, as well as remaining on a drip for fluids.
She has tested negative on a parvo snap test but has high levels of Coccidia which are tiny single-celled parasites that live in the wall of the intestine. She is now on 2 types of antibiotics to treat this.
She is struggling to maintain her body temperature so is being supported with heat pads etc.
Most worrying is her protein levels are less than half of where they should be. We are hoping to see an increase as she is able to eat, but this is something being closely monitored and will be re-checked to look for improvement.
She is by no means out of the woods, but she is being monitored and treated constantly and everyone is doing all they can.
There are more tests to come and Connie is being supported by being fed via a feeding tube, but is beginning to take food on her own.
Connie's Story
Connie when she arrived at our vets
Connie rocking the feeding tube
Connie being cleaned after falling asleep in her food bowl
Connie enjoying Hydrotherapy to help build her muscles and mobility
Her protein levels are still extremely low and she is still anaemic despite everyone’s efforts to stabilise her.
She is very weak on her back legs and is struggling to stand and walk which may be down to poor diet / absorption causing skeletal issues such as rickets.
She’s been having some hydrotherapy to help increase muscle tone and to get her little limbs moving more.
We are hoping that with time, medication, diet and constant care, these issues will improve, and she will have more tests today to check her levels.
All we are certain of at the moment is that we are doing everything possible for her, and will continue to do so.
Connie on her way to the Royal Vet College
4/7/22
Despite making some improvements over the weekend, she has gone downhill overnight, and despite everyone’s best efforts, we are quickly running out of options.
Connie has been admitted to the Royal Veterinary College and is in a critical condition in intensive care. They may have treatments or diagnostic tools there that just simply aren’t available to our vets.
Their first priority is to try to stabilise her and then potentially an ultrasound and platelet transfusion later.
Her prognosis is extremely guarded. But we know everything possible to try to save her life, and we cannot do anymore than that.
Come on little one. Keep fighting xx
Connie is in an incubator in intensive care, receiving a platelet transfusion to try and save her. She has low blood pressure and is unable to regulate her body temperature. She is receiving intravenous antibiotics.
She has had an ultrasound which has showed inflammation and some fluids around her organs (which will be sent for analysis). They were looking mainly to see if she has an intestinal intussusception which causes an obstruction of the bowel - but this was not seen.
Her heart rate is low and so is her red and white blood cell count.
In the time she has been at the RVC, Connie has had her ups and downs and remains in intensive care. She is showing slight improvements but remains seriously ill. Shes still quite sleepy but is a little brighter overall. Shes been carried outside to enjoy some fresh air and had a little sniff of her surroundings whilst being cuddled. Her blood pressure is better and so are her glucose levels. She is not interested in food but she is having 200% of the daily calorie intake that she needs, so most likely she's just full. No signs of nausea, and no regurgitation or vomiting.
If she continues to do well overnight, they will look to increase the timings between her nasal feeds to see if she shows an interest in food, but nutritionally - she is getting all she needs regardless.
There has also been some improvement in her white blood cell count which is encouraging!
This little lady is certainly causing some sleepless nights and grey hairs! But nothing in comparison to all she's been through.
We can’t thank the lovely vets enough. They are working non stop to help her, and we can do no more than to keep everything crossed that with all of this support - she turns a corner.
Sadly not all battles are won...
Connie sadly passed away. The battle was just too great for her little body. We are so blessed by our supporters that come together to give dogs like Connie the very best chance and thank each and every one of you. If love could have saved her she would have lived forever xx
Kymm Says...
Connie's ashes have now been returned to us…. she is home.
I would like to thank everyone who championed her on…willing her to survive just as much as we were.
Thank you to everyone who donated, sent healing thoughts and messages, who shared her story and wrote such beautiful comments on the page.
We knew the odds were stacked against this beautiful girl…but that wouldn’t stop us doing everything possible to try to save her life.
To the vets and nurses who worked around the clock - thank you will never be enough.
Connie left this world knowing she was loved, and knowing her life mattered…and for that we are grateful.
We won’t ever stop trying to help dogs like Connie, and though our hearts are truly shattered…we know we have to carry on because sadly there will always be dogs needing someone to stand up and fight for them. Because someone, somewhere didn’t, and left them to suffer, dumped them and simply didn’t care enough to do something.