Mia – Part 2

So, a little over a week ago, we started fostering Mia, the double amputee street dog who was found severely injured in a ditch. Honestly, it seems like she’s been with us so much longer!

Todd and I don’t have children. So we’ve never experienced the “joys” of getting up multiple times a night to change poopy diapers. Well, we can no longer say that! We are both completely sleep deprived and, apparently, have that glassy-eyed stare that new parents have. Yeah!

But, otherwise, it’s going great. Mia is a very sweet girl who takes her medications well, eats great, and stands patiently while we clean her up and treat her incisions. She definitely likes affection and wants to be in the same room as one of us. Now that we’re sleeping downstairs, she’s very happy to sleep quietly and stay in one place. Unless, of course, she needs to poop!

Todd and I have gotten much better and that whole cleaning the incisions/changing the diaper thing. In fact, Todd has managed to do the whole procedure without me, twice! This has become necessary because Mia has significant separation anxiety when we both leave the house. She is an incredible escape artist and got out of the barricade we created for the last time we tried to leave together. Todd now calls her Houdini! But we do need to get out occasionally – for groceries and exercise if nothing else. So we usually take turns leaving the house, leaving the other person at risk for solo diaper control. Sorry Todd! Have I mentioned that I have the best husband in the world?

Until yesterday, Mia had been on IV antibiotics as well as a liver medication and an anti-inflammatory. The IV antibiotics were the hardest. Mia really doesn’t want her paws touched. But there’s no way to give IV medications without holding her paw, unwrapping the catheter cover, flushing the catheter… You get the idea. Plus, since we’re still waiting for all of our stuff to get to Chile, I don’t even have a clipper. That means I can’t shave her arm and replace the catheter when necessary. The Doctora Carolina, the vet, had to replace it for me during her last visit.

At that visit, last Friday, Carolina put in more sutures on both sides since the last ones didn’t hold. But she said that everything was healing well and Mia no longer had an infection. Yeah! The treatments and medications would stay the same for another four days, then we’d have another checkup. That last visit was yesterday.

And yesterday, EVERYTHING CHANGED! No more IV antibiotics! No more catheter! Carolina also removed most of the stitches, except those providing reinforcement around two holes that need to close on their own. Plus, she gained 2.4 kg (5.5 pounds)! Mia will switch to oral antibiotics but currently has no sign of infection. She’ll go back for another checkup in a week.

So now the plan is to start working on getting Mia to walk with her wheelchair. We still need to raise the back end up another 2-3 inches – hopefully by replacing the tires with bigger ones. So far, we’ve gotten her to stand in one place and eat a few pieces of cheese or meat chunks. Hopefully, we’ll eventually find a treat that actually motivates her to move!