Mia Part 3

Mia came to stay with us a month ago today. That sounds like such a short time when, in fact, it seemed like she lived with us for months!

About a week after my last post, the doctor removed Mia’s last stitches. Although she still had two open wounds, they had become much smaller and the stitches were no longer necessary. In addition, her infection was completely gone, she had gained weight, and had started showing much more interest in human activity and affection.

However, on the downside, Mia seemed to be quite bored with lying around while not having any motivation to do anything else. And her separation anxiety appeared to be getting worse as her interest in humans increased. She managed to break a curtain rod, destroy a set of curtains, and cover the entire downstairs with poop the last time we tried to leave her alone. After that we gave up. No more outings for both of us. From then on, someone would always be home with her.

At her 3^rd checkup with us, the doctor asked us to start putting her in her wheelchair for ~20 minutes, several times a day. However, Mia would just stand in one place rather than trying to move around. Nothing appeared to motivate her to move. She wouldn’t respond to food or human voice. You could drag her forward, but she obviously didn’t want to go.

After about a week of that, we took her to an orthopedic doctor to see if the wheelchair was too small for her. While the answer to that question was yes, the doctor said the bigger problem was that it was much too early for her to be in the chair. Every time we put her in the wheelchair, we were pulling on her wounds and slowing her healing. Plus, it was probably extremely painful for her. Needless to say, that made us feel about an inch tall! So, we stopped trying to put her in the wheelchair and just focused on getting her wounds to heal.

Once Mia had been with us for 3 weeks, it was time to start looking for a new home for her. She no longer needed the care of a veterinary nurse, but instead, needed a home with more activity and stimulation. Plus, Todd and I desperately needed a break. We’d been running on no sleep and no time off since she arrived. As wonderful as she was to have around, our health was definitely starting to suffer.

Fortunately, Fundación Gaucho and Dra. Caroline were able to find her the perfect home. Last Friday, Mia moved to a new home with eleven other rescue dogs, many of which have other health issues. Her new caregivers, Melissa and Anto, have a lot of experience working with physically and behaviorally challenged dogs. They are also incredibly warm, caring people who immediately fell in love with Mia. While they are currently being considered another temporary home, we are fairly confident that this will become her permanent home.

Todd and I had mixed feelings about passing her along at first. While we desperately needed our sleep and freedom, we felt guilty about abandoning Mia. We also worried whether her next foster family would do a good job of caring for her. However, after having met Melissa and Anto, and seeing how they interacted with her, we are no longer worried. In fact, we think her new home is actually much better for her at this stage than ours would be|! Mia now has lots of dog friends around at all times, which should help with the separation anxiety. Plus, the other dogs should be able to show her how to interact with humans in a positive way. We hope to be kept informed as she transitions into her wheelchair and her new life.

We love you, Mia!