Stella is Doing GREAT!

I'm very happy to tell you all that Stella is doing great after her surgery! She came through with flying colors and actually has never seemed healthier. We couldn't be happier. Our vet took fantastic care of her, and within a few days she was back to her old self, or new and improved. Guess we gambled poorly when we opted to not get her fixed. In hindsight we should have, but hindsight is always 20/20. For now, we are enjoying our happy and healthy bulldog. Hope you and your bullies are all doing well - send me updates, pics, and any tips and I'll add them to the blog. I just got some interesting new info from some friends recently on how they keep their bully Benson healthy, I'll post it soon!

Resting Before Surgery

Stella and her family just wanted to say thanks for the well wishes! We will post an update as soon as we are in the clear from surgery and eating biscuits with abandon again!

Pyometra

Well we have had a bad turn of events. Stella has developed Pyometra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyometra) which we knew was a risk when we opted to not have her go through surgery to spay her. This infection may actually have been the reason for her recent lung issues, as her system might have been comprimised while trying to fight off the infection. We noticed a small amount of pus on the floor where she had been laying, about 4 weeks ago, and then nothing. However, shortly after her breathing issues got bad and she started antibiotics, the discharge got much worse and more frequent. Turns out it's a good thing it's coming out, otherwise it's much harder to diagnose until the dog is much sicker. So, long story short, she is scheduled for surgery tomorrow. We've been treating her breathing issues the past few days to try to ensure she is as strong as possible before surgery, and our great vets at Doc Side know how special she is, so we know she is in good hands. I'll post an update once she's through surgery and let you all know how she does.

Trouble with Allergies Turning into Infections

Stella has had shortness of breath for the past few days, and some trembling, which had us concerned. This morning we took her into the vets (we go to Doc Side Vets in Fells Point, Baltimore) and they took a look. Turns out her lungs looked a little cloudy and interestingly enough, we had been in almost exactly to the day, two years ago, with X-Rays to compare today's to. We have also just switched our air conditioners off, and gone to open windows as the temperature is cooling off. This makes us wonder, as well as our vet, if Stella has seasonal allergies. I wish we would have thought about this before she got sick, and started her on some Benadryl. But alas, we didn't.

So now she has what can best be described as the possible beginnings of pneumonia. We won't know for sure until the blood tests come back but they started her on antibiotics anyhow, just to be safe. They also told us to start giving her Benadryl and they prescribed her another med often used to treat asthma. (Theophyline - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theophylline). The vet thinks this should do the trick, but we are going to be on the look out for this issue when the seasons change again and allergies flare up. If your dog has been acting like breathing is difficult lately, consider this a possibility.

Another nice result of the vet trip today is that they pulled up this blog and watched some of the videos, and are now well aware of the benefits of the lemon. We had been trying to help Stella these past few days with the lemon treatments, but she just wasn't able to clear everything out.

I hope to post another update soon letting you all know she's doing fine - so stay tuned. And in the mean time I hope all of your doggies are doing well, and my best wishes for those who aren't.
xo
Stella's Mom