Annie found us on November 13, 2021.
a desperate call for help
On November 13, 2021, Tabby received an urgent message through social media that threw us onto a path that we weren’t prepared for.
The message was from a lady who found a dog at the back of her property. She didn’t know how to help it. It’s a common call for help in this area so Tabby did what she normally does. She responded to the message saying we would help.
Before we jumped into the Jeep to go pick up the dog, Tabby asked the lady some questions so we would be somewhat prepared when we got to her house. The lady who found the dog couldn’t tell us anything about it. She couldn’t tell if it was male or female. And she couldn’t tell what breed it was, although she said maybe a dachshund mix of some sorts.
Nothing could have prepared us for the moment we drove up the lady’s driveway and stepped out of the Jeep. On the ground was a pile of fur. We couldn’t tell what it was as we walked up to it. The lady and her family were standing around it and said “here’s the dog”. Tabby carefully picked up the dog’s limp and lifeless body and wrapped it in a blanket for the ride home.
freeing Annie from her past
When we got home, we took the dog into the laundry room so we could figure out what was going on. Although the smell of death filled the room, we could tell the poor thing was still (barely) breathing.
We decided that the first thing we had to do was get the matted fur off. It took both of us working for three and a half hours to carefully shave the mats off. I started working on one end and Tabby started on the other end, and we eventually met in the middle. We had to take several breaks from shaving. The poor dog’s breathing had slowed so much that there were times that we weren’t sure if we were working on a deceased dog.
Mats bounded each leg to the other, but we were finally able to free them. Eventually we were able to see that the dog was a girl. We also discovered she had a choke-chain embedded in her neck with a heavy clip attached to it. One of her eyes was bright red and would barely open. Her mouth had the most horrendous smell coming from it.
After we got the mats off, we offered her some food and water. She ate and drank a little, but she was so weak that she couldn’t do much more. We went to bed not knowing if she would make it through the night.
a name means you belong
Doug, Tabby, and I talked about name options because if she wasn’t going to survive, we wanted to her pass away with a name. We decided to name her Annie. We wanted to believe that, like in the song from the musical, the sun was going to come out tomorrow for her. If she could just hang on for each tomorrow she gets, she’ll have better days ahead.
searching for help
Over the next day and a half Annie was still weak, but she was eating and drinking so we figured that was a good sign. We were thankful for the progress, but we knew she needed help from a veterinarian. Her eye was still red, and her mouth still smelled like rotting flesh. When she drank water, chunks of her gums fell into the water.
We made an appointment at a veterinarian’s office to have her looked at. Dr. M confirmed that her teeth were bad and sent us on our way with multivitamins and eye drops to help her eye irritation. The impression the doctor gave us was she was so sick it was only a matter of time before she passed away. We learned at that visit that he’s a much better veterinarian for goats than he is for dogs.
The day after that appointment, we took Annie to our regular vet’s office. Dr. S was new in the office and, although we begged her for antibiotics and pain meds for Annie’s mouth, she refused to give us any, saying they could cover up any underlying issues Annie could be having. We were told to continue the multivitamins and eye drops and wait to see how she responded to them.
a dire emergency
Two days after those frustrating doctor visits, Annie became extremely weak and couldn’t hold herself up without falling over. Tabby and I rushed her to the after-hours vet hospital in the next town over.
On our way to the hospital, we had to pull over because the smell coming from Annie’s mouth made me so sick that I couldn’t drive. Once I regained my composure, we continued to drive to the hospital.
When we got there, we told the receptionist we thought Annine’s mouth infection was poisoning her and she was in shock. The vet techs rushed her back and gave her fluids and oxygen. The doctor ran blood tests and said her liver was bad so she wanted to do x-rays. After reviewing the lab results and x-rays, the doctor said she had liver cancer and there wasn’t much they could do for her. Our only options were to either euthanize her on the spot or take her to the Animal Emergency Room if we wanted to try to save her.
the intensive care unit
It took us almost an hour to get to the Animal Emergency Room. As soon as we rushed in with Annie, we explained that we thought she was going into shock because of her mouth infection. The assistant vet rushed Annie into the back of the office and gave her more fluids and oxygen.
Annie ended up spending a week in the Intensive Care Unit barely clinging to life. I can’t tell you how much Tabby and I cried during that week. After each update throughout every day and every night, we felt defeated and hopeless. The only good news we received was although her liver looked bad, there were no signs of cancer.
Towards the end of her week-long stay, Annie was improving enough to make the decision about what our next step would be to help her. The specialist in the Intensive Care Unit cautioned us that her will to live was strong, but she was still in danger and there was no guarantee how long she’d be with us. Tabby and I decided that if she was going to pass away, we wanted it to be at home surrounded by people who already loved her so much.
We got her home and settled in and waited for what was to come. Good or bad, we were there for her.
a visit with Dr. B
As soon as we knew Annie was coming home, we scheduled an appointment at our regular vet hospital for the following day. Although we had disappointing results there with Dr. S the week before, we scheduled this appointment with a doctor in the office that we’ve worked with in the past and who was available to see Annie.
Annie was seen by Dr. B. She did blood work, took x-rays, and agreed with us that Annie was in sepsis because of her mouth infection and severe bone infection. Her jaw was mushy and the infection from her mouth extended into her nose and into her eye socket. The infection was so bad that there was a question as to whether Annie’s eye would have to be removed after we got her mouth infection taken care of. Annie was also diagnosed with a luxated (slipping) lens in her good eye which was affecting her vision in it. Concerning her oddly shaped front leg, Dr. B said Annie, at some point in her life, had broken it and it healed wrong. She said it’s likely due to not having treatment for the break.
Dr. B put Annie on a twelve-week course of a couple of different oral antibiotics and pain medications. Annie also got eye drops to help the eye with the infection and drops to help the eye with the luxated lens. We were told to continue with the liver support meds the Intensive Care specialist gave us.
the plan to save Annie
A month into the antibiotics, Annie seemed to be regaining strength, so we were able to schedule dental surgery. We talked it over with Dr. B and we decided it would be best to remove all of Annie’s teeth instead of trying to save the last two that might still be good. Dr. B was hesitant to remove the two good teeth, but since Annie’s jaw was dissolving because of the infection, she agreed it would only be a matter of time before those last two teeth would have to be removed. Since Annie was already going under to have the others taken out, and to be microchipped, we didn’t want to risk another dental surgery when we could just remove future problems when she was already under.
surgery
Going into the surgery was scary. With everything Annie had been through, we didn’t know if she would survive being put under. We were also worried about the huge amount of stress her little body would have to endure during recovery after the surgery. To make surgery even more scary, there was also the possibility that her jaw could get cracked while removing her teeth, which would mean we’d have to work with a specialist to repair it.
The surgery took Dr. B almost six hours and went late into the evening. She told us afterward that she kept talking to Annie during surgery telling her to stay strong and she’ll feel better soon if she could just hold on.
During surgery, Dr. B kept wondering how Annie survived so long on her own to fend off coyotes and other predators. And how she somehow survived sub-freezing temperatures, with barely any life in her. Dr. B said if Annie wasn’t found when she was, she would have passed away alone in the field. Hearing this was heartbreaking. We knew she was close to letting go when we brought her home. To have a doctor tell us how close she was to letting go really hit us hard.
a new way of life
Annie lives with scars and patches of fur missing all over her body. Although the wounds healed, the scars from the choke-chain being embedded in her neck are a constant reminder of the hard life she once lived.
physically
Due to the spread of Annie’s mouth infection, she completely lost vision in her left eye. We have the option of having her eye removed. But we’ve decided against putting her through another risky surgery since it isn’t absolutely necessary. She’s on a life-long daily eye drop to help the luxated lens in her good eye.
Annie is able to walk. But because her limbs were bound together by the mats for so long, she sometimes has trouble keeping her balance. When she goes outside, her little tail wags, and she hops around in circles. If she gets going too fast or is too excited, she stumbles.
We carry her up and down the dog ramp because she has a hard time keeping her balance on the slope.
Her favorite thing to do outside is find, and chew on, dead mice that the barn cats leave lying around the yard.
Annie eats and drinks perfectly fine without teeth. She eats raw and canned food. And she loves her dry kibble. Watching her eat, you’d never know she doesn’t have any teeth.
emotionally
Annie overcame her fear of the other dogs in the house and bonded well with them. Kirby is her favorite. She doesn’t like to play with the others, but she accepts Kirby licking her face and snuggling with her.
mentally
Annie was diagnosed with canine dementia and is on antidepressants for the rest of her life. A part of me hopes the dementia helps her forget the memories of the life she had before she found us.
the sun shines over Rainbow Bridge
Throughout our time with Annie, she proved over and over again that she was a fighter and not ready to give up on this life. On October 11, 2022, Annie’s fight was over. Despite everything she went through, she was a happy thirteen-year-old dachshund mix. She passed away in a safe home and loved by everyone she met. She had a family. And family is forever.