Pip's story

    He has a very long story and I would love to keep everyone updated on his progress. Here is his story (all names are left out for legal reasons) Cue Ball is approximately 1 week old on February 19, 2007. We have no idea what kind of dog he is but seems to be maybe a pit lab mix?

   
This is Cue Ball before his first operation

This boy (he is not named yet however Scott calls him Cue Ball) was brought in to our veterinary clinic to be PTS because he was born without a bum bum. My vet (whom I admire deeply & who is the most wonderful, dedicated, compassionate veterinarian on earth) decided to try and save the pup. So I will explain how this goes by day and with the help of all your prayers this boy may just make it.

Day 1 (Monday February 19, 2007)

    Was a rough start for the little guy. He had his first operation and although things are still touch and go he looks pretty good. The prognoses looks very grim but we are all holding our heads high with great hope. Looks as though the skin around his rectum is dying but we have hope that it is just bruised from the operation. Went home with foster mom and slept real good waking to feed every few hours (boy can this guy eat ha ha). He did have some sort of bowel movement but very little.

Day 2 (Tuesday February 20, 2007)

    Back to the vet while foster mommy is working. Well seems this little guy is fighting this all the way he truly wants to live. Bowel movements are a little stronger still diarrhea but because of the tube its definitely a blessing. Back home he is doing much better eating VERY well with great bowel movements still runny but a little more pasty.

Day 3 (Wednesday February 21, 2007)

    Definitely a big improvement eyes are starting to open and more alert to surroundings. Bowel movements are a little thicker but we learned today he does have muscle tone around his rectum THIS IS AWESOME NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!! Looks as though this little guy is gonna make it :) Not outta the woods yet but we feel a lot better that he may be able to be adopted when he totally recovers. Here is Cue Ball's first pictures.

Day 4 (Thursday February 22, 2007)

    Well Cue Ball is doing so well his poopy started to get hard today although this is good news it turned bad because he could no longer potty through his tube :( We ended up doing surgery again to insert a larger tube, the surgery went well but when he woke up it was very painful and it took a long time to calm him down :( very sad day. At 5pm things started getting better he decided to eat and did potty so things are looking hopeful again. 7pm everything is back to normal he is way alert again and now his eyes are fully opened wow what a cutie. I guess everyone's prayers are working please don't stop we need all the prayers we can get :) I will try and take new pics this weekend if we get time (Raven is due with her litter this weekend so it might be delayed a little)

Day 5 (Friday February 23, 2007)

    Unfortunately the second surgery didn't take that well :( This little guy is still fighting for his life. We thought his tube was clogged but with x-rays we found he is not digesting. We had to take him off food over night to see if he could digest. With small hope we decided to let Cue ball sleep between us and like a champ he slept almost all night with no trouble at all.

Day 6 (Saturday February 24, 2007)

    Today is the big day for the third x-ray we are very nervous but still trying to hold our heads up with hope still no bowel movements. :(  I will try to keep everyone updated on his progress through the day. Ok well he has surprised us once again :) We removed the tube and he has digested his food WOO HOO so once again we have hope this little guy can make it. He is very tired and hungry but he is still fighting to stay alive (I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!!!!!!! QUICK UPDATE Cue Ball has done number 2 woo hoo what an accomplishment I am so happy I could cry. We will let you know how he does overnight :) Thanks again for everyone's prayers!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 7 (Sunday February 25, 2007)

    Well I believe we are now on the road to recovery and over the woods with this little guy. He is growing like a weed, pooping like a normal pup, eating normal, seeing & hearing. I will still keep you guys updated although I say he is gonna make it I know in my heart he could go backwards at any moment. Again I can't thank you enough for your prayers I will get some more pics soon :)

Day 8 (Monday February 26, 2007)

    Although we are still fighting, Cue Ball has done really well today he threw up a little last night but holding down everything today. He is definitely growing and now his eyes are wide open following my every move. He has gone down to feeding every 4 hours or so but his digestion is right on cue (no punt intended lol). Raven is going into labor so I wont get pics til tomorrow or sometime Monday but I promise new pics soon.

Day 9 (Tuesday February 27, 2007)

    Cue Ball did real well last night he didn't throw up at all he must have known he had to be good being as Raven was having puppies lol. Today we are going back to the vet to make sure all is well I will post results when I get in. :) Well Cue Ball is totally on his way to recovery and went home to his new mom :) I will still try and keep everyone updated on his progress and mom said she will keep pics for us :)

Day 14 (Sunday March 4, 2007)

    Cue Ball is doing very very last Friday they gave him a steroid injection to tighten his muscles but looks as though no more surgeries for this little guy. His new mom loves him to pieces and he is definitely living the life of luxury :) Cue Ball now has a new name :) "Pip" what a cute name :)

Day 16 (Tuesday March 6, 2007)

 Here's an update of master "PIP" (aka cue ball). he is about 3 weeks old today and weighs 2.8 lbs!! he is defecating nicely so his butt hole is working!! (but still not absolutely great yet). we were worried about stricture or closing happening and may have to do additional surgery in the future if he continues to do well. cross that bridge if/when we get to it. he has a voracious appetite but his hind limbs are not in proportion with his front limbs. his HUGE belly is not allowing him to properly ambulate. we are trying to "hobble'" him, like what we do with a "swimmer" pup, but when dr. g the surgeon comes on weds, I'll ask him what else I can do.

Anyway... he is such a precious little guy and has captured the heart of all of us here at the clinic. he will lick your nose when you pick him up. when you open the carrier door, he immediately wobbles out searching for food!! he has grown to know your voice but when he hears mine, he starts screaming for food! he has become my new adopted son and I cannot give up on him as he is such a fighter. next week will be a big week for him as we will wean him and I don't know what to expect with the transition to harder food and his bowel movements. he is still not out of the woods and it's been an humbling, learning experience which tugs on my heart strings- both as a vet with realistically looking at what he has to face and what we are limited in what we can do for him to give him a good quality of life. at same time, he has got me and I'm in love with the little fellow. Bronte is not impressed and stays afar observing. he is very perturbed though when pip screams when I have to do the dreaded enemas. Keifer doesn't seem to care. he is going about his duties and daily patrols as usual. he inspects pip's carrier every once in awhile but otherwise, he is not impressed it seems at the latest, noisy addiction.

will keep you guys updated but we are still not out of the woods yet. please continue to pray.

March 19, 2007

Cue Ball AKA Pip is doing very well learning how to walk :) Mom says she is very pleased with his accomplishments and although every day is a challenge he seems to fight harder and harder to be a normal puppy :) We will get updated pics soon :)

March 25, 2007

Below is happy mom and her 2 babies :)

3-29-07 hi all,

his discipline will have to wait however as tomorrow is a big day for him as he will have surgery tomorrow. hopefully this will be his final surgery but one we will see. as a nervous mom I am worried but he is in good hands and I trust dr. g implicitly. he/we are not sure what we will be doing but thinking positive, everything will go well but we are in new territory here and there is hardly any information out there. I will leave jose (dr. g) to do his thing with surgery, and I will have to manage him medically. going to neuter the little bugger at same time as well. pip will have a few hard days of recovery ahead of him. prayers, good thoughts, good vibes will be appreciated.

mr. pipster had a big day last friday when he went to brooke's school for career day. apparently, pip and I were a hit and there will be another abundance of veterinarians in the next few years!! he did very well but when he went back to the clinic, his vile temper was very apparent and all his aunts at the clinic are going to take him to task and man-handle the little piranha. thank god, I will have help in this department as he is a handful. i've promised to take him to work every day till we make him into a decent little gentleman.

here are some recent photos of the little one. i'm trying to document his progress weekly. his back legs look relatively good eh? we are still trying to figure out what he is. the general consensus is still a bull terrier X jack russell mix. he is 11 and half pounds. is his ears going to stand or not??

hope all is well with everyone.-tanya

Well, I don't have any recent pics of the little one, but wanted to update you all on my little guy. overall, medically he is doing very well and he is the best puppy in the obedience class at Petsmart. however, Tuesday night, Pip had me in tears and bloody as when I went to pick him up to put him in the car, he turned on me and nailed me twice in both hands. I was so down as I love the little fella and after he has been thru so much, I thought I was going to have to put him down for this aggressive side to him. if this is not corrected, it is pretty serious and I cannot have that in a dog.

anyway, I called tonya in tears and god bless her heart, she took him home with her the next day to her pack of pups and pip is learning dog hierarchy fast!!! tonya is also working with him specifically and trying to bring out that ugly side of him to then correct him. well, it is taking time, but pip of course is being a total angel. he is getting jumped left, right and centre which he needs!!! tonya says he screams like a drama queen but if she takes the other pups away, he then barks for her to let them back out!!! he is taking his frustration out on a bag of charcoal on her porch which he humps every day!

he is not having issues with her picking him up or putting him in her car so it may be associated with me or me taking him in car to the clinic where all the bad stuff has happened to him. we know he has issues with the selt-belt harness so we are using a crate instead which he likes better. anyway, i'm not sure how long this will take and how long I can do without my little man. the house is so quiet without him. bronte and keifer I think also misses him even though he annoys them so! keif is always going to the door and looking out and I cannot believe he is not looking for the pipster. bronte still sleeps in my bedroom with pip's crate and his bed.

 anyway, just wanted to update you all. all the best. TANYA

Ok well this is my update (Tonya Cannon lol) Pip did have some sort of aggression which we still haven't found the true meaning of what his problem was however he is doing much better here at SNT playing with the pack of Rain & Ravens puppies. I think he truly needs to just be a dog for awhile too many surgeries, needles, probing & hospitalization has really took it's toll on this little buger. I will try and get some pictures today or tomorrow and will post ASAP

Well it is a very sad day for all of us that have followed Pip in his life. I have not updated because Tanya has been having a ton of problems with Pip's aggression maybe god had always planned for Pip to be with him. Well Tanya did the best thing she could ever do for this boy and put him to sleep today 10/4/07 he was 8 months and 41 pounds. Tanya truly tried every possible angle with this boy and to no avail he was beyond repair between the pain of surgery and all his medical care he was unable to cope with reality. He will be sadly missed by all involved may the Pipster RIP we love ya Pippy!!!