Winners

I called the raffle winners last night and feel like I can post the winners. It is amazing how many of them I know. Why does that surprise me?


bag of toys, carrie
ball box, anne
beta bowl, inna
big dog box, rich
canidae, meg
canidae, kathryn
cat tinsels, shellie
dog box, denise
jewelry, kirstin
massage, kris
merrick can case, laurie
merrick can case, sarah
pet portrait, allison
photo album, gwyneth
pinnacle duck, doug
precise cat, geoff
reiki treatment, ramona
small dog box, kathryn

I just realized that Kirsten's brother is working at Ideal this weekend so he may not know about the raffle winners. Must go in and talk with him about it tomorrow.

Another successful bake sale

We had bake sales for Penny on both Sat and Sunday this week. And, we pulled out names to be raffle winners. Kirsten entered all of the prizes (18 in all) in a spreadsheet. Then, we dumped all the entries into a bag and shook it. The first name we pulled won the first prize listed -- unless it was obviously an ill fit (we had people write what sort of pets they had on the back of the raffle). If it was an ill fit, then the person won the next gift.

In tomorrow's entry, I'll write the first names of the winners, followed by what they won. This will give me time to call them!

I'll also post the total donations for the bake sale and raffles in tomorrow's posting. It's also time for more pictures of the pooch!

My husband's sister and her husband (my sister in law and her husband) also were generous in donating to the Penny fund. Rick put out a message to his sibs that we were planning a frugal Christmas. His brother's wife (also my sister in law) found out about Penny's needed surgery and explained to all of his relatives. Their generosity also made me cry!

I also received a commission check for a cat portrait and that will also go into Penny's fund.

Another raffle?

Just when I thought we were through collecting raffle prizes, my therapist offered an hour of reiki energy work. I was so excited and honored to receive such a gift that I nearly cried. What lovely people I have in my life.

I thought I would just add it to the existing raffle prizes, but then I thought that perhaps I should do another raffle at the end of January. I haven't decided fully though.

Why so many knees?

I found a Wall Street Journal article by Kevin Helliker that discussed the epidemic in cruciate ligament injuries in dogs. It's reprinted in the Naples Daily News.

Cruciate-ligament repairs are the most common surgical procedures for injured or diseased dogs. In 2006, the number of dog knees undergoing cruciate-ligament repair each year in America is estimated to now exceed 1.2 million. More dogs knees are repaired than human knees are repaired (about five times the number of human procedures) even though humans outnumber dogs in the U.S. by nearly five to one.

Humans have two legs; Dogs have four legs. But the reason why dogs have more surgeries is not because they have more legs. Not all four legs are susceptible to ACL issues. Front legs are more stable and do not have these types of injuries.

Genes play a role. Researchers identified a gene that appears to predispose Newfoundlands to cruciate tears. In the future, there may be a test that would identify carriers of that gene. If that happens, responsible breeders would not use the dogs with these genes for breeding purposes. But that's in the future.

Anatomy also plays a role. Unlike human knees, dog knees don’t lock—their back legs are always bent. Knee joint ligaments are tense whenever the animal is standing. We ask our four-legged friends stand a lot.

It could be that as humans accept dogs as members of their family, we want to increase our dog's happiness. We are willing to spend more for higher quality of life for them with better food, cushy beds, and even fashionable coats. We are less willing to have them hobble around.

TPLO, what I'm planning for Penny, is also controversial. It's about twice as expensive as normal ACL surgery. Many vets recommend this surgery for for big dogs. Many doctors believe that dogs recover faster and regain more functionality with this type of surgery. Others say that there's no proof. But I haven't talked to a local vet yet who suggests anything else for my big red dog.

We made $500

The bake sale was a great success. We made over $500 from the baked goodies and the raffle. Thanks to all who contributed and who will contribute to this week's sale, too. There were great goodies: caramel brownies, rice krispie treats, truffles, brownies, banana bread, fudge, oatmeal scotchies, organic ginger molasses cookies, rum balls, chocolate chips, etc. There was also cards and some pet related books and such. People bought the smaller things first (with the exception of the caramel brownies. A woman tried that, ate it, and came back for the other pieces!) and then the bigger things.

The lemon cupcakes I made were not popular. Nor were Rick's Omega Balanced Oatmeal Flax cookies. People wanted sugar and fat in large quantities. The flax oatmeal cookies were like bake potato chips -- good for you but not as good tasting as the ol' standby. There are some of us who prefer to splurge less often with the real thing.... and there's some of us who splurge regardless. I digress....

I hope that we can be equally successful this coming weekend. So far, I hear we're getting fudge, snickerdoodles, oatmeal scotchies, chocolate chips, and some sort of cowboy cookie. I'm also planning to make some more sugar cookies and banana chocolate cake. I'm not sure whether I will make cupcakes again. :( In addition to baked goods, we'll also have cards, book bracelets, and baby onesies.

My office mate suggested I do a rummage sale. I have lots to contribute and I know that my husband has lots to contribute, but I think the best rummage sales occur on in more central areas. I also think the best rummage sales in this weather occur in garages, in case it rains.

I'm going to be checking with my friends (any volunteers?) about what they think.

We made 1/18th of the cost of Penny's surgery. Doesn't sound that exciting but that's way more than what we had when we began this endeavor.

Cookie trauma on Bake Sale eve

Well it's good that there are other bakers beside Rick and me. We've both had problems with our cookie baking. His first attempt at oatmeal flaxseed cookies turned out charred hockey pucks. My oatmeal scotties spread too thin and are very fragile. They're good though, so we'll try again.

My PT housemate Rox has turned out some great looking rumballs and fudge. Heather's chocolate chip cookies, caramel brownies, and rice crispie treats also look great. So do my PT Betsy's organic ginger snaps. Yum.

Hopefully today's baking goes better. I also have to stop at Kinkos to pick up flyers and more cards.

Generosity

I so appreciate people's generosity right now. I sent out an email asking for donation for baked goods, raffle prizes, etc., to my extended contacts list, and I've been surprised by the responses. My extended contacts list did contain some animal lovers on the list so I shouldn't be sooo surprised. The HR manager at one of the companies I used to work at donated a beautiful jewelry set. She's very talented. An author whose book celebration I went to offered to send me a check. A program manager I used to work with is sending me a check. A woman who fostered a pitbull that my friend Kris wanted fostered is sending me a check. The woman who is the volunteer coordinator at Rainier Vet sent money.

There's seven us baking for the bake sale on Saturday. I've got the sugar cookie dough chilling. I'll be making chocolate chip dough tomorrow. I'm starting baking in earnest tomorrow and will continue until Saturday morning.

Researching surgeons

Carina from Animal First Foundation passed along the news that Penny needed two ACL surgeries to her network of volunteers and caring individuals. A few people emailed and suggested I check out other veterinarians, mainly in Stanwood.

This week, I'll be calling these doctors' offices. I am not absolutely committed to Seattle Animal Surgical Center, but I am committed to her getting TPLO. There are two kinds of surguries for torn ACLs.

During the most inexpensive kind, basic ACL repair, what the surgeon does is drill a hole in the lower part of the leg and thread a thick piece of “string” through it and attach it to the top of the leg. It is the scar tissue around the string that actually stabalizes it. They no longer recommend this for heavier, active dogs because the stress on the replacement is just too much in large dogs. Since Penny is only two and 88 lbs, she is not a good candidate.

During TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy), the tibial bone is precisely cut and slightly rotated downward, then held in place with screws and a special plate, until healing occurs. It is recommended for large breeds and active breeds and requires that the vet go through special training, buy special tools, etc.

Healing time for both is a long time. TPLO also requires two sets of x rays for each knee.

Penny in Pink

Kirsten at Ideal Pet Stop thought that Penny's muscles would be more comfortable if they were covered so Penny got a new indoor sweater to wear.

Bake Sale

We're having a bake sale to benefit Miss Penny at Ideal Pets at 5044 Wilson Ave S • Seattle, Washington 98118 • (206) 721-3173 on December 15 and December 22 from 11-5.

Thanks to everyone who has donated time, money, baking assistance, and help. So far, I know there's going to be cookies, fudge, cupcakes, rumballs, Russian tea cakes, etc. I'll be taking half days on Fridays to bake.

We're also having a raffle, with raffle items being a custom portrait, a one hour massage, a photo album, a memory book, a terrarium, and a free large bag of dog food.

There will also be some cards, prints, children's books, and metal sculpture.

The beginning

Life as a pup
Penny's life started out a little rough. When she was a small pup, someone cut off one of her ear's -- and cut one of the ears of each of her sisters. Then, she and her sisters were dumped off at a shelter with pitbull bias. She faced death before she was 8 weeks old. The Pitbull Project rescued this little litter and put them in foster homes. Their pictures were posted on Petfinders and there they stayed.

Penny's first foster mom, Cynthia, watched as Penny grew from a sweet little pup to an adolescent. Cynthia had signed an agreement with her landlord saying that she would only have two dogs over 50 lbs. When Penny reached that weight, she had to find another place. The Pitbull Project didn't find another foster home so Penny stayed at Rainer Vet Hospital.

I love Rainier Vet, I love their staff and Doctor Heino, but living in a cage amidst barking dogs and other chaos was tough on this submissive, sweet girl. I came a few days later to walk the homeless dogs and there she was! I fostered her for months, hoping that an ideal, experienced dog guardian would come.

But, she and I had bonded. So, I finally accepted the inevitable, paid her adoption fee (!), and told her she was at her forever home. I think she said, "Glad you figured it out."

Not much later, she injured her knee. I kept her quiet for a few weeks, but just when I thought she was about healed, she'd reinjure herself, other side. This has been ongoing. Finally, at the advice of Dr. Heino, I took her to Animal Surgical Clinic of Seattle. Dr. Johnson told us that she needed two surgeries (TPLO) at $3200-3700 each. Ouch.

Meet Penny

Penny's a two-year-old pitbull mix. She has long legs and a heavy body, which makes her knees susceptible to injury. And guess what? She needs two knee surgeries.

I'm her mom. I offered to foster her when she outgrew her first foster home and she was staying at Rainier Veterinary Hospital. I was working from home at the time and thought I wouldn't have her very long...

But, I adopted her, not realizing that she'd need close to $10,000 worth of medical expenses. In hindsight, maybe I should have looked into pet insurance, but I didn't.

This blog is to talk about the actions and decisions we make toward getting her surgury, the help we've receive along the way, her surgery, and hopefully her recovery.