Our Featured Castaway - Annabelle -

    Annabelle has captured my heart and I hope will do the same to you.  When writing Annabelle's biography I wanted to convey to you how special Annbelle is to me our and our rescue.

     This beautfiul girl captured my heart the first time I saw her at the shelter.  This red Pit puppy with big ears was perfect in every way.  I was going to pull her from the shelter the first time I saw her, but a couple had started the adoption process when I went back for her.  I was happy to see such a sweet girl get a chance she deserves.

     About a month later I returned to the shelter to see once again those big beautiful ears.  Only this time she was a little less than perfect; she had a huge mass under her skin, on her elbows, bald spots, and kept scratching herself.   To a rescuer, that usually means one of two things, flea allergy or Sarcoptic mange.  Sarcoptic is the contagious kind, to humans and other animals. We took her for the test and of course it was Sarcopse.  I had a herd at my house and none of our fosters could take her.  I had nowhere for her to go; thankfully a lady and her daughter saw the plea for her on Facebook and decided to try to foster Annabelle.

 
     We took her to a vet he gave her an Ivermectin injection and antibiotics and dipped her to be sure.  She had a little itch relief but not much.  They said “the masses were seromas caused by inflammation in her joints and once she was feeling better her irritation would go away”.  We completed the full round of dips as the vet recommended with antibiotics along the way.  At the time I was unfamiliar with mange and later learned Sarcopse needed Ivermectin injections not the dips,  So, off to a new vet that was great with mange.   This vet gave her a series of Ivermectin injections over a few more weeks but still no solid relief and the seromas had spread.  They were on her toes, her hips, her ankles, and all her joints still same "irritated joints" response from the vet.  After Annabelle's Ivermectin injections we did more skin scrapes and all were negative for mange but she was still miserably scratching with bald spots. We tried supplements, herbs, vitamins and special foods.  No relief, so we took her to a specialist to check her for allergies and run a blood panel; once again he had never saw seromas like that. By now little Annabelle was starting to lose weight, she was eating and drinking excessively by now but still losing weight.  The blood panel took 3 weeks and came back only with mild Anemia, the allergy panel took 6 weeks and showed only mid-level allergies; nothing that should be causing that reaction.

 
    By now we were on our 5th vet, two thousand dollars in vet bills and no diagnosis and a very sweet very miserable little Pit Bull.   The Seromas had by now mostly gone away but I kept thinking they were the key; part of Annabelle's symptoms were muscle atrophy and arthritis, at this point she was walking around like a little 80 year old woman.  I know a lot of autoimmune disorders had joint inflammation so I got on the computer and searched; 5 hours later there it was Annabelle had 19 out of the 20 main symptoms for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus; puppies with SLE usually die by 12 months old, Annie was already almost 10 months!  We got her into Tri-County the next day; armed with my findings, her new foster mom, and little Annabelle our vet ran some blood work and sent it off and in the meantime we started treating her as if it was SLE.
 
   That next day was the first day Annabelle was totally itch free for 7 months, she has always been happy, loving, and aware of her surroundings.  Like most Pits, she looks at you as if she is looking straight into your heart.  I had to exhaust every effort to save her to give her the chance for happiness and a chance at a life without discomfort.  We thought she had only a few months to live, but Annabelle being the fighter kept on going and kept improving.  Annabelle, oddly enough tested negative for Lupus but since we had such a strong positive reaction to the medication we are treating her like she has an unidentified auto-immune disorder and she is doing fantastic!!   She has gained her weight back and then some!  :)  Her muscles have redeveloped, her skin and coat look great with no itching!!  Annabelle still may have issues in the future and there is a chance she may need to be on some form of medication.   Every day Annabelle is with us is a gift, she is a beautiful, loving girl, with a spirit like no other.

     Annabelle is currently up for adoption through Collin County Castaways for as much I love her, I think there may possibly be a better home for her than mine; maybe with a little less chaos??  :)

Chained, Starved, And Abandoned~A Rescue Story ~

 

 

  

 Leonard, Texas -

   Collin County Castaways answered a call for help on a property where 11 dogs had been abandoned.  They were all living on chains,emaciated, covered in fleas and ticks, and suffering with little to no water or shelter in this Texas 100 degree plus heat.  We could not turn our backs and removed them all and put them in boarding at the wonderful Doggie Wonderland of Coppell as we rehabilitated, provided medical care and prepared them for adoption.  A few remain in boarding as we wait for space in our foster homes open up, so donations are still needed.  The girls that have moved over into foster care are truely special.  They love other dogs, cats and especially children.  A true testimony to the resilence of canines!

Please watch our video on our latest venture! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9gI8_87ht0

  All of the Leonard Dogs are now safe and off their chains!   We are taking donations for their care as we work them into foster homes and provide them vet care in preperation for adoption!

 

 

 Friends of Collin County Castaways

 

    We would like to THANK and recommend Shades of You Photography for the most beautiful pictures of what we think are the most special dogs...our fosters!

     Amy Siniscalchi is an internationally published portrait photographer serving Dallas, Texas and the surrounding areas. Her images can be seen in greeting cards from both Avanti Press and Borealis Press. We are proud to have been voted in the top 3 of Dallas' WFAA-List for Best Portrait Photography in 2009!

     Amy prides herself in capturing intimate and timeless portraits of Maternity, Newborns, Babies, Children, Families and Pets. Shades of You Photography is available to travel nationally/internationally for sessions. Amy is a proud member of Professional Photographers of America (PPA), National Association of Professional Child Photographers (NAPCP), Dallas Professional Photographers of America (DPPA), and Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI). Amy is delighted to be affiliated with HeARTsSpeak - a group of artists who are passionate about animals and animal welfare.

Please check her out today at:  http://www.shadesofyouphoto.com/

or

Visit her facebook page at : http://www.facebook.com/shadesofyou?ref=ts

 

 

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