Journey, Chihuahua Mix

Meet Journey! Journey was found wandering in the desert, alone and ill…

Severely emaciated, her nails long and digging into her pads, covered in ticks and with a large mass hanging from her abdomen…we can only imagine the discomfort this girl must be feeling.

Journey’s new life began when M.A.I.N. rescued her off the county euthanasia list and brought her to BAH for treatment! Watch her rescue video and read below for the initial vet report. As always, we will keep you updated on Journey’s progress.

Medical Update, Oct. 22nd: The prognosis is good for Journey! They think the mass is a hernia and not a mammary tumor! She has severe pneumonia or bronchitis, so it’s treatable! She has so much fluid in her lungs that they couldn’t listen to the heart real well but so far everything looks treatable. Even though this is just an initial exam and there’s no blood work back yet to know exactly what we’re dealing with, I’m THRILLED! A BIG thank you to her transporter Laura for getting her to safety & staying with her for her appt! She still needs a foster angel to help her recuperate. Please email us or contact us on Facebook if you are interested.

Journey’s Updates:

Journey has been adopted! She found her fur-ever home in the best place possible- with her foster mom who nursed her back to health after all these months! We couldn’t have imagined a better happy ending. Congrats to Journey and her new fur-ever mom!

Update, March 2nd: Journey continues to heal nicely.  We went to the vet last week to get the hernia stitches removed.  She has some lower abdominal swelling which will be rechecked when we go back to the vet on 3/22. Her two “hotspots”, due to allergies, are also drying up.  The Clindamycin is probably helping with that and I will try warm compresses to soften up the remaining scab. Her coughing and wheezing reared its ugly head potst-op so we are back to doing two nebulizer treatments a day. Dr. Miller said it is probably from her trachea being irritated when she had the trach tube in for the surgery. Oh well, we all agree that it was time for her to have the hernia repair and spay.  After numerous trips to the vet, I have found Journey to be an excellent traveler!  Very calm and quiet!  Of course that is how she is at home, too! She is excited, however, when I get home from work and when it is time to eat!!!  I’m not sure which she likes better!  I think the warm weather to come will also excite her and should definitely help her lungs. She looks forward to sitting in the sunshine! Will update you again at the end of the month.

Update Feb. 12th from Journey’s foster mom: Journey was dropped off at the vet’s Monday for a chest X-ray. Dr. Miller called me last night. The X-ray was good (despite all the coughing), so they scheduled her for the spay and hernia repair today. Yay- finally! She said that the coughing is bronchitis due to scarring from the Valley Fever. She assures me that the cough will eventually go away when the Valley Fever does. Journey will be a “new woman” after the surgery!

Update on Journey, Feb. 3rd: Journey went to the vet on Thursday and got a good report. She now weighs 11.25 pounds! Dr. Miller said this is a good weight as she can feel her ribs but not see them. Unlike when I first got Journey, she has filled out and now looks like a normal dog! I am now having to switch gears and work on decreasing her food, so as not to make her overweight! Besides the weight gain, the other good news is that her lungs are much clearer. She is coughing a lot less (finally!) and will be through with the oral antibiotic next Monday. At that time I will take her back for a chest X-ray. If it looks good, then she can be scheduled for the hernia to be repaired and to be spayed. I know Journey will feel so much better once that large dangling mass hanging form her abdomen is fixed! Though Journey is still quite shy, she now comes to me readily. She trusts me so much that she can even fall asleep on my lap at the vet’s office! Of course we have been there many times and Dr. Miller adores Journey!

Update on Journey, Jan. 22nd from her foster mom: I am glad that the weather is warming up, as I don’t think the cold temps helped her pneumonia.  The good news is that the pneumonia is slowly but surely getting better and Journey is now up to a whopping ten and three-fourths pounds. The vet said she can stop gaining since she can feel her ribs but not see her ribs. Now that Journey has gained weight and on the road to recovery, I can tell a big difference in the way her fur feels.  It used to be dry and course and now it is soft and smooth. We are doing well and looking forward to spring- no more coughing, and Journey’s hernia surgery!

Update from Journey’s foster mom, Jan. 7th: Before Christmas, Journey went to the vet for a checkup and another chest X-ray. Though she is still coughing a lot, it is better and her lungs have cleared up enough that she can now have cough medicine to use when needed. The vet wanted her to cough/bring up mucus as much as possible before prescribing a cough suppressant, so I just use it occasionally at night so we can all sleep. We go back to the vet again this week for another checkup. She has gained weight, but probably not as much as she will once the pneumonia and valley fever have resolved. We are all looking forward to that day!! And that will also mean getting the hernia repaired. I think Journey also can’t wait to have that fixed as it must be so uncomfortable. She is such a trooper, however- strong, patient (to endure a nebulizer treatment twice a day), and a survivor! As independent as she is, she does love to be held. She is the perfect lap dog. You can feel her letting go of all her stress when she is in your lap and being petted. Because her lungs have improved, she has more energy and also likes to go for short walks. Life is good!

Update from Journey’s foster mom, Dec. 17th: Journey continues to keep me busy with four nebulizer treatments a day plus oral meds and a vet visit every couple of weeks. Even though the pneumonia is taking longer than I expected to resolve, she continues to have a healthy appetite and appears to be gaining weight. She is a happy, good little girl and I bet Santa will reward her accordingly! She usually likes to sleep in her little bed but has recently started venturing out to rest in the living room and other places. Last night she slept in my closet wrapped up in her blanket; so cute! She is also getting more comfortable strolling around the apartment complex, taking short walks when she goes out to the bathroom. We are hoping that the pneumonia clears up in the near future so that she can have the much-needed hernia repair done. Though the hernia continues to enlarge, at least it isn’t posing any danger to her. If you like a lap dog, Journey fits the bill perfectly! I don’t know who benefits more from all the petting, her or me? We are both pretty relaxed after an hour of this!

Update from Journey’s foster mom, Dec. 4th: Journey went to the vet last week but is still on hold for any surgery anytime soon because her lungs aren’t clear. She is still coughing a lot, so the vet took an X-ray. It revealed that she still has “some pneumonia.” Another oral antibiotic was added and we are continuing with the nebulizer treatments, optimally done twice a day. The good news is that she has gained a pound and is now up to 10.5 lbs. The bones along her spine are not quite so obvious anymore. She seems to have more energy also. I take her on mini walks when it is time to go outside to the bathroom. She loves to sniff out the new surroundings of my small apt. complex. If she starts coughing, then I carry her for the rest of her “walk.”She will have another vet appointment the week before Christmas. She continues to be a joy to care for!

Update from Journey’s foster mom, Nov. 15th: Journey went to the vet on Monday for a checkup since she is still coughing quite a bit. She was also due a vaccination. The vet said that she has improved in that she now has bronchitis instead of pneumonia. Journey still gets her nebulizer treatments twice a day, but I am alternating the antibiotic with a steroid to help reduce inflammation and open up her lungs. It seems to be helping the cough. She appears to be gaining weight even though the scale indicated that she had lost half a pound. The vet explained that she is developing a layer of muscle and this weighs less than fat. Journey is such a good little girl! She does not need to go to the bathroom too often, but when she does, it is always outside. Someone had trained her well, plus she is smart.

Update from Journey’s foster mom, Nov. 11th: Journey is a cute, sweet, and well-behaved little girl. She has beautiful hazel eyes and the cutest round head! She is extremely well-housebroken and is doing her “business” outside at all times. She wags her tail and back end whenever I arrive home from work and when it is time to eat. Her favorite food is rice and canned lamb with rice, which provides a good place to hide her medications. Although she appears to be gaining weight, she continues to cough a lot and requires nebulizer treatments two to three times a day optimally. She has enough strength and energy, however, to pull aside the baby gate that is blocking the bathroom door!