Hi Pals!

We just wanted to get a last minute bark out.  In case you haven't heard, PEPPER goes in for her hip surgery at 8 AM Thursday morning.  She'll have to spend the night in the hospital and she should come home on Friday.

Our vet, Dr. Moore at Harborfront Hospital for Animals worked very closely with Save Our Setters and a huge variety of experts.  Dr. Moore will be performing a Femoral Head Ostectomy or FHO on PEPPER.  Basically in this procedure, Dr. Moore will remove the ball from the top of her right femur (the long bone in her leg).  He will then insert the new pointed end of the bone into the scar tissue in the socket.  It's actually more complicated than that, but you get the idea.

We are thrilled with the amazing cooperation between the Save Our Setters staff, Dr. Moore's team, and all of the other experts that have been involved in the process.

Had PEPPER's owners taken her into a vet when she was hit by the car, it would have cost approximately $200 to put the leg back in place.  By the time that PEPPER got to us, the scar tissue had solidified so much that this surgery is required.  The cost to Save Our Setters for this procedure will be approximately $2,300!  Yes, a tenfold increase!

We have made this video for use by Save Our Setters in their fund raising efforts.  Since it was made for them, it refers to our little girl as PEPPER II - but all of you will recognize her as our Little PEPPER.  Please take a moment to view this video - in some of the slo-motion segments you get a really good look at how she copes with the bad hip.  And if you have the time, please check out the Save Our Setters site.  If you'd like, you can leave a message in the Guest Book there to let everybody at S.O.S. know how much we MDS pals care about each other.  And if you've got a dollar to spare, you can visit Little PEPPER's page and donate to help with her expenses.  We know that several of you already have - and we appreciate it beyond belief (the site should be updated in the next couple of days to show your names in the donor list).

Thank you so much for being our pals - somedays we aren't sure how we would make it through without your wonderful barks.

Jim, Sweet SUE, and Little PEPPER

Hi pals!

So sorry that we haven't been barking much lately.  We've been very busy - mostly with Little PEPPER.  It became obvious very quickly that in addition to her hip problems, she had not been well socialized - and I doubt that she had ever been an indoor dog before coming into foster care.

She had no idea about going outside to do her business.  Although Sweet SUE taught her the rules pretty quickly it still takes time.  She had not been crate trained either, which we are still working on.

She also needed to learn to play and share toys/food/etc.  These lessons are finally paying off.  As you can see, she and SUE have learned to play together - for hours at a time.

Besides her hip, PEPPER has developed a nasty ear infection in her right ear.  This is double trouble, as it is her right hip that is dislocated - which means that she can't lift her right leg into position to scratch the itch on that side.  Part of her treatment for this infection is a steriod - which causes her to drink (and thus eliminate) a LOT of water.  That makes housebreaking extra fun.

In case you haven't seen the x-rays, poor PEPPER's hip looks like this:

We've taken this poor little girl to see bunches of expert vets, trying to build a consensus about the best treatment option.  There are still four options on the table:

1) THR (total hip replacement) - replace the ball of the femur with a metal ball and the socket in the hip with a plastic cup.  Estimated cost - $2,000 to $8,000

2) FHO (femoral head ostectomy) - cut the ball off the femur and stick the end into the scar tissue that is currently in her hip socket.  Estimated cost - $1,000 to $3,000

3) Amputation - completely remove the problem leg.  Estimated cost - $1,000 to $2,000

4) PT (physical therapy) - since she does use the leg a little bit, and doesn't seem to have a lot of pain it is possible that some therapy time on an underwater treadmill and other devices could give her more functionality and a decreased pain level.  Estimated cost - $400 to $2,000.

I think that we have finally gathered enough expert opinions and price estimates.  Now we simply have to wait for the good folks at Save Our Setters to determine the right course of action.

In the meantime, I've learned a lot about both canine orthopedics and rescue.  Not only do the folks at Save Our Setters have to determine what is best for PEPPER they also have to look at what funds can be raised.  And one other factor that I hadn't even thought about - what is fair to PEPPER's forever family.  If we do one of the surgical options, or the PT and it doesn't work out long term we are then sticking the adoptive family with the cost of an amputation (as well as the heartache that comes with such a drastic option)?  I'm just glad that I don't have to make such a difficult decision.

In the meantime, we keep working with PEPPER on her socialization and basic obedience skills while giving her all of the love that she can handle (and she can handle a lot of loving).

She is such a trooper through all of this.  She is a wonderful, happy little girl who is just too cute for words.  By and large she only has minimal pain, and mostly just at the end of a long day of play.  When she is worn out (and hurting a bit) she wants to be on Dad's lap which is apparently the comfiest place on earth.

We will keep doing everything that we can for this precious little girl.  And we want to give special thanks to THE Lady Belle and her extended family who have very graciously made donations to Save Our Setters on PEPPER's behalf.

Thanks to all of our MDS friends too, for being there for us and for cheering PEPPER on.

Jim, Sweet SUE, and Little PEPPER

Sorry we haven't barked much lately pals.  It has been pretty busy here.

On Thursday, Boy took BOO to his new Dad.  They seemed to get along wonderfully!  BOO was very happy to go off with his Dad without even a backwards glance.  It looks like they will be VERY happy together.

After we dropped BOO off, a very nice Save Our Setters volunteer brought PEPPER to us.  Much to Boy's surprise, PEPPER came out of their car, hobbling on three legs!  Surprise - according to a note from her owner, PEPPER had been hit by a car!  And according to the former owner, she was "only" suffering from "cartilage damage" and "would be O.K. with 2 to 4 weeks of rest."

Well according to our vet, Dr. Moore, poor little PEPPER is suffering from a dislocated hip!  Had it been treated immediately, it would likely not be a big problem.  But some 2 to 4 weeks after it happened, it is now a big problem!

On Monday, Dr. Moore will try to reset the hip.  He is doubtful about the chances for success, but he says we should try this first and dance in the street if it is successful.  If it isn't, then we are looking at surgical repair.  This will be a long, painful, and expensive process.

Other than not being able to tolerate any weight on that leg, she is doing great.  She loves to play - and flat out ZOOMS on 3 legs.  We are trying to keep things as calm as possible for her, but she is full of puppy energy.  Being someplace where she is loved and treasured seems to have really energized her.

We'll do our best to keep barking, but obviously caring for little PEPPER is the #1 priority.  We do have some more pictures of her up on her profile.

Thanks for being our pals and understanding.

Jim, Sweet SUE, and Little PEPPER

Much love from Rocky, Olivia, Panchita, and our leader!

We just got an email yesterday from Codie's family.  He is doing great and loving life in his new home.  There are lots of state forest near where he lives, and his Mom has been working him on a long horse lead in the woods.  They both seem to really love it.  His Mom promised pictures soon - we'll share them when they come in.

imikimi - Customize Your World!

Jim, Sweet SUE, and Big BOO

imikimi - Customize Your World!

Jim, Sweet SUE, and Big BOO

We have more good news to share!

The sun is finally shining on our foster boy CODIE JOE!  We received an application for his adoption tonight.  I'm waiting for a time to do a phone interview with the family.

Please think a happy thought for this special little guy - and maybe he'll be in his forever home soon!

Jim, SUE, and CODIE JOE

Happy New Year to all of our friends.

2008 certainly was an eventful year.

Dad suffered a recurrence of his cancer - and fought through a successful surgery to end up back in remission and is doing well - with Sweet SUE's help of course.

I lost my job at the radio station.

We became foster parents for Save Our Setters. We got to see precious little DANNI and handsome HUNTER adopt out to perfect forever homes. And we were blessed to take bouncy little CODIE JOE into our home.

We got to celebrate our special Cousin Vi's 104th birthday - and she still lives alone in her own home!

We survived a week without power following a nasty summer storm.

We all made it through another year - still loving and appreciating everybody in our lives.

Oh, yeah, can't forget - we discovered MDS and made a great bunch of special friends whose daily contact brightens every single day.

Here's to 2009!  May it be all that 2008 was and more!

Jim, SUE, and CODIE JOE

Merry Christmas to all of our MDS BFFs.

SUE and I wanted to take just a brief moment of your time to thank you for being our Pals here on MDS.  Joining MDS was one of the high points of our year.  While we have wasted some time in silly forum battles, by-and-large our time here has been wonderful.  In large part because of all of you.

So, in no particular order, and summarizing for time and space, we wanted to give you the gift of sharing just a few of the highlights of our friendship with each of you.  So, to:

Dogaholic & Pecodee who make us laugh so often;

Benji & DogStar who inspire us with their stories;

ZoeXavier our special Secret Santa friend;

TuckersMom, Everydogsmom, Aussie6pk, & WeLoveOur7Dogs who provide us with so much wisdom and guidance;

BAMBIWOODS & yaz who demonstrate the power of love in caring for a dog in need;

Astrid, dalgd, NadiaWebber, Nancy_R, brenpooh, & SableandChi who did so much to make us feel so welcome here;

corky for the constant support;

CarlaGenender for her inspirational strength;

and Zenmasterdod - my brother from another mother

thank you all for making our season so bright.

Merry Christmas to All!

Jim, SUE, and CODIE JOE

OK guys, today is all about some fun!! Check out our Santa visit blog.

Jim, SUE, and CODIE JOE

>~You have just been hit with an e-mail snow ball!~
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>It's the start of.....
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>Snow Ball Fight 2008!!
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>One rule to this game...
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>You can NOT hit someone who has already hit you!
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>Now..
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>Go out there and get as many people as you can, before they get you!
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>I got you first! And you can't get me back!
>
>
>Nanee - Nanee - Nanee!
>(hehe)
>
>
>We do not stop playing because we grow old;
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>We grow old because we stop playing.
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>Never Be The First To Get Old!!!! !