Lefty's Blog

Read about Lefty's recovery by subscribing to his blog!

Lefty's Staples Come Out!

Lefty was very happy to see his friends at Nevins Farm on Friday when he had his staples removed. He continues to do well with his eating and he is officially over 5lbs.! We will be making small changes in the angle he is fed and the consistency of his food over the next week or so. Today we tried giving him a treat using pill pockets. They are very soft and we took it slow giving small pieces at a time. Not only did he love them, he also had NO regurgitation! Maybe we can get a little training in too. ~LindaIf you would like to help Lefty and other animals like him, please click here to donate to the ongoing care that Lefty will recieve to ensure a full recovery. Any collected funds surpassing the costs of his surgery and recovery will go to the MSPCA-Angell’s General Fund to care for animals such as Lefty.

Playing with the "Big Dogs"

Lefty had a great day today. He is really back to normal as far as playing both alone in his pen Lefty steals a toy(he's tearing up his newspapers, flipping his bed and chewing on his rubber bone again for the first time since he came home) and with the big dogs (whatever toy they have is the one he wants). His biggest accomplishment was eating a bowl of food on his own - no fingers or syringe - just 3/4 can of A/D and tongue! He still eats in an upright position, but it takes him only 20-30 minutes. I have to pace him or he'd wolf it all down fast. It's eat a little, burp and repeat. Once he's all done it's nap time. Catch you later! ~Linda


Lefty Heals at His Foster Home

Lefty had his surgery a week ago yesterday and came home last Thursday. He was sent Lefty back in foster care one week after surgeryhome on meds. for pneumonia (discovered at the time of his discharge) as well as meds for a yeast infection in his left ear. He also had a partially collapsed lung. None of this slowed him down! We have kept a collar off of him as well to not add any stress to his esophagus after his surgery. I was to feed him the same way he was being fed prior to the surgery. This didn't work too well, and he was regurgitating every meal. I started back at square one, feeding him Hill’s Science Diet A/D mixed with water, 1ml at a time. I started with 5ml over the course of an hour. If there was no regurgitation, I would increase the amount gradually. I then started adding nutrical supplement to his diet to get extra calories and nutrition into him.I'm happy to say this plan has worked well.

He now eats about 1/2 can of Hill’s Science Diet A/D + nutrical each feeding. His feedings only take 1/2 hour, and he eats four times a day. He has had no regurgitation since Friday. He still eats in an upright position, but at the end of each meal I now let him lick the bowl. I have also been gradually decreasing the amount of water used. I am hopeful that over the next week or so I can get him eating out of the bowl. He is getting more and more playful by the day and loves to drag all the toys into the middle of the room. He is starting to play with my dogs, Jack and Winter, as well. He likes to play with the cats too, but gets lost when they sit on him! When he came home he was very hoarse, but his bark is getting stronger each day and he lets us know he wants attention. I'll keep you all posted, and see you Friday for his staple removal. ~Linda