Chelsey

Chelsey was a 13 year old MinPin that came into a Shelter with a sketchy history:  Abused by her original owner who tossed her around, then given to a woman that left her in a house fire (other people went in and saved her), then she may have ingested antifreeze.  The man who brought her to the Shelter on Friday said that she was “dying” and wasn’t eating or drinking, however when the Shelter offered food and water she was ravenous.

Chelsey looked so poorly, that a Shelter volunteer took her home Friday evening, and Old Dog Haven was contacted.  ODH immediately found a Final Refuge Home, and the Shelter volunteer drove Chelsey to her ODH home on Sunday.  She arrived at 2:30pm, and by 3:30 she was at the ER because her condition was so critical:  She was emaciated and skeletal, very pale (anemic), dehydrated, and depressed.

Diagnostics revealed she had non-regenerative anemia, low protein and albumin levels (probably as a result of her intestines being unable to absorb nutrients,) uncontrolled diabetes, a bladder infection, and dry eye (KCS) affecting both eyes.  After 3 days in the ER, Chelsey was stable enough on Wednesday to come home – her issues were not resolved or even controlled, but she was feeling much better and could get one-on-one attention in her Final Refuge home.

Chelsey had drops for her eyes, special food, antibiotics, and insulin injections.  The nifty thing was that she was fitted with a “continuous glucose monitor” – just like on TV – where a sensor was placed on her back, and with the wave of a smartphone an App captured her blood glucose level as often as desired.  The data is automatically uploaded and is available 24/7 for review on the phone and also by her Veterinarian back at the hospital.  This allows for continuous, real-time, non-invasive, accurate blood glucose monitoring.

In her Final Refuge home, Chelsey was very outgoing.  She worked her way around the house trying out all the different dog beds.  She crawled into the crate along with resident dog Mindy.  Out in yard, she putzed around or stood looking intently through the slats of the front gate.  Her diabetes made her “pu/pd” and so she always had to pee – this led to wearing diapers overnight in the house.  She loved to be picked up so she could cuddle, be carried around, or to sleep in my lap.  Unfortunately, her blood glucose was resistive to regulation and never stabilized.

Friday was a good day – Chelsey spent time out in the sun sitting in my lap, and inside being carried from room to room and dog bed to dog bed throughout the house.  Some new prescription food arrived, and she gobbled it up.  Friday evening we went to bed at 10pm with my alarm set to recheck her blood glucose in 2 hours.  At 11:30 she woke me up crashing around – she was disoriented and unable to walk – she tried to stay upright but kept falling onto her side.  I sat and held her until she settled down and went to sleep.  After that she seemed unaware of her surroundings.  We made another trip to the ER to send Chelsey over the Rainbow Bridge.

Chelsey was in Final Refuge Care for only 5 days.  Thanks to the many Old Dog Haven donors, she had extensive (and expensive) emergency critical care that allowed her to live her last days in a home where she was loved, and the center of attention.  She knew she was finally safe enough to end her struggle, and to let go of all her pain and suffering – she flew away in peace.