******************************************************************************************

NOEL

This is Noel.  She is a 10 pound, 1½ - 2 year old American Eskimo Dog, with a shattered rear leg.   Her story will be hard to read but please do read it.  And if you find yourself moved to help others like her, you can do so by sending a check to:

South Bay Purebred Rescue
P.O. Box 36090
San Jose, CA 95158

The shelter called us and asked if we had a foster home for a frightened little dog and her week old baby and we agreed to take her, sight unseen. It wasn't until she arrived in our foster home that anyone noticed she couldn't walk on her rear left leg and kept it held up all the time.

Our Foster Mom named her Noel in the spirit of the holiday season. She discovered Noel is a sweet, cuddly little girl, who loves to play and dance on her one good rear leg. She is housebroken and is good with dogs and cats too! She is a very good mommy to her little pup.

Off to the vet to find out why Noel held up her leg all the time. She didn't seem to be in any pain and she could run and dance.  The foster mom never expected to hear what the vet had to say. Little Noel's leg was shattered in 3 places. It was an old break that would never heal. It wasn't the kind of break that could come from being hit by a car. Only one thing made a break like that. Noel had been kicked and kicked with enough force to break the bone in 3 separate places at the same time! And judging by the xrays, this kick occurred while she was pregnant! This kind of break is not something that could be fixed. Not even with a team of surgeons. And it can't be left as it is as the bones rub together every time she moves and it has to be causing her incredible pain even though she never shows it. Eventually, if left as it is, the leg will develop gangrene from lack of circulation or it could get caught on something as she plays and cause even more damage.

Noel will require several weeks to recover from her surgery but if all goes well she will be able to be adopted to a new family by Valentine's Day.  She will be able to run and play and do the happy dances she loves to do and she won't hurt anymore.  Check back after her surgery for more info about her recovery and follow her story all the way to her adoption when some loving family takes her home.  Pray for her so she can have a long and happy life and if you feel moved by her story and wish to help with the expense of her surgery and recovery, go back to the top of this page for the info on how to send your donation.

SURGERY UPDATE

12/28/00

Due to vacation schedules at the vet's office, Noel's surgery was moved up to today.  She went under anesthesia at noon and the surgery took an hour and a half.  Noel did fairly well throughout the surgery, with some fluctuations in her blood pressure that were closely monitored and the anesthesia adjusted as needed.  The surgery itself was pretty uneventful.  The decision was made to remove the leg just above break number 1 in the x-ray, leaving the femoral head intact (ball joint of hip) to minimize tissue and joint trauma and hopefully allow for faster healing.  Her prognosis (chance for full recovery) is very good.  She is expected to have her sutures removed in two weeks and depending on her progress should be allowed to go to a permanent home shortly after suture removal.

Noel is home tonight with her foster Mom in attendance to monitor her condition.  This decision was made between the vet and the foster mom as it was felt she would do better with someone to watch over her all night as the vet clinic is not staffed at night.  Noel is on some heavy duty pain killers at this time and she is pretty out of it.  She will be kept on these meds for several days as needed.  We did take a picture of the surgical site to chronicle her case but I will spare you that at this time and we will get one in a few days when the site doesn't look so raw.

Hopefully, the worst is now over for Noel and she can get on with recovery and begin to lead a normal life free from the pain she must have been in for at least the last 8 weeks.

Please check back in a few days to see her progress.  We are all looking forward to her first steps and waiting for that little twirly dance of hers to tell us she is okay.

POST-SURGERY UPDATE

1/7/01

Well, in the 10 days since Noel's surgery, she has come a long, long way!  Here she is a few days after her amputation surgery.  The site is really healing well and once the hair grows back over the shaved area, she will look just great!

Today she is able to walk very well and can do all the things any little dog does.  She jumps up on the couch, does laps around the couch and does the little dance in the kitchen while her meals are being prepared.

She is still the fastest kisser in the west and she still loves everyone.  Little Noel is going to be just fine!  her stitches will come out on Thursday 1/11/01 and there is no reason for her to be kept in foster care any longer than that!  Believe it or not, Noel will be ready to go to her new forever home, just 2 weeks after amputation.  Here is a picture of her, inspecting and cleaning her incision.  She took very good care of herself.

Her spirit and zest for life have taught us many lessons.  While she has been recovering, an orphan puppy was brought into her foster home.  The puppy is less than 2 weeks old.  Noel lays in front  of the puppy's little box, guarding and protecting her from the world!

UPDATE

1/14/01

Noel was adopted! She went home with her new forever mom, Anna, on Friday night and they are doing very well together.  Noel's baby, Joey, was adopted on Saturday.  What a great outcome to a horrible beginning.  

South Bay Purebred Rescue would like to thank those of you who donated money and sent kind prayers for Noel. You're help made it possible for Noel to receive the very best of care and to heal quickly.  We thank Dr. Atwal of Adams Animal Clinic in Cupertino for his dedication to Noel and for his fine surgery.  We also would like to thank Dr. Atwal for all that he has done for our rescue dogs over the years.  We also thank Sara for her wonderful job fostering Noel & Joey and for doing all she could to make Noel comfortable before and after surgery!

Can you help?  Dogs like Noel are left to die in shelters everyday.  We rely on the donations of people like you to help us raise the funds needed to care for a few of these dogs and give them the chance that you gave Noel & Joey!! You can make any donation by going to the PayPal link at the top of this page or you can mail a check to:

South Bay Purebred Rescue
P.O. Box 36090
San Jose, CA 95158