Fighting for Herself & Her Puppies!
The Sanctuary has been hit hard by many serious medical cases within only a few days of each other. This is Kimmie’s story. I assure you that we are doing everything humanely possible to give Kimmie and her babies a fighting chance!
Kimmie is a very recent intake from another frustrating hoarding situation.
She is fighting not only for her life, but for her unborn babies as well.
3/17/2023
Kimmie was acting quiet, had progressive anemia, and had shifting leg stiffness. Sadly, she also tested positive for Lyme disease. Her safety is our top priority, so we will need to use drugs to treat her Lyme disease that could potentially cause issues in the developing puppies. We are using these drugs that are vital for Kimmie’s wellbeing.
The most common side effects of the drugs at this stage of her pregnancy would be staining of the puppies’ teeth and/or skeletal malformation of the puppies. That being said, we must take these risks.
Lyme disease is a disease transmitted by tick bites. It is not directly contagious from dog to dog or dog to human without an intermediate tick host. Lyme disease often has a good prognosis if treated right away. Please read the VCA handout included with vet notes for more detailed information:
Occasionally, dogs with Lyme disease can develop fatal kidney failure. This can happen during early infection or a long time down the road. If she is not substantially better by tomorrow evening and/or if she dramatically worsens before then, we will take her to the local ER for further testing/supportive care.
3/18/2023
Kimmie was declining and by the morning we did end up taking her to the Animal Emergency Hospital.
Her anemia is continuing to worsen so they will continue testing for causes of her anemia. We are suspicious that she is developing an immune mediated anemia and immune mediated arthritis, secondary to Lyme. Immune mediated diseases develop when the immune system “overreacts” to something/anything (other infections such as Lyme disease, vaccines, medications, bee stings, anything…)
Steroids are the primary treatment for immune mediated diseases. Steroids can cause preterm birth in pregnant animals, but Kimmie may need to be started on steroids if her anemia and joints worsen. If she was started on steroids, we hope for the best for the puppies. Kimmie’s life is our top priority at this time, and we need to do whatever she needs to be comfortable, healthy, and alive. This is a very difficult situation to navigate.
Kimmie will stay overnight tonight at AEH. They will continue to treat her Lyme and will start immune mediated treatments if she worsens throughout the day today.
3/19/2023
Kimmie was doing a bit better than yesterday. They had started a lower dose of steroids as she continued to be very painful even with morphine injections. Since starting the steroids, she began moving around and eating more consistently – she was not “normal” yet, but quite a bit better. Her anemia had stabilized too – it hadn’t improved but it also didn’t worsen.
We discussed in detail the risks vs. benefits of higher steroid doses, and we elected to increase her steroids to a lower range “immunosuppressive” dose. They monitored closely her response to the treatment. If needed, we would increase to a higher immunosuppressive dose later that day or the next. We were heading in the right direction but moving one step at a time as her pregnancy had everyone a bit more cautious with drug choices/doses.
3/20/2023
Kimmie continued to do moderately well. She still needed help being raised up to stand but then was able to move around “okay”.
We were able to bring her back home to her foster, which happens to be our Kennel Manager.
3/22/2023
Kimmie had 6 confirmed puppies on today’s radiograph.
At this time, we feel confident that this is her total puppy count for her pregnancy. Estimated due date between March 28th to April 3rd, but she may go into preterm birth due to the steroids that she has been started on.
Overall, Kimmie looks substantially better.
She is still a bit quieter than expected and a little stiff, but her joints no longer appear painful.
Kimmie’s anemia is persistent but not worsening. The exact cause of her anemia has not been clearly identified – she has some parameters that look like an autoimmune cause and others that are not consistent with autoimmune anemia. Based on her breed, history, and anemia parameters, we submitted one more infectious disease test before increasing her steroids to immunosuppressive doses.
3/24/2023
Kimmie had to have an emergency c-section last night due to going into preterm labor and having evidence of fetal distress. Kimmie had 7 puppies that were resuscitated during her c-section (Huge thank you to Dr. Alana, Megan, Dawn, Hallie, Meg & Jimmy for coming in after hours and being a great emergency team, we sure had one heck of a long night!). All of the puppies were nursing post-op, but two were struggling a bit more than the rest.
Because they were born a little early (likely due to the steroids Kimmie is on for her anemia and Lyme disease joint swelling), there is a chance that some of the puppies will not thrive. The next few days will require close monitoring (weights, temps if not moving/eating well) and regular assistance to nurse (every 2 hrs.) until they are thriving on their own. External heating sources will be needed to keep the puppies warm until Kimmie and the puppies are able to thermoregulate (regulate their temperature) on their own. Updates to come.
Kimmie and her puppies need your support, please help if you can!
