Shiloh- Varnished Watercolor on Yupo

Print proceeds of this new painting goes to Lucky's Fund.  (The original might too).   The original will be available in a few days after the varnish dries. SOLD

Shiloh- Varnished Watercolor on Yupo, 5x 7 inches.   I lurve the red background.

White Tulips in a Pitcher- Varnished Watercolor On Yupo

I did say a few months ago, I was separating out the animal stuff from the art stuff.  And that is still my intention.   But this new painting, my first painting of 2011,  is going to Lucky's Fund if anyone wants the original or prints of the original so I am posting it here.

Once Lucky has her surgery, then I probably won't be cross posting, so be sure to stick your email in the subscription box over there if you want to see future paintings.

It's a rather loose still life of White Tulips in a blue Pitcher. 

Dog painting to follow probably. I just wasn't up to painting anything with an eyeball as I'm a bit rusty, Haha.

Here's the link to the Art Blog.

Lucky Update

Thanks to everyone who has made  a donation to Lucky's Fund or has helped spread the word about her predicament.   I let her out of jail over the weekend, and shot this little video of her around the office. Priscilla is the only one who would befriend her.  In one short scene, you see Sunshine poking her head around the corner.



The link to her fund at the Teaching Hospital is located in her first blog post.  Last Thursday, I think. 

Maybelline get a Laser Treatment

Maybelline is the 2nd oldest cat at the hospital and she's been rather gimpy on her back legs.  Starting before Christmas she was going over to Anderson to have laser treatments to see if it would make her feel better.

Class 4 therapy lasers have been around for a few years, but I consider them still relatively new.   Chiropractors, Physical Therapists, and Sports Trainers use them.   Now veterinarians are starting to use them for pain management, and some other problems like hot spots and lick graulomas.

Maybelline is still gimpy, but I think it might help her some.  And since their are no side effects to laser treatments,  I think it is worthwhile.  She is also taking some other medications and injections too for arthritis.  

Yesterday she went for a treatment and I took my camcorder along to record her session. 

Lucky Had Her Surgery Consult Today

Some of you are familar with Lucky the kitten that I took in on Christmas Eve.  She has been here at the hospital waiting for a surgery consult at the University of Georgia and had that today.  But let me back up and tell you how we got here . . . . .

We first saw Lucky back at the end of August with what appeared to be a wound on her tail and some type of wound in her perineal region next to her rectum. Her family thought it was some type of trauma.  Over the few weeks, while Lucky was coming in for her vaccinations, the wound wasn't healing. 

November went by and most of December.  On the 22nd of Dec, Lucky's Mom called and her husband brought Lucky in.  Lucky had weeks worth of poop all over her rear end, flanks, and rear legs.  Once we got her cleaned up the best we could, she appeared to have some type of fistula as she had a vaginal discharge that looked a lot like poop.

In talking with the family, it wasn't looking good for Lucky. Some of the family wanted Lucky euthanized.  Some didn't. And some felt that the most humane thing to do would be to throw her out somewhere.   And it seemed that the dumping her somewhere was going to be her fate.   On Christmas Eve.  With it being 22 degrees outside.  With poop on her rear end.  And it was going to snow the next day.

So I took Lucky in to get her out of harms way.

 in the dryer cage after her bath

The Teaching Hospital is on a holiday schedule the week before Christmas until after News Year.  Most of the students are gone, and most of the cases are emergencies only.  Lucky  originally had an appointment last week when the 2nd snow storm hit.  And was rescheduled for today.

Here's a Short Video of her on Flickr. 

I think it's in the Movie Dirty Harry,  there's the line,  

" Opinions are like ass holes. Everyone Has One."  

Well, it seems that Lucky was born with no opinion.  And no ass hole. 

"Atresia Ani" is the fancy name for it.  If you insert a thermometer into her rectum, it's like a closed pouch.  And that's where the fistula developed into her vagina.   (I hope no one is about to eat dinner after reading this by the way. . . .)  Rectovaginal Fistula.

The next time you feel like calling someone an AssHole,  take the fancy route and tell them,  "You are so NOT ATRESIA ANI."  By the time they google that, you will have safely left the building.

So, at this point,  Lucky has 2 options.
1. Euthanasia.
2. Surgery to try and repair the fistula.

Surgery Estimate-  $2000-2500.   There are possible complications as even routine surgeries have risk of complications.   Colons don't like surgery.  Surgical sites don't like poop on them.  There is also the risk of nerve damage to her sphincter muscle resulting in fecal incontinence.  But at least I (we, they) tried to give Lucky the best quality of life in the first place.

Now I know that some of you are thinking,  "That sounds like a beautiful case for surgery students to study.  So much better than a routine spay.  Why can't they do it pro-bono or at a really reduced rate?"

And it is a fantastic case.  You just don't see things like this everyday.  But I can't expect the teaching hospital to do the surgery for free.  They are too many expenses involved-  salaries, utilities, medical lucky supplies, etc.   It can't all be covered by tuition alone.  Poor college students pay a lot as it is.  However, sometimes when cases go way over the estimate, the hospital does try to write some or all of that off. So I personally think it all works out in the end.

When I posted the first photos of Lucky of Facebook and Flickr, people offered to donate some funds to help her out, but I had to first find out if surgery was even a possibility.  And it is.  So, the University has set up a fund for her.

It is set up through Sundown Surgery Fund at the University website so any donation is tax deductible.  It is important to note in the Notes or Comments section that the donation is for the Lucky Fund.

If you would like to help with an online donation, here's the link to the page.  

If you would prefer to mail in a check, please make the check out to The UGA Foundation for Sundown Surgery and make sure to note For Lucky on the check.  The mailing address is

Veterinary External Affairs Office- Sundown Surgery Fund
501 D.W. Brooks Drive
Athens, GA 30602 USA 

I would also appreciate if you would take the time to pass this post around.  Post it on Facebook. Tweet it.  Email it.  Lucky can't have surgery until the funds are raised.   The Foundation Office will let me know when donations come in so that I can share it with you. 

Any questions?  Drop me an email at andy@andymathis.com

Parvo Virus- From Velvet to Maggie Moo

Happy January Everyone.

I ate a salad for Wendy's for lunch.  Probably the most healthy and green thing I've eaten since mid December.  These new year's resolutions are tough.

I am a bit behind so I'll show you these 2 girls.  They had or have Parvo.
Velvet was here last week, some might have seen her photo on Flickr.  She came in on Tuesday.  Sketchy vaccine history, lethargic, with projectile diarrhea.  and by sketchy vaccine history it usually refers to someone's neighbor, down the road, going to the feedstore, some time several months ago, but the dog is all up to date and current on its shots.  They are most sure of it.

Well, this was Velvet in the middle of the week.  Not feeling so great.  

By Friday she was feeling a little better. Still had diarrhea though.  This video clip was shot on Friday afternoon. 



She was starting to eat a little on her own on Saturday morning so she got a bath and went home.   Her Mom came by on Monday and said her stool was clearing up too and her appetite had improved as well.


Next, we have Maggie.  Maggie Moo.  An 11 week old Boxer Puppy.  She came in on Monday of this week. Not feeling good.  She was wormy, not running a fever.  She we gave her dewormer and got a puppy shot in her.   She came back in yesterday, still not eating.  Her stool had changed from a normal color on Monday to bloody.  So we sent a sample to the lab and I got the results back this afternoon.  PARVO.

With her Flying Nun Ears

 

She's a sweet, sweet puppy.  I shot these photos and short video of her yesterday afternoon.  She felt a little better this morning.  She was a little perkier, but still depressed.  Her temperature has remained normal (too high is bad, and too low is bad).  She has been curled up on a blanket in the corner of her cage under a heat lamp.  If you open the door to pet her, she'll rest her head on your forearm,  let out a big sigh, and  go back to sleep.   We've not seen projectile diarrhea today, so I am hopeful that she'll pull through. Time will tell. 

If you happen to know someone who got a puppy for Christmas,  please ask about their vaccinations. And if no one seems to know, encourage them to get one as soon as possible. 

It could save the puppy from unnecessary suffering. And save the family from  heartache if that puppy passes away.  Not to mention a lot of money to hospitalize and treat them.  The owners of both Velvet and Maggie could have prevented this if they had gotten a $25 puppy vaccination sooner.