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ZOE
Jaana has treated hundreds of animals over the years and knew what needed to be done. We threw our stuff from the back of the car onto the back seats, put some newspaper at the bottom and placed the girl on it. Jaana gave her an antibiotic injection (she always carries some meds in her car), then we drove off to find a cardboard box and a quiet place where we could wash her (we had 2 bottles of 'warm' drinking water with us - warm because of the heat) We then drove around to find a chemist and Jaana bought a bottle of saline, so as to give the girl under-skin fluid as she badly needed to be 're-hydrated'! |
Zoe was found by myself and Jaana (from a shelter on Kos) on the island of Rhodes in September 2008.
The small pointer cross was on the roadside, collapsed & unable to walk.
She was VERY thin, but had a very bloated stomach (full of fluid) and
her mouth smelt very bad (she had a bad chest
infection which got to her lungs) - her gums & tongue were greyish white.
She was totally dehydrated and only weakly licked some water we gave her. She was unable
to walk and even when we gently stood her up, supporting
her, her legs just gave in. |
On the ferry, we went up to the top deck (all under roof) and as luck would
have it, the gap between the railing and the 'wall' was the perfect width to
hold the drip-bottle. Every 10-15 minutes Jaana re-positioned the needle in
a different part of the dog's back (just below the skin), to spread the
fluid evenly.The fact that a 'bulge' didn't appear meant that she was
absorbing it well. There is no doubt in my mind that Jaana's quick thinking
saved the girl's life!! By the time we arrived on Kos 3.5 hours later, the
girl was brighter. I said to Jaana that if the dog survived, we should call her ZOE (meaning
'life') After we arrived at Jaana's home she put Zoe
in their modest surgery room where we tried to give her a bit of food but she couldn't eat,
although she looked comfortable.
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When we took Zoe to the vet's, she had a general blood test, which showed that her kidneys were OK, although her liver was not so good. She was also a bit jaundiced. The vet X rayed Zoe which showed that the abdomen was full of fluid. I had to leave Kos the following day, but that morning Zoe ate properly for the first time, she did vomit some of it later on, but seemed OK. After I left Kos, I called Jaana daily and was delighted to hear that Zoe was getting better by the day. The fluid in her abdomen began to 'disappear', which accentuated just how skeletal she was, but she ate well. The pictures below show what a fantastic recovery Zoe has made. She is unrecognisable from the dog we found collapsed on the side of the road. She is healthy, happy and has a loving new home to go to. Vesna Jones
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UPDATE
Zoe now lives with a family in Germany. Her new 'mum and dad' adopted a dog from Greece the previous year so Zoe already had a playmate and Greek cousin to
keep her company. The pictures below are a selection taken between November 2008 and July 2009.
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