Pinkee Jo:
The Beginning:
Pinkee Jo after surgery to put a pin in her hip
The story of Pinky begins when she was 8 weeks old. Donna met Pinky at the veterinarian hospital where she works in Texas. Pinky had come in with a broken leg and the vet there had put a pin in her hip, but it kept coming through the skin, so she had come into the hospital several times in a 2 week period.
Donna said that the first time she laid eyes on little Pinky, she fell immediately in love with her. Who wouldn’t? She is a beautiful little black and white Chihuahua.
Donna became friends with Pinky’s owner and she knew that she had gotten Pinky because she wanted to breed her. While they were having lunch together one day. Donna told her that Pinky would never be big enough to breed and if she ever thought about finding her another home, she would be happy to give her a good home.
Pinky Becomes Pinkee Jo:
To Donna’s delight, she was given Pinky, who she named Pinkee Jo, that very day. She couldn’t have been happier!
Several months went by and Donna had to take her back to the hospital many times for what she and the vet thought was a urinary tract infection (UTI). They just couldn’t figure out what exactly was wrong with her.
The other vet there, however, had her suspicions. Donna took Pinky to a facility that did digital sonograms and they confirmed that doctor’s suspicions. Little Pinkee Jo had two large bladder stones and a liver shunt. She had lost so much weight, you could see her tiny ribs.
[beautifulquote align=”full” cite=””]“A liver shunt occurs when an abnormal connection persists or forms between the portal vein or one of its branches, and another vein, allowing blood to bypass or shunt around the liver. In the majority of cases, a liver shunt is caused by a birth defect called a congenital portosystemic shunt.” — Wikipedia[/beautifulquote]
It Gets Worse:
But, then it got worse. On the way home, Pinkee Jo began having a seizure that apparently was caused by the dye they used for the sonogram. Just imagine how devastating that was for Donna! She said that before they found an emergency veterinary clinic, she almost lost her little baby a couple of times. But, she did find one and they were able to give her fluids and she recovered enough to return home.
When they got back home, Donna took her back to the clinic where she works and with the information they had from the sonogram, the Doctors there put her on several different medications. They hoped the medication would return her to the closest thing to a healthy and a normal life that was possible for her.
Pinkee Jo and Donna Now:
Happily, with the treatment provided, Donna said that she began to regain her weight and become a happy, normal little Chihuahua again. Pinkee Jo will be on these medications for the rest of her life unless they do surgery that is VERY EXPENSIVE. Otherwise, she should have a basically normal, happy life.
PinkeeJo today
She is happy to report that little Pinkee Jo is now a 3.5 lb. little trouble maker, which is exactly what she should be and Donna is as happy as can be! The only visual indication of her ordeal is that her previously broken leg is about an inch and a half shorter, but I for one don’t think that is going to stop little Pinkee Jo!
Thank you so much, Donna, for sharing yours and Pinkee Jo’s very inspiring story. I am very happy that PinkeeJo is doing well, and I’m sure all our readers are too. She is one lucky little dog to have found you and become part of your family!