Special Needs Pets

Meet Lula....

UPDATE : June 22, 2009

Lula is doing great! She will have her last heartworm treatment next week. Each day I can see that Lula is feeling better. I've had her for a few months now and have not seen her play. Well, last night she got a little giddy and was wanting to play and act silly! It was such a joy to see her acting like a dog should act. I know now that she is feeling better. She still can't hear very well, but that does not deter her in any way. She goes about her business just like the rest of the dogs. It won't be long before we will start looking for a home for Lula. She is a wonderful dog, very laid back and very sweet! She is crate trained, but she is so well behaved in the house, she should do fine without a crate. She prefers to be in the house rather than outside, I'm wondering since she lost her hearing if it intimidates her to be outside where she can't hear what is going on around her. But again, as she is feeling better she is venturing out to lay on the deck in the sunshine. I will update again after her next heartworm treatment.
Thank You,
Marsha Rogers and Lula

May 9, 2009

Lula has now had ear ablation surgery on both of her ears. We were going to have the second ear done in 2-4 weeks after her first surgery, but she was in quite a bit of discomfort, so Dr. Isaacs said we should go ahead and do the surgery. He tried to do an ear flush to relieve the pressure in her ear but with the grotesque growths in her ear, he could not even get the smallest tube down in her ear to do a flush. It has been about one week since her surgery and she seems to be doing good. At least she does not seem to be in as much pain. We go back to Dr. Isaacs Tuesday for the staples to be removed. I don 't believe Lula can hear very much. She will respond to vibrations though. Next step in her recovery will be heartworm treatment and we will probably have her treated at the end of May. Lula has been an absolute angel through this whole ordeal! Lula and I thank you all so very much for the donations and prayers through her recovery. I will keep you updated so keep checking the website.

Lula is a 6 year old German Shepherd Mix. Her story starts at a local animal shelter where she was picked up as a stray. The shelter staff thought that Lula was exceptionally laid back! None of the shelter noise, the barking of the other dogs, the slamming of the kennel doors bothered Lula. They found out why Lula was so laid back when a local vet tech came and did an exam on her. Lula is deaf. She has tumors in both ears due to chronic ear infections. The shelter staff called Ruff Love Rescue to see if they could help Lula. They did not want to euthanize Lula because she was so sweet, but were faced with making that decision if they could not get a rescue group to take her. The shelter has no funds to pay for the expensive surgery that Lula would be facing.

Ruff Love Rescue took Lula into their program and she was immediately taken to the vet's office. The vet said she would need ear ablation surgery on both ears...her ears were horrible. The cost of this surgery would be at least $2000! We immediately went to work to try and raise the money for Lula's surgery. She has now had the ear ablation surgery done on one ear and we will have the other done in about 4 weeks. On top of everything else, she is heartworm positive. Poor Lula! Her ears are extremely painful, but she has been an absolute angel during her recovery. She is worth every penny that it costs to help her.

Life is looking up for Lula. She is enjoying the beautiful flowers in the garden, she has a safe home, good food and she is getting lots of love and attention. One more ear surgery,treatment of heartworms and oh yea, I forgot to mention she has to be spayed, and Lula will be on her way to finding a forever home. Lula may be able to hear some noise after her ears heal. I'm not sure if she can hear much right now, but after her surgeries, she will not have anymore ear infections! Please, if you would like to help Lula with the remaining costs of her surgery and heartworm treatment(and spay) please click donate and you can pay through a paypal account. Or, you can mail a check to the address listed on Ruff Love's website. Lula is being treated by Blue Flint Animal Hospital in Asheboro,NC. If you would rather make a donation to the vet's office, I will list the mailing address also. Please earmark all donations to LULA. Thank You So Much from Lula's foster Mom and from Lula!

Donations can be made directly to Blue Flint Animal Hospital (336)328-1000. Be sure to tell them if you call that your donation is for Duke Or you can mail your donation directly to Ruff Love and we will provide a receipt for your donation for tax purposes.

Click the link below to donate to help Lulu.