December 28, 2007

We had a horrific thing happen here tonight.

Probably the most horrible thing I have ever witnessed.  I took the dogs downstairs to go outside.  I put Jester's Flexi lead on, turned on the light and opened the door.   He hopped out and started to pee..  Instantly I heard horrible barking and then Jester was screaming.  I shot out the door and a mountain lion had him in his mouth!!!

I started screaming and I ran at the lion (in retrospect probably not the smartest idea but I wasn't thinking about myself) and by a complete miracle the lion dropped him and ran away.   Jester is alive and in the hospital with 2 fractured vertebrae in his neck and 3 puncture wounds, one with a drain.  The surgeon from our vet clinic will come to Boulder tomorrow morning to evaluate whether he needs surgery or just some sort of a contraption to completely immobilize his neck.   I am completely filled with gratitude that he is alive. Please pray for him tonight as he is stable but critical.   

December 29, 2007

We just heard from the emergency vet clinic that the surgeon has been there and is NOT recommending surgery. (thank goodness).  He also feels the bandaging he currently has will he sufficient (it is quite extensive) and he is not in need of some "halo" contraption.   They are keeping him though at least through today and they will re-evaluate at 6pm when the other vet comes back on duty.  He is heavily sedated with some combination of things including morphine and naturally in a lot of pain. Blood work is good showing no infection.  The wound that is most critical was done by the fang tooth of the cat.  It appears it penetrated all the soft tissue and then fractured the bone.  He has a drain in this.   

Living in the mountains I have always realized that the dogs can never go outside by themselves unattended and we have functioned quite well with our combination of leash walks, highly elevated large deck that serves as their "yard" and letting them out the back door on flexi's to pee in the evening.

The back door opens on to a small flat area (our house sits on a ridge), that is open to the right and drops off to the left.  Also to the left is a patio that extends the full area that is under our deck.  Last night the wind was blowing very hard and it was freezing cold.  I imagine the mountain lion had found himself refuge under our deck and was very close by when I opened the door.  What I believe saved Jester was having the leash on (so the cat could not just drag him away) and being startled by this hysterical human running and screaming at it and me being right there.  I'm sure another few seconds would have done him in as mountain lions go for the neck to break it and then carry their victim away.

We are operating today with the assumption that Jester will fully recover in time.  Please keep him in your thoughts.  I'll keep you updated.

December 30, 2007

I don’t have much to report yet this morning but should have an update of sorts shortly.  We visited Jester yesterday afternoon and brought him his favorite stuffed rabbit and his favorite treats. (Not that he’s eating anything)  He was still on IV’s and very drugged up.  It is my understanding they are weaning him off these and getting him on oral meds.  They had to insert a catheter to empty his bladder because I think he is too heavily medicated to go.  The interesting part is the DR that came back on duty last night told me at 8pm he was prepared to release him to me!!!   I said I was not comfortable with this AT ALL yet and they kept him overnight.  I then paged my regular vet who is on call this weekend but naturally not open.  I told him I needed some help and guidance as to when Jester is really going to be ready to come home and he agreed that he should NOT come home until he is eliminating on his own and eating.  So, at 8am I will emergency vet for an update and then page my vet, Stan.    Stan will then call and get the scoop so we can come up with a course of action.  The situation here is that the emergency centers here are just that, emergency rooms and once they stabilize they are accustomed to releasing the animal to the care of their normal vet.  They actually typically close at 8am and open evenings. and weekends. With the holiday they are naturally open extended hours.  So, this reminds me a little bit of managing human care in the hospital.    I will feel much better once he is successfully weaned back from the IV morphine and isn’t staggering around in a stupor.  I am grateful they have made him so comfortable but know that this is not a condition in which I should be caring for him at home!       I did get a good nights sleep last night so I am prepared to take him today if he’s indeed ready to come home.    

Jester is home and doing VERY well considering.  We picked him up early this afternoon and now that he is off the morphine drip, he is alert, eating, and going to the bathroom independently.  We are SO grateful and it truly appears he will make a full recovery.  The first thing he did when I brought him in was lie down (very slowly) and flip on his back so I could scratch his belly!  You will notice in the pictures the cute red hearts the vet techs made for his cast/collar.   He is on crate rest for 7 days, and can not have a leash on (or anything around his neck) for a minimum of 8 weeks.  I will be buying a harness as soon as he feels better so we can resume our walks.    I plan to walk with mace and a big stick from now on. J 

Thank you for all your prayers and support.  This has been quite an ordeal and my thoughts are now focused on Jester’s 100% recovery. 

Happy New Year!  Welcome 2008!!!
 

This is a picture taken by one of our neighbors, of a mountain lion passing by.... probably not the same one, but it gives you an idea of how big they can be.