Baby Emma 

9/10/08 

 

 

Dena, A good friend of Tinkerbell's Closet has taken in a little orphan Chihuahua puppy girl who was born with a cleft palate, cleft lip and sever facial deformities.  We are trying to raise awareness, support and financial support for baby Emma.

 

Emma came to Dena when she was just 20 hours old......... she is now 5 weeks old and continues to thrive!

 

She has already endured 4 failed surgeries within the first week of her life.... but they finally have the support of a fabulous veterinary hospital and specialists who have taken Emma under their wing!!

 

Please follow the link below to learn more about this angelic little creature and her life with Dena up to this point.  You'll find photos, videos, links to her different pages for updates and blogs... and a live webcam where you can come see Emma at most anytime!  You can also donate using this link to help with baby Emma's medical bills.

 

 

http://www.fundable.com/groupactions/groupaction.2008-11-06.0063998998 

 

Emma's story was also featured on Fox news:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFBjsmuH-nQ

 

 

Here are some more links to see Emma's story:

Here is Chi-Chi's story:   "Chi-Chi is a wonderful 1 year old female chihuahua who came from a loving family that could not afford her care. She lived in mexico with her family and while there broke her front leg. The family could not afford to fix the leg so they put a splint on it at their local vet. Shortly after breaking her leg the family moved to New Jersey. During rennovations on the new house, Chi-Chi mysteriously broke her leg again in the same spot. The owners did not know how it happened and nobody saw the incident. They took her to a good vet in Passaic where the doctor resplinted her leg, gave her vaccines, and a health check up. The vet said that the leg needed orthopedic surgery or it would not heal properly. The recommended she be taken to see an orthopedic surgeon at once so she doesn't injure the leg anymore. Chi-chi was taken to the hospital where she stayed the day so the doctors could look her over. Upon examining her the surgeon discovered a pretty bad fracture that needed an implant to help stablize it so it could heal. The bad news was given to the owners. Unfortunately the owners didn't have the money to pay for this. So the decided to euthanize her. Luckily I worked for said surgeon and told them not to do it. I would take chi-chi into my care, have the surgery done and find her a great new home. The owners agreed to sign her over to the hospital. So on March 9, 2007 chi-chi had her surgery and two days later she came home with me. For the next couple of weeks chi-chi spent her time in a large crate with food, water, toys, a big cushy bed. She was only allowed out to potty and sit on the couch with me. Every week I would take her back into the hospital for a bandage change and some new colors. During one of her bandage changes the vet noticed that she was walking funny on her rear end. He went over her knees and determined that she had grade 4 luxating patellas in BOTH back legs that would need surgery to correct. So Chi-Chi had another surgery to look forward to in the future. At the end of April her bandage was taken off and x-rays were taken. The vet said her leg was healed and she didn't need the splint anymore. YAY! Now was the time to put out the word on Chi-Chi needing a new home. The only problem was the future surgery on her knees. Who was gonna take her with such a huge bill coming up? I sent out an email to friends and family and quickly got a response from a co-worker of a neighbor. They sounded like wonderful people so I went to see them, their house, and their dog. During the visit i could clearly see that these people would provide Chi-chi with an excellent home so I gave them my approval. Before totally accepting to take her I told them I would find out how much the surgery would cost and get back to them. Even after giving them the news about the $3500 bill they decided that they wanted to take her. Because the bill is so big and overwhelming, my family and I, plus some close friends have donated some money to help pay the bill. Every little bit helps to give Chi-chi a great future with her new home."   Testimonial by Kellie Of NJ, rescuer of Chi-Chi

 

Chi-Chi's update (8/25/07)

Dixie had her two month recheck on 8/24. She looks FABULOUS. She no longer walks all hunched over and her legs aren't as splayed. Dixie was very happy to see me(Kellie) and was dancing all over the room. The doctor gave her the OK to finally go back to normal exercise and play after 5 months of restriction. Her new mom and dad are very happy to be able to let her finally be a normal puppy.

 

 

 

 

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Chopstix's Story

 

In 2006 we helped raised several hundreds of dollars for Chopstix's surgery - Chopstix's is a 1 year old Chi-Yorkie mix who was severely abused. Chopstix's was turned into a local high-kill shelter with both of her front legs broken and in an extremely emaciated state.  Fortunately she was rescued from the high kill shelter by a small loving rescue group called LaurensZoo.  Although finally in better hands, she was going to need several surgeries for her legs just so she would be able to function with them.  Funds were desperately needed to pay for her medical expenses, and thanks to the power of internet and many amazing people enough money was raised to provide Chopstix with all the medical attention need to improve her conditions.  Even customers of Tinkerbell's Closet raised several hundred dollars that went towards her medical expenses.

 

Chopstix Update 2007: Chopstix has recovered from the initial surgery to fix the bones in her front two legs. She now runs and plays with other dogs without much worry. After hours of hydrotherepy, she has developed a very funny swimming style that has been labeled the "chop-stroke". She overexerts her little legs far too easily. The time lapsed between injury and surgery (when she was rescued) was far too long. Her little chicken tendens are very stretched which causes hyperextension in her legs. Her rescuers (and thier vet) fear this will cause a nasty artheritis in just a few years to come. So, soon, her vet will fuse her weakest ankle. This will give her the stability she will need to live a long and happy life. They are debating several techniques that will minimize the rehab process after the "fusing" and decide what is the least invasive and most efficent solution. This will take place soon.  She still has a bit of a battle ahead of her and life will not be absolutely perfect but overall Chopstix has improved greatly and can now do things she would not have been able to do without the kindness and generosity of so many loving strangers.