Angel's Story

Exciting update: I could not be more excited to finally update this page and announce that this sweet girl Angel, now known as "Bella" has found her furever home. Bella found the sweetest couple and is now living the life in her new home located in Central Virginia. She transitioned to her new home a few months ago and we have loved hearing updates from her new family. thank you to all who helped us along the way and for all the prayers received. God surely answered our prayers because this sweet girl could not have possibly found a more perfect match. 

 

Update: I am ecstatic to share we are officially on the search for a home for sweet Angel If you are interested in this fantastic pup please reach out! Please know that we will be screening families closely in order to find the best fit for this sweet girl! Read her story and updates below!

 

*Update*

Angel is 4 month old Remi x Thor pup. She is up to date on vaccinations as well as flea/tick and heart worm preventative. She is eating a normal diet and has done exceptionally well returning to a good body weight however she is much smaller than her litter mates and will likely remain on the smaller side for a lab as a full grown adult. She is fully crate trained and goes into her crate without whining or barking and often goes in on her own for naps during the day when the door is left open. She is super food motivated which makes training  easy. She doesn’t bark much, but will bark when in her crate if she has to go potty. We started the process of house breaking later than I normally would have due to her injury and recovery time but she has done amazing and is well on the way to being housebroken. We recently started working on leash training and she is becoming more comfortable on the leash. We’ve also worked on recall and she is generally very good about staying close and coming to you when called off leash and doesn’t go far as she loves to be right with her humans. Angel is very playful and full of energy but has a more laid back calm personality. She is super sweet and loves to snuggle.

 

As far has her injury and progress goes, Angel has done a complete 360 from where she was at 7 weeks. She can run, jump and play just like any other puppy and if you did not know about her injury you probably wouldn’t notice anything different about her. She very healthy and has no  issues/conditions other than a history of neck injury to be aware of. She has no issues with other dogs however it is recommended that she go to a home as an only dog just because rough play has the potential to increase the risk of reinjury to her neck. Aside from some slight stiffness in her neck, she has completely recovered from her injury. The stiffness does not bother her or hurt her and she no longer requires any type of medication or treatment at this time. There is a possibility that she could re-injure her neck throughout her life however being older makes her a candidate for pain medication that wasn’t an option at the time of her original injury which made things quite tough initially. Angel is an absolute doll baby and despite a rough start she is doing so well! I am beyond thankful that I fought for her and that because of that she has a great future and quality of life ahead of her!

 

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I wanted to give an update on a special little puppy we’ve called Angel. I had been very hesitant to post anything about her because while we were hopeful, we were not confident about her prognosis. However, I am excited to share that this sweet girl Angel has beat all odds and surprised us all with her progress!!

 

Angel is 12 weeks old (tomorrow) she is a Remi x Thor puppy and at just under 7 weeks old she had a significant neck injury likely from either being stepped on by mom or playing with her siblings. Initially, right after her injury Angel suddenly was almost completely unable to walk or move very much without severe pain. She stopped eating, drinking, walking, playing or any other normal puppy behaviors. The first 2 weeks after her injury, Angel required around the clock care. I hand/force fed her with prescription wet food with a syringe 4-6 times per day, gave IV fluids daily along with multiple pain medications to keep her comfortable. She was not able to get up from a laying to sitting position without extreme pain and it took every ounce of strength she had left to do so. She lost significant weight and muscle tone very quickly and I was really unsure what the next moment may bring with her. We have the most amazing vet office who was so supportive and despite a very guarded prognosis guided us through all feasible options to help this pup. She received laser light therapy and then chiropractic adjustments in conjunction with acupuncture in addition to the at home exercises I was doing we saw slow but steady progress. As of this week, Angel has been successfully weaned off all pain medications. She is 100% eating and drinking on her own. She is not only able to walk, but can run and play. She picks up toys and carries them around. She is so incredibly sweet and is the best cuddle bug! We think she still has some room for continued improvement but is probably pretty close to her new baseline.

 

While Angel will probably never return to 100% “normal” she absolutely has a bright future with a great quality of life ahead of her.

 

We had a very difficult discussion with our vet about her future and how to continue helping Angel to heal and have the best quality of life possible. Unfortunately, recommendations are for Angel to be in a home where she is the only dog and live a more low key lifestyle (she will likely not be a good candidate for high energy agility type activities) A household with other dogs, especially those that are young and active put her at a higher risk for re-injury. This unfortunately is not something we are able to provide long term to her.

 

Angel is a super loving, happy playful pup with a tail that rarely stops wagging. Because of her issues, her growth was affected and is much smaller than her littermates. She has made huge strides in healthy weight gain and muscle tone, but she will likely long term remain on the smaller side for a Lab.  While Angel is quite the playful pup, she is also much more laid back and a little more timid in personality.

 

While I am not currently looking for a home for her, once I am confident that she has made all the progress in healing that she can I would love to find this special girl the best most loving home ever because she deserves it! Despite her injury, Angel is a healthy girl with no other health concerns. She has been vaccinated, is on monthly flea/tick and heart worm preventative and has been vet checked (many many times 🙂 ) She comes from genetically health tested and clear parents.

 

I will continue posting updates of our sweet Angel and her progress and ask that our Bunker Hill Family help us to shower her with love and continue to cheer her on in her healing!