My name is Ariel!

8/31/20 - I'VE BEEN ADOPTED!
Adoption Fee: $600
Fostered in Texas
Age: 1 year
Weight: 6.2 lbs.

Ariel saw her surgeon yesterday and xrays were done. Her leg is healed and shes free to run and play!! The difference in her is amazing! We will see how she does at PT over the next few weeks before considering whether to do the other knee or not.

12/1/19 - Ariel is doing well and has started physical therapy. We will update as she progresses.

11/5/19 - Ariel's first surgery (on her left leg) was today. Her tibia was twisted and at a 90 degree angle so that was fixed and a groove made for her knee and it was repaired....she may need surgery on her femur at a later date. She had a lot of scar tissue in that leg. Her surgeon was pleased with the outcome and will see her in 2 - 3 weeks. She is resting comfortably and ate well this evening! Thank you to everyone who has donated towards Ariel's continued care...she has come a long way. She still has more to go through, but she is a little trooper and will have a wonderful life because so many people cared!

9/14/19 - Ariel is almost ONE! She is scheduled to be spayed on September 18th and after that recovery we will be looking into her knee surgeries.

8/3/19 - Ariel is going to be spayed at the end of the month. We are hoping to proceed with her first knee surgery in September.

6/28/19 - Ariel's ultrasound went well. No shunt was visible and her liver is a good size. Coupled with the fact she is thriving, the thought is that she most likely has MVD. We will repeat bile acid testing in a few weeks and then decide how to proceed..

6/19/19 - Just a quick update. Ariel has elevated bile acids so her surgery on Friday, June 21st, has been cancelled. She will be seeing the Internal Med specialist at Gulf Coast Vet Specialists to rule out a liver shunt. It would be too risky to do surgery on her leg until this is ruled out.

6/4/19 - ARIEL HAS MET HER MONETARY GOAL FOR SURGERY!! There is also enough to cover physical therapy following surgery.
She sends yorkie kisses to all of her supporters!!

Ariel had her CT scan and is scheduled for surgery on her left leg on June 21, 2019. The other leg will be done after she has recovered from the first.
We are so thankful for our wonderful supporters who have made this possible for this precious pup!

3/6/19 - Ariel is continuing to do well in Physical Therapy ... she saw the dentist today and the right lower canine is still an issue. She will probably need to have her lower deciduous teeth extracted in the next month or two because that canine tooth is coming close to poking her palate. . She has another appt with the dentist on the 26th for a re-eval.

2/10/19 - UPDATE regarding adoption. For an update on her treatments, read the post from yesterday...2/9 ...........The vet has told us that it will be months before Ariel will be of an adequate age and weight to spay and she will not be available to be adopted until after her spay and her physical therapy and any medical issues are addressed. However, we did want to post about the personality she is showing in hopes of finding her forever home in the future. Ariel has NO CLUE that she has a handicap. This thrills us to know that she has such a confident personality, but... sometimes that confident personality can be a downfall in pups this young. She exhibits a very strong will and can throw a tantrum. Yes, it is ADORABLE/ but, take away the fact that she is only a couple pounds and cute, and you have the makings of a major alpha on your hands. We do want a home where Ariel can be spoiled and treated like a princess, but this forever home will need King and a Queen that puts Ariel in line and lets her know who is boss. Delicate alpha owners will know how to handle this piranha in the making; but, it will also be necessary that there be at least two other dogs in the family to teach Ariel boundaries and keep her in line. Her being taken away from her mother so young has left her with only her foster siblings to learn from and these teachings will need to continue as she grows and ages. Are you and your other dogs up for the challenge? We are accepting applications now, but do understand that it will possibly 4 months or a bit longer before she is ready to be adopted. Thanks!

2/9/19 - Ariel continues to do well at Physical Therapy. If you click on the video link under her photo, you can see her progress!
She is now up to date on her puppy shots.
She has an overbite and a malocclusion, so a consult with a veterinary dentist is upcoming. She does not have any adult teeth yet, so we are hopeful that perhaps we can prevent her lower canines from coming in at the angle of her baby teeth, and causing issues with her palate.
Ariel is showing a very strong personality....she is known to scream at the top of her lungs to get her way. :) We think that this personality is why she is doing so well in PT ..she is a fighter!

1/28/19 - Ariel is continuing to do very well in physical therapy where she goes 2x/week. Thank you to all who have sent prayers and donations for her!!

1/16/19 - Ariel saw the physical therapist today at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists. They were very pleased with her progress! She is able to lift her self up with her hind limbs now and is using them better than when she first came to us. She did some time on the underwater treadmill and had other PT .. exercises and stretching. We have uploaded a video of her on the treadmill. Click on the link for videos under her photo on our website.

1/10/19 - Ariel saw the vet today and she has gained weight and is now 2 lbs! She is now 15 weeks old. She received her first puppy vaccine today. Physical therapy begins next week. We are hopeful that we can get this sweet puppy to use her hind limbs. She can get around but is using her front legs to do so.

She is developing a spunky little personality and has made friends with one of her foster mom's pups who is acting like a surrogate mom to her! We are happy about this as she was taken from her mom much too early.

1/8/19 - Ariel will be seeing the vet this week and hopefully will be getting her first vaccination. She has an appointment next week to be re-assessed for physical therapy. She is eating well now and a happy puppy! We will post more when we know more about her therapy.

1/1/19 - Ariel is now 1.5 lbs. She is still on medications for some GI issues she had. She will begin physical therapy in a couple of weeks. We want to get her vaccinated first...that has been put off due to her size and condition.
12/21/18 - Ariel is feeling so much better. She is now weaned and has gained 3 oz! We are hoping to get her exercise program started in the near future.

12/8/18 - Ariel was seen by the physical therapist this past week and a home program has been started. She will return in 2-3 weeks to be measured and see if there is any progress. We are taking it slowly with her....she continues to have other issues related to eating. She will eat one day and reject food the next and needs to be syringe fed on those days. She is staying right at 1 lb so medical testing is limited right now. She is stable and her blood work actually looks good so we are letting Miss Ariel set her own pace, so to speak.

Thank you to so many of you for your kind words, your prayers and your donations. She does have a long way to go and we are so appreciative of the love you all show our babies who need us so much.

12/3/18 - Ariel was discharged from ICU on 12/1 and has been doing well in her foster home. She has an appt with Physical Therapy for this coming Thurs. and will begin a home treatment program. Once she is stronger and able to be vaccinated, she will be going to in house physical therapy.

11/30/18 - Ariel is staying another night in the hospital. She is taking syringe feedings well, but still not interested in eating on her own. She is still in the incubator. She is going to be taken out of it for the day and tonight to be sure she can maintain her body temperature. She will then hopefully be discharged tomorrow to her foster home and be weaned. We are fairly certain that she was never weaned prior to her coming to us even though we were told she was eating. We also had a paper that said she weighed 1.3 lbs on the day we picked her up. When we took her to GCVS the next morning she was 15 oz. She now only weighs 1.034. So, she has gained a bit of weight. She does not have swimmers. She was evaluated by the orthopedic surgeon and she has some deformities in her femurs and severe muscle contractures. She cannot start physical therapy until she is able to eat by herself and be a "normal" puppy. The first thing that needs to be done is to work on the muscle contractures. Her vet expenses will certainly be rising.... she is going to need intensive PT and she "may" need surgery in the future. There is a possibility that she won't.... we will just have to take this one step at a time. Thank you to all who are praying for this precious girl and donating towards her care. You all are the reason we are able to help these pups.

11/28/18 - We believe Ariel has Swimmer's Syndrome and this is why she was referred to us. When she is feeling better, we will post a video of her. She is affected in her hind limb. She had an appointment with our orthopedic specialist and physical therapy for tomorrow; but she has not eaten since she came to us and was lethargic. After two ER visits between last night and this morning, she ended up being admitted to ICU at Gulf Coast Vet Specialists in Houston. She does not appear to be ill based upon her blood work so far; but, she needs intensive and frequent feedings and IV fluids. They are hoping to avert having to put a feeding tube in. We will update later when we know more about her

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