Just A Little Faith!
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 Faith's "Story" is one that never should have existed. By all rights, her story should have been over almost as soon as it began... "Once upon a time there was a puppy. The puppy had an accident and broke her neck. She was given no chance of recovery, and was put to sleep." End Of Story. (or at least it should have been) Faith's story though, is a bit longer than it should have been (by all rights). Her story is being written daily, and is a story of determination, faith, hope, and miracles! We invite you to join in sharing her journey, and cheering for a little girl who just refuses to give up! See the miracle of Faith's Story at www.JustALittleFaith.com and share in Faith's daily updates here in her blog! Last entries
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For those who don't know, we live in the mountains, a very rural place (that I absolutley love) at the end of a road with wilderness on three sides. I can see the rooftops of our nearest neighbors ... if I try hard. It is a beautiful peacefull area, but there is wildlife to contend with. On a couple occasions we have seen bears walking our fenceline (they've never been a bother), we have mountain lions around, lots of coyotes, and of course ... the inevitable field mice everywhere outside. As long as the little buggers stay outside where they belong they're not really a problem, but a couple months back one found its way into the house and set up shop in our bedroom. Me being the big softie I am, of course we had to go out and buy some little mouse box traps that catch the thing live (as my husband so eloquently put it - so I could go turn it loose outside where it would promptly let itself back in thru whatever crack it had originally found, and come back smarter than the box trap to annoy me again.) Moving right along ... the box traps didn't work. Apparently our new little friend was smarter than we were ... despite the various treats we tried to entice him with for a couple weeks straight. He liked his new lodgings and wasn't planning on going anywhere anytime soon. This was around the time I was dealing with all-day-long-morning-sickness, so I was spending a lot of time in bed. Usually I'd be working on my laptop, but I was quiet so I'd often see the little fat furry critter scurrying from place to place across the floor. Now Faith is always by my side, constantly in the same room as I am of course, and it didn't take her long to notice there was a intriguing new squeaky-toy scuttling around her room. She was fascinated by the mouse. This dog would sit or lay at the corner of the bed, perched like a cat for hours while she stared at the corner the mouse was last seen. I could always tell the mouse's whereabouts by following the direction Faith's nose and ears were pointing. She would follow it around the room, peering under dressers, trying to wedge herself under cabinets, stalking it's every move, fascinated by whatever little mousey-noises it would make in the assorted corners it would hang out in. I have never in my life seen Faith so very totally utterly obsessed by something as she was with this mouse! This went on for about two weeks. Me trying (without luck) to trap the mouse, and Faith spending every waking minute watching its every move. Sometimes she would scramble out of bed in the middle of the night to stalk it over to the dresser or whever it happened to be at that moment. So, about the time I'm really getting frustrated with the unwelcome guest, and the unsuccessful traps, I go out to run a day's worth of errands one afternoon. I left Faith home as it was a hot day and we were going to lots of places she would have had to wait in the car. We come home from a long day of running, nice and tired, and tell Richard I'm heading to the bedroom to take a short nap. When I walked in the door, as always, Faith was right there to greet me in an estatic bouncy happy dance of energy and enthusiasm. However, this time was different, she'd bounce around and say hi, then dart off across the house and come racing back to bounce off me again. I followed her into the bedroom (where she kept running off to) and she darted up onto the bed to stand proudly over her prize and make sure I noticed it right away. For those of you who have figured out where this is going ... YES, the (limp & soggy) mouse was proudly displayed in a sodden pile right smack in the middle of my bed. I have never seen Faith so proud of herself. She was so pleased with her accomplishment, and so proud of her "prize" that I hardly had the heart to call Richard to come take it away. OK, so I lied there. Just a little bit. Considering it was in the middle of my BED, (and I can only imagine it had been from one side to the other and over the pillows too while it was still a wriggly-squeaky-play-toy), it was actually quite easy to yell for Richard to haul the little carcas off as quickly as possible. Needless to say, the bed, the pillows, and Faith all got a bath before I got my nap that afternoon. She was so pleased with herself though! Since then, anytime we visit a pet store her favorite thing to do is to find the mouse and gerbil cages... where she will excitedly eyeball all the scurrying little critters for as long as I will let her. I think the ultimate "Faith-toy" would be a gerbil in one of those hard plastic balls ... she would never tire of it. (NO, I wouldn't actually do that to the poor gerbil though!) There are so many things to keep busy with latley, I haven't posted as much as I would like to, but had to take a few minutes to share her funny story.
So Faith's updates have been sparce latley ... as "Mom" has been spending entirely too much time in bed with some horrid all-day-long-morning-sickness. Yup ...    ... Faith is going to have some competition arriving in August!I don't think she'll mind, so long as she gets to keep her spot in the bed!  Will be back to more photos and news soon. ~Laura
Faith loves playing with puppies, and we want our litters to grow up familiar with all types (and sizes) of dogs. We have a Cane Corso Italian Mastiff litter that is 4 weeks old currently, and I wanted to share this video of them at 4 weeks old. It was their first face-to-face meeting with Faith, and as you can tell they seemed to think she was a great chew toy! Watch the "Bad to the Bone" Video here! PS - The pups barely have teeth starting to come out, and Faith was not harmed in any way in the making of this video. 
Faith's 1 Year x-Ray Results! Amazing Recovery from a Broken Neck! We had follow up x-rays taken today - 1 year after Faith broke her neck. The x-Rays are AMAZING!!!  Faith's original X-rays (taken November 11th, 2006 & shown again for comparison below) showed cervical vertebral fractures between C1 and C2 in addition to a fractured dens, resulting in the displacement of a number of vertebrae. The break, as shown in the original x-ray caused her spinal cord to stretch and bend around the ms-aligned vertebrae, resulting in swelling, torn muscles, and paralysis. Her x-rays today, taken one year following her original break, show an incredible and amazing recovery! Even after watching her progress in leaps and bounds through her recovery and since, I was still floored by what the x-rays showed. FAITH'S BROKEN NECK HAS STRAIGHTENED AND COMPLETLY HEALED! SHE IS 100%, WORRY FREE, AND IN NO DANGER OF FUTURE DISPLACEMENT OR DISLOCATION, OR ANY CHANCE OF HER OLD INJURY AFFECTING HER SPINAL COLUM AND MOBILITY AGAIN! Even our vet was surprised by the x-ray results. He credits the early stabilization and care, combined with the fact that she was so young and still growing when the break happened, as big factors in her miraculous recovery. She was young enough to grow thru the break, and for her neck bones to heal as they were stabilized and pulled back together as the swelling was brought down. Long term, she retains a slight bit of un-coordination, (nothing that would be noticed without knowing what to look for), and a slight bulge on either side of her neck at the point of the break as a result of the massive amount of tearing and muscle damage that had to happen for the severe displacement shown in the original x-ray. Her gait seems to be a little high in the front, but as there was no comparison before the break (due to her young age) there is no way to know if it is possibly just her natural gait or somewhat affected by the injury. Bottom line is that Faith's neck has fully healed, she is doing great, has nothing to worry about in the area of future issues due to the original break, and things couldn't be better! Here is Faith's original x-ray, taken a year ago immediantly following her break:  Here is Faith's new x-Ray, taken today, one year from her break.  Here is another of Faith's new x-Rays, taken today, one year from her break.  I'm so happy today  No more always being overly protective and careful! No more holding back and coddling when she wants to play tug (one of her all time favorite games)! Now I get to go "collar shopping" as she doesn't have to wear a harness all the time for fear of re-injuring anything!Below is a copy of an 11x14 framed print I took to my vet today. My gorgeous and amazing girl (can you tell I'm just a wee bit biased?) now holds a place in his office on his "wall of fame"! Already she has been an inspiration to other clients who have had a pet with a serious injury!   Have I mentioned I'm walking on air today!???
Faith had a blast playing on the beach, and was quite excited at seeing the ocean for the first time. She loved the waves rippling in and out ... I guess she thought they were some kind of cool new toy to play with . She had a bit of a confused moment when she realised her new "toy" was getting her feet wet,  but she had a blast anyway!LOTS of pictures to share:          
While we were in Mexico, folks there seemed to find Faith very interesting... We ran into lots of people who wanted to pet her, and who couldn't seem to stop staring at her - especially when she was running around. There was a really cool guy who brought our water to the house we were staying at - He did not speak English and I am very limited in my Spanish, so I don't know his name, but he absolutley loved Faith. He would watch her run and he would point and laugh - he was so happy. Every time she stopped to look at him or took off running he would slap his leg and laugh again.  Her new friend wanted his photo taken with her - I love the way this picture came out. He was so happy to hold her - but was trying to look so serious for the photo. He told all his friends that I took his photo and was going to take it back to the US and sell it there.  After some limited conversation attempts, one of his friends translated for me - he pointed to Faith and called her "Beautiful Deer who Runs Like Rabbit"  So I guess that is Faith's Mexican name now ...  Another guy who came by was staring very strangly at her thru the glass door to the house as he thought we had a small deer in the house! The next time we go back I want to take a print of that shot in case we run into him again so I can give him a copy. 
Well, our vacation was wonderful, but as they say... all good things must come to an end. So, back to reality for me! Lots to catch up on, as vacations are nothing but an excuse to put everything off till you return We took a trip to California with our new import Corso "Amon" to do a breeding with a female out there.  Our friend Mike who owns the female has a beach house out in Mexico on a gorgeous privatly owned beach. We're talking miles of beautiful beach, sand, and ocean - clean, beautiful, and secluded. We spent the week on the beach having a blast! (and fixing flat tires - another story coming soon) The whole time we were there we saw only three other people (and they were lost!). There were no phones, no internet, no computers, nothing to distract from a calm quiet week of solitude and relaxation. I had such a great time! Faith saw the ocean for the first time, and thought those waves were going to be great play toys till she realised they got her feet wet! This is one of my all time favorite pictures from the whole trip!  I'm about ready to pack up and move to Mexico myself. A week without internet, e-mails, and phone calls ... I was in heaven! Many photos to share!!! I think I took over 1200 photos, and Richard says 800+ of them seem to be of Faith! Updates soon! L
It's Vacation Time! We're out in California having a blast - today we did a lot of sightseeing and tomorrow we're taking the camera out for some photo shoots Then we head out to Mexico - no phones, no computers, no internet, and from what I am told, a gorgeous beach! Vacation and a break is a wonderful thing . . . 
We had a great 2.5 hour playdate at a local dog park yesterday. Tara brought Zin & Vina, and we joined in with Faith and Red (STILL working on a name for him), and Brezza our Cane Corso mastiff puppy for an afternoon of fun! Tara brought toys and balls ... which were promptly ignored for the coveted all around favorite ... sticks! Anyone that found a perfect stick was promptly swarmed by all the other pups trying to steal it. They could have cared less about the squeaky toys! Faith had a blast as usual, and met some new friends to play with as well! She was so tired by the time we left that she promptly passed out in the car with Red, slept all the way home and barely stirred all night! We took out the center console in our Expedition and put down a dog bed instead - one of the favorite places for the IGs to ride is right up front between our seats (if they aren't on a lap of course).    A full post of all the playdate photos is HERE!
Happy Birthday Faith! Today is Faith's First Birthday - she is now a whole year old! For a little pup that was paralized and given no chance of recovery at 8 weeks, just reaching her first birthday is an incredible accomplishment she never should have achieved. Reaching a year of age healthy, happy, and completly recovered with full mobility is far beyond my wildest dreams for this girl. When I first brought her home from the vet with her broken neck, as I held and cared for her poor broken and paralized body, I prayed that she would somehow accomplish the impossible and against all odds recover even enough to just be able to get around well enough to function happily as a "special-needs" dog. Even to hope for that was asking for the impossible... I never dared to dream that she would today be the happy full-of-life bundle-of-joy that blesses me every day I am graced with her presence! This dog is an inspiration to me EVERY DAY.  For her to have accomplished all she did, no matter how frustrated I am about life at the moment, I don't really have much to complain about myslef! I am so blessed to be able to share my life with her.   Today's her day - she deserves it! Off to have some fun, take some pix to share, and will post updates later! PS - Faith received a really cool Birthday Gift from her "Aunt Linda" and her Florida pack of friends - Karma, Lexi, Deja, and Stella! THANKS LINDA!!! Here is Faith in her new Yap-Wrap - a wonderful gift from Linda and her girls - taking a break from playing at the park this afternoon to pose pretty for a picture!  Isn't She Gorgeous???
Faith loves helping socialize the new litters of puppies as they grow. She is always along on their outdoor outings as they take confidence from the fact that obvioulsy the big "outside" world hasn't swallowed her up yet so it must be ok after all! After a bit of time to ajust to all the new sights and sounds though, the pups usually settle right into Faith's favorite game ... PLAYTIME! This photo was just too funny as Faith loves to play but I think she got a little overwhelmed/outnumbered when they all headed for her at once! Good thing she can outrun them all! 
Today was our day to make a trip for bones ... an hour drive and we pick up 2-300 lbs of fresh beef bones. We feed them raw to the dogs and they LOVE it! The IGs gnaw off all the good stuff, and the mastiffs will crunch right thru a rib bone in under 2 minutes! So we're driving back with 10 big bags of bones in the back of the Expedition, and I suddenly realize Faith isn't in her regular spot on my lap. I look around and whistle and see this familiar pair of grey ears pop up from INSIDE one of the bags in the middle of the pile...  She hesitated just a second - long enough to determine I didn't have anything better to offer - and dove right back in! Let me tell you, she was sure loving the trip home! After about 35 minutes of digging thru each bag to find the very best nibblets, she wandered back to my lap and curled up with this huge contented sigh. Spent the next 5 minutes thoroughly licking her lips, up one side then the other, then finished off her cleanup by flipping over and rubbing her head up and down my leg.I felt like a towel. (A slightly damp used raw meaty smelling towel). Faith was happy and very satisfied though! On our way home we stopped at the dog park to play for a bit. Faith found a Boxer buddy that was totally into playing with her  (I'm sure it had NOTHING AT ALL to do with the fact that Faith smelled like a grey fuzzy walking hunk of raw meat!) but they sure had fun together!   Faith and her new friend "Aruna" tore around in circles with Faith bouncing off this dog's shoulder and instigating chase sessions. Aruna's parents got to meet and admire her - somehow she always manages to win over even people who usually can't stand "small dogs".  Now that we're home, she promtly claimed the biggest bone she could drag (about three times her size) to hide in the corner, and is passed out snoring across my feet. What a life this dog has . . .
So I wake up this morning with a kink in my neck and feet in my back.... FOUR feet in my back. Faith will usually sleep with her feet to the edge of the bed, and her back snuggled against me. She starts out in her space on the side of the bed ... as the night progresses we seem to migrate as a group to Richard's side of the bed. Each time I shift a bit, Faith will quickly scooch over so she is right against me again ... meaning I can't roll back in that direction (and she has successfully claimed more bed space for herself!). By the time the night is half over, I am usually crammed against Richard who ends up tetering on his edge and hoping not to fall out. I am completely convinced that this "bed-claiming-scootching" move is something that is inherited by nature with this breed. And in this case, obviously practiced to perfection! Well this morning I guess Faith decided the 3/4 of the bed that she had managed to claim during the night was not enough! When I woke she had rolled over, planted all four feet in the middle of my back, and was busy doing her best to push me over more! It never ceases to amaze me how such a little dog can spread out and claim so much space in the bed. Gee, its so nice to feel loved. Think I need a bigger bed (just to keep the dog happy...)! 
For those who are visiting Faith's blog for the first time, she has an amazing story. Faith broke her neck at 8 weeks of age, and was completly paralized from the neck down. She was not given a chance to live, but with a little faith, a lot of work, and a huge miracle, today she is a happy healthy amazing testamant to what can be accomplished if you don't give up! To date, Faith's story has been shared on her website (www.JustALittleFaith.com) with her original story, and photos and updates on her progress as time progressed. That site covers in detail her story and progress as she healed, but now I have decided to move her current updates to her blog here as we continue to share her progress and everyday life. You can view many photos of Faith (currently still being added) in her new Photo Gallery too! I hope you enjoy continuing to share in her journy, perhaps she will be in some small way an inspiration to you as she is to me every day! |
May 17 2008, 09:19 PM
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