Lily's Story

This is an actual copy of all the updates on Lily, beginning weeks before the day she entered rescue. Lily was truly a miracle dog, she faced seemingly impossible odds not only before but also after entering into rescue. Her will to live - regardless of the obstacles in her path - is one that we could all learn from. Lily is one that you simply cannot help but feel compelled to help, you just had to...

The following are the exact updates about her travels while in rescue. Her story continues to be an inspiration to many of us when we face seemingly insurmountable obstacles in our lives.

The links below go to the individual updates; however, we recommend you grab a box of Kleenex and sit back and read her whole story, you'll be glad that you did.

Please see the above menu for the Latest information or scroll down through all the past updates.

Lily's Story

Lily is a recent addition to rescue. The story of how Lily came into rescue is heartbreaking. Together we can give this girl a very happy ending.

Through caring people, word of her tragic fate reached beyond geographical boundaries and set into motion a series of events that most would consider either fate or magic.

You see, Lily was not just another unwanted dog living on the hot muggy streets of rural Georgia she was something more.

A Miracle Dog?

It was not long until our little homeless lady was discovered - sitting on the church steps - and remanded to the local animal control. She was housed at their shelter and word began to spread about her plight. We contacted the Georgia shelter to inquire about her. However, before she could be transferred to NCSBR the shelter had a deadly outbreak of the parvo virus. The shelter was placed under a mandatory quarantine and no animals were allowed to be removed for at least two weeks.

Miraculously, Lily did get that chance at freedom by not falling victim to the deadly disease. Not knowing the full story of Lily's condition, one of our transporters made arrangements to drive from North Carolina to the shelter in Georgia and bring this sweet lady into rescue. It was during this ride, that another miracle happened.

"She Just Saved Me"

In the transporters own words: "We were traveling north on I95 and had just crossed over I26 when Lily started whining really bad. So I pulled off at the rest area so she could 'relieve' herself."

"Funny thing, she didn't want to do anything but get petted and have her belly rubbed. So after about five minutes, we loaded back up and started back onto the interstate."

"In between the time we pulled off, and back onto the interstate, a wreck involving 5 vehicles had occurred, several were injured badly.The road was completely shut down for an hour and a half."

"I can't help but to wonder if this girl didn't just save me."

Every Parasite Known to Man

In the few days since Lily entered rescue, she has been diagnosed with a severe worm infestation. She is positive for roundworm, hookworm, whipworm, and tapeworms. But by far the most serious and costly condition is her heartworm infestation. This poor dog has had so many miracles these past few days, we are worried that she might run out of luck without your help.

Lily came out of her weekend stay at the Animal Hospital of Fayetteville today. She was diagnosed with heartworm disease, 4 types of parasites, including coccidia. She is severely anemic. She has an upper respiratory infection.

She is emaciated and at least 30 pounds underweight at 67 pounds.

Lily will need to be rehabilitated for several weeks before even considering any major medical work. She will be spayed and treated for heartworm as her physical condition allows. For now, she is on a high protein diet with a vitamin supplement. She is also taking five medications for her medial condition.

As you can see, after a good bath and having a little TLC our Miss Lily certainly is looking better.

Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back

In these past few weeks Lily has been cleared of all the parasites with the exception of the heartworms. She had a nasty intestinal virus that set back her progress, but that is turning the tide now. Hopefully, in the coming days Lily will gain some much needed strength and be able to continue on her road to recovery.

Lily is almost cleared for her spay operation. We have been trying to get Miss Lily's weight and strength up so she can fight the horrible infestation of heartworms. She has had a tough time of it. If she continues to improve this week, maybe by early August she will be strong enough to be spayed. After that, she will start on her heartworm treatments.

Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back

Our Miss Lily is not cleared for her spay operation once again. Hopefully next week she will be able to undergo the surgery. For now, we continue to pray that she increases her strength and gains weight so she can better fight the heartworm disease in the coming weeks.

Crashed On The Table!!!

Lily had her spay surgery today. Her preliminary blood work looked good and she has actually gained 10 pounds! So the decision was made to not only go with the surgery, but also to take care of some dental work too.

However, she did have some complications. She had some fluid in her abdomen and actually 'crashed' on the table. The surgeons were able to revive her, and presently she is in the Animal Hospital of Fayetteville for the next couple of days or so. She is receiving IV fluids and medicines and under close supervision. The veterinarian said there is an abnormality with her liver, but she should be OK.

We will update her condition as we receive word, but for now she is resting and receiving excellent care.

Please keep our Miss Lily in your prayers.

She Needs Strength

Lily is out of the hospital and resting comfortably at her foster home. The vets want to start her heartworm treatments as soon as she can gain about 10 more pounds. She will have to go through a very conservative course of treatments like Molly did earlier this year.

The vets said the reason she 'crashed' during the surgery is due to her being infested for so long with the multiple internal parasites. They said her blood actually pooled in her spleen and abdomen. That caused her to go into shock during the operation. We are thankful that they were able to save her.

Our focus now is getting the needed weight on Lily so that she can start the heart worm treatments. The vets want to start her treatments as soon as possible - the weight issue being the hold back.

With all the problems that Lily has been through, we cannot help but to awe at how sweet this little lady is. Her appetite is still lackluster to say the least. She will be receiving winstrol injections (a form of anabolic steroid) in hopes of not only stimulating her appetite, but also to help this sweet lady in her travels down the road of recovery.

Her appetite is not as good as we had hoped, and we are trying several things to increase her intake of food. While we have dealt with this in the past years, never have we had such poor results. If you have any suggestions for packing the weight on a finicky eater, please send an email.

It's Working!

As you can see by this picture made today, Lily has started to gain the much needed weight.

She is starting to look more and more like a saint bernard should look.

She will be going back to the vets later this week and hopefully they will clear her for starting her heartworm treatments.

Comparing the pictures of her today with those of her the day she entered rescue we are amazed at how much better she looks.

It truly is heartwarming to see Lily finally gaining weight.

Please see the link above about donating food for Lily - it is working!

(link has been removed)

"She's Getting Fat!"

Lily went in today for her checkup and evaluation. She has gained 7.2 lbs and now weighs 83.4 (She's getting fat!).

The vet is going to start her heartworm treatment next Wednesday the 5th of September. He recommended we keep her on the special diet as long as we can afford to do so, since she is looking so much better and is putting on about one pound per day.

Overall her re-check went well and her incision is healing nicely. The vet thinks she is till 25 to 30 lbs underweight though.

Starting Heartworm Treatments

Lily had her first heartworm treatment today. She has gained another 4.9 lbs and now weighs 87.3 pounds.

Lily is staying at the Animal Hospital of Fayetteville for a few days so she can be close if things take a turn south. The heartworm treatments are hard on any dog, but the way things have gone for Lily...

These next few days will be especially hard on her system, hopefully she will pull though. We will keep everyone posted on her progress as things develop. Please keep Miss Lily in your prayers.

Coughing Up Blood

Lily started coughing up bright red blood last night. She continues to loose weight and now weighs 76.2 pounds.

Lily went back to the Animal Hospital of Fayetteville and was given an anti-inflammatory shot, she continues to be on the steroids and also other oral medications. While it is possible for some dogs to undergo surgery to remove the dead and dying heartworms, it is just not possible with Lily. Due to her weakened condition the vets feel that she would not pull through any surgery.

She is presently back at rescue, crated and isolated in order to keep her from getting 'excited' and increasing her heart rate. Sadly, the vets are now giving her a 50:50 chance of even pulling through the night. Please keep our Miss Lily in your prayers, she has been through so much, we hate to think of her loosing the battle after traveling this far along the recovery road. We will keep everyone posted on her progress as things develop.

A Very Long Night

Lily has not coughed up red blood since last night. She continues have very labored breathing though. It's hard not to spend every waking moment standing guard on her, although the doctors did say to keep her isolated and calm.

She survived the night, and continues to travel the recovery road. While she's still a very sickly little doggie, maybe just maybe things will get better.

Easing Off

Today Lily's labored breathing started to ease off. In addition to her much improved breathing, her appetite is coming back! It looks like our Miss Lily is taking a turn for the better.

While she is still confined to the crate for at least two more weeks, it's so good to see her actually looking and feeling better. We understand that she is not out of danger right now, but it is obvious that once again that everyone's prayers for Miss Lily have been answered. Words cannot express how happy we are to see this change in Lily.

Lily wound up loosing weight though. She is presently down to 72.3 pounds, but with her appetite improving, hopefully we can get the weight back on her and she can gain her strength back.

"She Should Have Died"

Lily has been freed from the horrible incarceration that she has been having to endure for these past few weeks. She has improved enough that she is no longer confined to her crate 24/7.

As you can see, she even looks like she's feeling better.

Her treatment schedule is up in the air at the present time, due to an error she was accidentally given the heartworm treatment for a saint bernard half again her size. Most are uncertain exactly how this sweet girl survived the treatment, when it should have killed her within days.

She has been given one additional treatment, and will be tested in the coming days to determine if any additional treatments are even necessary. While it would seem that instead of going the conservative course, we wound up going with an extremely aggressive plan. Regardless, Lily seems to be doing just fine - there truly is something special about this dog. We cannot explain it any other way.

Lily did wind up loosing a lot (if not all) the weight that she has put on since entering rescue. Her appetite continues to improve. Hopefully from here on out, it's just a matter of getting her weight back up to a normal level.

She's Free!

We have just received word from the last tests, Lily is officially free of Heartworm Disease! She will remain on her diet and the supplements in order to improve her overall weight and condition.

While she is through with all the parasite treatments she will have to be guarded against the possibility of contracting any illnesses for the next while. Something like canine pneumonia would most likely prove to be fatal in her weakened condition.

Words cannot express the true feelings we have for those that have helped Miss Lily on the road to recovery, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for helping this lovely lady get a chance at a real life.

Lily presently is at 83lbs and is gaining more weight and strength. Her appetite continues to improve. Now it's just a matter of getting her weight back up to a normal level.

Can it Be? Adopted??

Lily is officially adopted! Pictures will be posted in the next few days, but for now a big thank you goes out to everyone. She took us all on a very emotional roller coaster of a ride, but she came through every time - thanks to the support she received from everyone.

Proof In Pictures

As promised, a few pictures from Lily. She is doing well, and is enjoying being a member of the family. Hopefully, we will continue to receive updates and pictures of Lily in the future. For now, all of us at NCSBR want to wish Lily and her new family many happy years together.

Additional pictures of Lily are in the Just Look At Me! pages.

See Lily's Bio for more information.

NCSBGRR
Spring Lake, NC 28390

NCSBGRR - Non-Profit 501(c)(3)
Status Pending