May 13, 2014
Freida, a beautiful black lab, is just one of 33 wonderful dogs we rescued from Georgia. But on Freida’s first walk, we noticed she couldn’t put any pressure on her back leg and skipped along to get where she needed to go.
When we sat with Freida to see what was wrong, she trustingly let us examine her leg, and gave us kisses, but even Freida’s sweet personality couldn’t mask the pain she was feeling.
May 14, 2014
We took Freida to the vet. She says Freida is suffering from a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament). There is no way to know how long her leg has been in this condition, but only surgery will help relieve the pain. “She’s in constant pain. The sooner she gets this fixed, the better!”
May 19, 2014
NEAS sends out an email alert, asking for donations to help pay for Freida’s surgery. Our loyal supporters respond at once!
Our vet says today would be the perfect day for the surgery, because a special orthopedic veterinary surgeon has time to do it. We say “Let’s do it,” and Freida has her operation.
May 20, 2014
Freida looks great. There were no complications. She is on pain medication and antibiotics to prevent infection.
Post surgery instructions/requirements: Observe incision daily- no licking or chewing of site area allowed. 6/3/14 sutures should be removed. ** VIP _RESTRICTED ACTIVITY REQUIRED 6-8 WEEKS- NO STAIRS<JUMPING< RUNNING<ROUGH HOUSING OF ANY KIND< Confinement indoors. With short bathroom leash walks on solid ground only. Should be crated when left alone. Physical re-check 6/20/14. Then decide on best therapy.
May 21, 2014
Freida is as sweet as ever. She is getting properly spoiled by our staff and volunteers. She is doing great on her short walks and lounges in her space filled with comforters and pillows.
And, this just in from our foster care coordinator: “I have found a great foster home for Frieda to recuperate in. She will be picking her up this afternoon and understands the challenges ahead.”
May 30, 2014
Freida has made great progress …. much better than we expected at this point. Before her operation, she couldn’t put any weight on her leg. Now, 11 days later, she even ran a few feet before we held her back. It looks like she’ll quickly remember how to walk and run normally, and we expect her rehabilitation to go very smoothly.
June 3, 2014
Freida is such a love! She is walking well and is anxious to be let off her leash. Look at her tail wag. She’s so happy, and so are we.
June 16, 2014
Update from Freida’s foster mom: Freida is doing great! She is so much stronger and happier. I’ve taught her to have better leash manners which is working well. However she seems to only have these manners with me. When others take her out on the leash she pulls and tries to break free. Even my husband who is over 6’ and 210 pounds has a hard time holding back. She is a very strong dog. She is also a digger! I’ve never seen a dog dig a whole faster or more quickly than Freida. We have a very secure fence but I have no doubt that if she were let off the leash to roam freely, she would dig under the fence in less than 2 minutes.
Freida seems to want to get out of whatever contains her. We have a large fenced in back yard that abuts conservation land with plenty of room to roam on the leash. But she wants to get under the fence or out of her crate, etc. She doesn’t like to have boundaries. She got away from me early on when her leg was still healing and she can run faster on 3 legs than some dogs run on 4. She is powerful.
One day she was in the kitchen with me while I mixed her dinner. She got so excited she started jumping up and down. But she was jumping on all four legs! I’ve never seen anything like it. Most dogs jump with their hind legs. But she was jumping on all 4 at the same time. Everyone in the room was in awe. I wish I had thought to get it on video. I had to put her back into her crate to finish making her dinner because I was afraid she would hurt her leg.
She has settled in nicely and is starting to accept the cat. Throughout this process we realize it is really more the cat’s issue than Freida’s issue. We have another dog and the cat gets along well with Buddy. It’s getting better with time.
I am definitely considering adopting Freida when she is healed. But I am worried about her digging. There is no doubt in my mind that she is a runner. We do have an electric fence out front but I didn’t want to introduce that to her until I had the ok from the vet and/or shelter. Given her surgery I just want her to rest and heal. But she IS getting bored!
She definitely needs more obedience training but I haven’t wanted to do anything structured until I got the ok from the Vet for her leg. She is completely housebroken and urinates on demand. When I say “Go quickly” she urinates within 30 seconds. She understands come and stay and when she steals Buddy’s bones, she understands when my tone changes. She loves to play and cuddle. She snores like no other dog I’ve ever known. It’s hysterical. Even Buddy looks up sometimes and is completely confused about the noises she makes.
June 29, 2014
Update from Freida’s foster mom: We’ve had a great week with Freida. She’s responded well to basic training. We think we’ve located all of her escape routes under the fence and she’s just starting with the electric fence collar.
Buddy and I have grown quite attached to Freida as well as my adult kids (5 high school/college age kids who come and go). My husband is head over heels in love with her. Freida follows me around everywhere and shows more and more personality as she becomes part of our family. My sister has been trying to convince me to let her adopt Freida but we just can’t give her up.
I work out of my home office and Freida now has her own office dog bed which makes her place here official! She’s become part of our family and we would like to keep her. We promise to give her a loving home with lots of hugs, bones to chew and unconditional love.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Freida will need follow up visits, water therapy, massages, and controlled walks as she continues to recover from her surgery. But the really good news is that Freida has been adopted!
Thanks to our supporters, Freida’s life will now be without pain. She’ll be able to run and play with other dogs, and enjoy the good life!
If you donated to help Freida, thank you! If you still want to help with medical expenses for other pets in need, click here to donate now.
