Miri

Miri, my sweetest little Miri!!!

Miri came into my life as a result of being hit by a car in the local township.

Simba, my right-hand man, wanted to go home for a night one weekend to take a much-needed break, and this resulted in him seeing the accident unfold, on the street where he lives.

It's as though God planted him there on that day at that exact time.

Simba has always liked animals, but being with me has taken his appreciation and respect for them to a whole new level and now, Simba is involved with rescuing dogs himself!

When Simba saw the accident unfold, he raced over to confront the driver, who was busy driving off, leaving poor Miri injured on the road.

Simba is a hero of note, Miri was very blessed that he was there that day, and this incident changed her life forever.

Unfortunately, he only managed to get 2 hours at home before I had to call him back due to a dog fight which resulted in Sweetie being injured really badly and me needing to take her to the emergency vet.

Because it was a Saturday afternoon, our local vet was closed and I had to wait for the closest vet, who is 1 ½ hours away, to get back to his practice after he'd finished with a horse.

This resulted in us having to wait for about 2 hours before I could even drive to the vet, and in this time, Simba was called back to hold the fort whilst I took Sweetie to get stitches.

It was whilst we were waiting for the vet to let me know he was becoming available, that Simba told me about Miri, and as always, I immediately sprung into action.

I had rescued a number of dogs from the same township previously  and had a contact there, who also lived on the same street, and who happened to be available to meet me to help me help Miri.

I met her at Miri's house, which was a miracle in itself as this lady works a lot and is rarely at home, and found Miri hiding under a sofa not willing or able to come out.

The family tried puling her out, which was obviously a bad idea as she was badly injured, and I suggested lifting the armchair couch instead so we could get her from underneath.

I had brought a thick blanket with me to pick her up with as injured dogs can bite because of the pain they are in and out of fear, and the family used that to pick her up and pass her to me.

She was very scared, I told them that I would take her to the emergency vet and that I was already on my way with another dog, and that I would sort her out.

I also asked them if I could have her as she was frequently running all over the road and wasn't in good condition, and they said that I could, and that she was very naughty.

Miri is just a puppy, so she is naughty in a normal puppy wanting to experience everything kind of way, she's actually a sweetie and I love her to bits.

I was thankful that they said I could keep her, even though this put a strain on me, and I looked for a foster or forever home for her immediately for after the vet.

I had a contact near the vet that we drove to, Michelle, who I know is a massive dog lover and she met me that night with Miri and helped me enormously.

We met the vet late on Saturday evening, maybe around 7pm and she helped me with both dogs, including keeping them both calm whilst the vet was medicating them.

She also taught me how to give the animal my strength during these very stressful times and to be strong for them, putting myself last and them first, in a calm and reassuring way.

The vet felt it was best to keep both Sweety and Miri for at least the weekend and I had to leave them there, which is always hard.

I went back to Michelle's for a coffee to wake up before driving back and I prayed for the best outcome for them both and that they would be OK over the weekend.

On the Monday, the vet told me he wanted to keep Sweety another few days and also Miri and that Miri had 3 fractures:

1. Sacro iliac articulation was displaced and would heal with time;

2. Acetabular branch of ischium was fractured and would heal with time;

3. Tibial fracture, and that an intra-medullar pinning would have the best outcome.

I gave the go ahead for the best outcome and after a few days, I was able to collect her.

At times like this, no matter the cost of the surgery, I have no option but to green light the best treatment option there is.

I walk in faith and I ask God to bring me the money, and somehow, He always does.

I've paid the vet bill but I haven't had the chance to raise the funds yet as in animal rescue, you are always behind, but I'll get there!

Miri was very scared from the beginning and needed a lot of tender loving care which I happily lavished on her.

She was covered in scabs all over and her skin was terrible, so I sacrificed my best most expensive extra virgin olive oil in service of the cause and massaged her regularly.

I also bought a supplement to put in her food with all sorts of oils, magnesium and zinc.

Poor Miri had to be on cage rest and we built her a customised cage as large as possible and put lovely cushions in it and a rug to go to the toilet on, and she lived in my bedroom away from the other dogs for the first week here.

The pin didn't work very well as it came out twice, each time required me to travel back to the vet 1 ½ hours each way, which was super annoying, and after the second time, the vet decided to use a more substantial device to hold the pin in place.

Miri's pin was in an awkward position, which was part of the problem, the first time it came out, the vet manipulated it back in, the second time he put a home made sling on it and after that, he opted for a Thomas sling, which is a serious contraption that is very uncomfortable, but we had to focus on short-term discomfort for long-term gain.

Also, he wanted to keep her there for as long as was necessary so he could keep an eye on her and that relieved the pressure from me so it was a win:win.

After about 2 ½ weeks, Miri was able to come home and I collected her with glee, but she had to be on cage rest again for another week, only this time, without the splint, which was brilliant.

By day 3, she hated being in the bedroom and in the cage and wanted to be with the other dogs, so I allowed her in the house with the small dogs only and that seemed to work.

She was such a jumping bean, unsurprisingly after being stuck in a tiny cage for so long, and from the second she woke up, she was jumping everywhere!!!

Thankfully she calmed down after a couple of days, but we were on tenterhooks as she was so wild, and stopped her from jumping on and off the couch and the bed and restricted her play a little to give her more time to heal.

Slowly but surely she found her place and she's such a lovely little girl, super cuddly in bed, I love sleeping next to her and I love our cuddle time in the morning!!!!

She has taken a bit of time to adjust to the people who work here, initially wanting to protect me and bite everyone, but my guys are amazing and they felt the only way to get her used to everyone was for her to be around them outside as much as possible, so that's what we did.

Slowly but surely, she's getting better and better, she's all healed, her skin is perfect and her fur is sleek and glossy and she is ready for her new forever home!