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Lily's Story
Lily was one of our past Urgent Needs Saints, a lovely lady who's will to live was almost beyond explination.  The following is the exact updates about her travels while in rescue.   her story continues to be an inspiration to many of us when we face seemingly unsurmountable obsticles in out lives.
Lily's Story  Miracle Dog?  Enters Rescue   Update #1   Update #2   Update #3 Update #4   Update #5   Update #6 Update #7 - Starting heartworm treatments Update #8 - Complications  Update #9 - What a night! Update #10 - Showing Improvement Update #11 - Another miracle! Update #12 - Heartworm Negative! Update #13 - Lucky 13 it is - She's Adopted! Update #14 - New Pictures
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 just another unwanted dog living on the hot muggy streets of rural Georgia. It was not long until our little homeless lady was discovered 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.
Miraculously, Lily did get that chance at freedom by not falling victim to the deadly disease. 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.
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."
In the few days since Lily entered rescue, she has been diagnosed with a severe worm infestation. She is positive for roundworrm, hookworm, whipworm, and tapeworms. 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.
UPDATE - Late July 2007 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.
UPDATE - Early August 2007
	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.

UPDATE - Mid August 2007

UPDATE - Mid August 2007 part 2

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 h/w 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.

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 AHoF 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.

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

Lily went to the AHoF 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 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 at pulling through the heartworm treatment. 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.

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.

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.

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 accidently 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 extreemly aggressive plan. Regardless, Lily seems to be doing just fine - there truly is something special about this dog. We cannot explaine it any other way.

Lily did wind up loosing a lot (if not all) the weight that she has put on since entereing 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.

We have just received word from the last tests, Lily is officially free of Heartworm Disease! She will remain on her diet and the suppliments 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 weakend 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.

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.  

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! page. .  

We use Animal Hospital of Fayetteville for most of our vet work. The urgent needs Saints various medical conditions can be verified by calling them directly at (910) 323-1535 .

If you desire to talk directly to us, please feel free to contact us at any of the email or phone number contacts throughout the web site.

NC Saint Bernard Rescue