# The lovely Miss Polly



## Toffin (Aug 8, 2012)

Well, the lovely Miss P came home on Saturday  She's tiny! But so so gorgeous - just too cool for school.

Saturday was great - she was pretty zonked out and settled down quickly, outside for wees and poos, didn't eat very much and slept from 10pm to when I went down at 6.30am to see how she was. Had used the puppy pad through the night.

Not quite as settled today although all wees and poos outside except one when she was so busy eating her dinner that she couldn't get outside and weed on the wooden floor!

Unfortunately Polly had a bit of an accident this evening. She was racing through the kitchen and she seemed to slip in the rush. Went down onto her tummy with all legs splayed and she just couldn't get up, then couldn't walk properly. She didn't yelp when it happened, but now she's lame in the front right leg and doesn't want to walk around at all. I'm so upset, but thank goodness she has her new puppy appointment with the vet first thing tomorrow. I tried to follow the same pattern for settling her down for sleep as last night but she cried a lot when I put her in her crate. I fully expect that she won't be able to use the puppy pad tonight.

To really put a spanner in the works, my elderly mother fell downstairs at my home five days ago and I'm looking after her here until she can go into convalescent care on Friday. The responsibility and demanding nature of caring for someone who is immobile and in the most shocking pain is exhausting. Thought it would be a bit better by now but we had a backwards day today and will be phoning my GP again asap tomorrow - they were useless a few days ago (although the ambulance crew were absolutely fabulous) but they really will have to see her now.

A bit despondent, but Polly is just wonderful.

Hope everyone else had a good weekend.

Toffin
x


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## dmgalley (Aug 19, 2012)

I am sorry you have so much going on and I hope everyone is ok. Please keep us updated.


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Poor you - you have so much to cope with at the moment. Hopefully lovely little Miss Polly slept well and feels less sore today. Let us know what the vet says - the upside of this wonderful forum is we get to share all the lovely tiny puppies, the down side is that we do worry about them (and their owners) too.
Oh I know how you feel with your Mum, as I am also struggling with the demands of my mother who has dementia and increasingly needs me to care for her.
If you are struggling to manage her pain I really advise you to either take her to A&E or phone 999 and let the ambulance do it. They should admit her and ensure that she is getting proper pain relief. It is not right that she is in pain. My experiences of the care given to my ma in the hospital after she fell earlier this year and aggrevated her replaced hip, was brilliant. I cannot praise the nurses enough...
Hope it all works out for you. Thinking of you.


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## cockerpoo61 (Jun 24, 2011)

Hope everything goes well for your mother and Polly today. Best wishes to you all x


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## JasperBlack (Sep 1, 2012)

Hope you manage to get everyone back on track today and that your mum and miss p are doing ok this morning! Poor miss p falling over, their little legs just can't keep up with their bodies. They are tiny aren't they, but the cutest little puppies! Jasper's a bitey monster at the mo, so be warned once she starts to feel her feet! Lol! Good luck for today, hope the docs get your mum sorted, bless her xxx


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## mairi1 (Mar 12, 2012)

Ah Glad you've finally got your girl home but sorry you've got so much else going on to deal with.
However This is a new week and hopefully things will improve with your mum and Miss P will get over her wee fall.
Look forward to more updates and hope you can start to enjoy spending time with your little bundle of fluff 

xxx


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## Duckdog (Jul 23, 2012)

I am sorry to hear that you have had a tough few days, I do hope that your mum and polly (and you!) are all ok.


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## Toffin (Aug 8, 2012)

Thank you all for your kind comments. Polly was admitted by the vets for X-rays under sedation (or GA if they necessary). It's really knocked the stuffing out of her and she keeps on collapsing onto her tummy. All she wants to do is be held inside your clothes and cuddled.

But bless her, she didn't disturb us and still used the puppy pad all last night - what a real trooper, how she must have struggled to get out of bed to the pad. And this morning I carried her outside and supported her whilst she did poos and wees on request. Can't believe how very brave she is.

My daughter is home until early this afternoon and is helping with my mother. But then mother, Polly and I are on our own until Thursday. Not sure how this is going to work quite frankly.

Toffin
x


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## JasperBlack (Sep 1, 2012)

On dear toffin, can't believe it! Things have surely got to get better soon. Hope miss p is ok x


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## BeckyP (Mar 21, 2012)

Oh you poor thing! You'll get through it, it can only get better.


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## cockerpoo61 (Jun 24, 2011)

Hoping everything starts to improve for you soon xx


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## JulesB (Mar 6, 2011)

Oh no what a start to puppy ownership. I hope Polly is OK and you can get something sorted for your mum. X


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## Woo (Oct 5, 2011)

Oh dear, was sorry to read your post, hope things improve soon xx


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Poor little Miss P... Do keep us posted. Wishing you and your Mum well. x


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## Nanci (Mar 1, 2012)

Have you heard from the x rays yet?? Please let us know as soon as possible, fingers crossed its just sore muscles . .


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## JasperBlack (Sep 1, 2012)

Nanci said:


> Have you heard from the x rays yet?? Please let us know as soon as possible, fingers crossed its just sore muscles . .


Been thinking of Miss P all day, she's Jasper's sister. I really hope everything is ok! X


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## Janev1000 (Oct 4, 2011)

Oh dear! Life sometimes throws us difficult challenges all at once! Sounds like Polly is at least being a star. Fingers crossed that things improve for you soon. x


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## Cat 53 (Aug 26, 2012)

Oh Toffin a tough time for you. I hope things go well and are easier than you imagine. Also that Miss Polly recovers ASAP!


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## CurlieKatie (Sep 12, 2012)

What a tough start to puppy ownership 

Hope Polly is ok! Sounds like she is doing her best to make it easier for you bless her... Keep us updated!


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## Toffin (Aug 8, 2012)

Thank you all so much.

First diagnosis was really bad news and we were all distraught - brachial plexus avulsion which has a very poor prognosis as it involves the bundle of nerves connecting the spine and the shoulder/leg being pulled away from its source so the leg is useless. On such a young puppy it just wouldn't be feasible to have a false leg which is what they sometimes do with older dogs.

So we went to pick her up to give us a few days with her. By the time we got there the vet had done some more tests and suggested that it might not be a brachial plexus injury, rather it could be a bad sprain, and advised that we see how things go for the next 4/5 days with her on daily non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Now I don't know if he suggested an alternative diagnosis because I was so beside myself on the phone, or not, but certainly Miss P is now able to use the leg and put some weight on it. She guards it a bit but it isn't useless and the paw isn't hanging down facing backwards as you'd expect. She was gambolling about this evening trying to savage pheasant and kill lion (with whom she now has a love hate relationship!), using it to hold a pig's ear and managing a small step outside the back door.

We're cautiously optimistic at the moment and just praying that each day she will become more able to use it normally.

What a horrible shock. The vet just said it was a freak accident and nothing could have avoided it, but it was no consolation when he phoned!

Will post updates. Thank you all again.

Toffin
x


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## mairi1 (Mar 12, 2012)

Oh for goodness sake, what an awful time you're having. 

However, her improvement is encouraging... Keeping Everything crossed for you that things continue to improve 

xxxx


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## CurlieKatie (Sep 12, 2012)

Oh my gosh! I really hope that it is the latter diagnosis and not the first one.. definitely a horrible shock  Sending her lots of puppy cuddles!!


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## Toffin (Aug 8, 2012)

I do so hope so too. In fact, I wish the vet had waited to phone until Polly had come round a bit more and he had done the additional tests. One was for Horner's Syndrome (which is associated with brachial plexus injuries and which she isn't showing signs of) and the other was for sensation in the leg - he couldn't elicit a response to painful stimulus but she was just coming round so I suppose that's not surprising. If he had waited, he could have talked about differential diagnoses rather than going straight for brachial plexus.

I can't believe it at the moment. Apart from having four children at various ages and stages, we live a rather simple, calm and non eventful life, so all this is completely alien to us.

Polly has been fast asleep in her crate for a couple of hours and I'm catching up on ILMC posts and trying to do some work...

We really do appreciate everyone's kind thoughts and caring comments.

Toffin
x


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## CurlieKatie (Sep 12, 2012)

Yes definitely! If it isn't anything near as bad as that then he really shouldn't have mentioned it to you at all and made you panic un necessarily...

Keeping everything crossed for you!


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## cockerpoo61 (Jun 24, 2011)

Lets hope you have turned a corner now and you start having some good luck, fingers crossed for you all.


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Good to hear that she is using her leg a bit more... Much love being sent to you and your poor puppy


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## Skyesdog (Jun 7, 2012)

Sending lots of get well soon kisses from Lola. I hope she continues to improve and that it is just a bad sprain. What a worry for you x


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## JasperBlack (Sep 1, 2012)

Jasper sends lots of licks to his sister! Hope she's feeling much better today xxxx


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

Oh poor you, have just caught up with this thread, I really hope the first diagnoses was wrong, from your later post it sounded likely, hope things improve with your mum as well, i've had similar to deal with with both parents. fingers crossed for you.


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## CurlieKatie (Sep 12, 2012)

Still thinking of you... hope she is doing better today! x


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## Duckdog (Jul 23, 2012)

Poor Miss P, and what an awful shock for you. I do hope that she perks up, they are very resilient little things..more so than us most of the time.

Sending you both lots of virtual hugs and positive thoughts.


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## JulesB (Mar 6, 2011)

Wow what a nightmare. Fingers crossed it was just a bad sprain and she's running around again soon. X


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## DebsH (Jun 24, 2012)

Just read this - what a stressful and upsetting time you're having 

I hope Miss P continues to improve xxxx


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## Janev1000 (Oct 4, 2011)

So sorry to hear what you're still going through. Fingers crossed that Polly continues to get better. x


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## Toffin (Aug 8, 2012)

Thank you all again. Am really touched by everyone's sincere concern.

Good (wonderful) news is that Polly seems even better today - popped her back to the vets who was pleased and will see her again on Thursday.

She's now being a real tinker embarking on mad doodle dashes when nothing is safe, going missing in action when she actually seems to disappear in a puff of smoke just to reappear in another part of the room as quickly as she disappeared, then suddenly climbing onto me and zonking out. She's getting more confident as she gets to know the geography of the garden and the house, but she's a bit anxious about the dark, the cold and the rain! She actually refused to come out to have a poo and/or wee when it was cold and dark last night, turned around and did it just inside the back door. We're calling her Princess Polly.

Eating is so boring in comparison to all the fun exploring to do and I do have to sit on the floor with her encouraging her back to her food bowl when she gets distracted. At 1.1kg, the vet feels she really needs to chunk up a bit.

Things aren't good on the mother side, I'm afraid, and our aim now is to get her well enough to make the journey to the convalescent home on Friday. I'm sure she will come right eventually but this will be a long slow road.

Toffin
x


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

So glad to hear that Poppy is so much better - enjoy those cuddles, poo moments are precious.
Kiki doesn't think much of the rain either - when she was littler, I just picked her up and carried her outside to her spot, shutting the door behind me, so she couldn't just dash back inside. Once she realised she couldn't go back in until she had done what she had to do, it helped to focus her mind.
I do hope that you manage to get your Mum set for Friday. You are doing a brilliant job, but don't forget to look after yourself as well... x


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## ali-s.j. (Jun 6, 2011)

Glad to hear Polly seems to have recovered, very encouraging news today 
I hope that your mother's move on Friday goes according to plan and that today is not too difficult for you coping on your own. Take good care of yourself.


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## JasperBlack (Sep 1, 2012)

Hi toffin, so glad it's good news about polly! At least you can concentrate on getting your mum set for Friday! I do hope she is on the mend soon, it must be awful seeing you mum in such pain, as everyone says, make sure your looking after yourself too! Just caught jasper having a cheeky chew of my UUG boots....must dash!!! Take care xxxxxxx


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## Jedicrazy (Apr 26, 2011)

Just catching up and read through this thread :-( What a difficult time you have been having :hug: Glad to read Miss Polly seems to be on the mend, poor baby. Thank goodness the vet was wrong and wishing your Mum a speedy recovery too.


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## Janev1000 (Oct 4, 2011)

So glad to hear Polly is even better today. I still sit on the floor with Honey when she eats. At first it was because she was so slow...one piece of kibble at a time....and very distracted by Biscuit 'the predator' always lurking close behind! She was also on the skinny side, so was keen to feed her up a bit. I've found coating the food with just a teaspoon of something to make it easier to eat, such as yogurt, cream cheese, tinned fish, Yumega Oil, etc has been great and has made her eat much faster with no distraction but I still sit there to protect her food being stolen by Biscuit! x


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## Toffin (Aug 8, 2012)

Again thanks to all of you for your kind comments and good wishes.

Polly's still on pain killers and they certainly seem to be working so it must have been muscular. She's come on so much in the past couple of days and we're thrilled. Although now of course she's getting more confident and is into every mischief possible!

Thank you so much, jane, for suggesting adding something to her kibble. I'll get some cream cheese tomorrow and try a small amount of that. Eating even a small amount is just such a long, drawn out process with lots of false starts and interruptions. 

Toffin
x


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## Jedicrazy (Apr 26, 2011)

also try putting her food in a kong or just throwng it out on the grass - some Poos prefer to work for their food


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## Toffin (Aug 8, 2012)

Thanks, Clare. I'll try that as well.

Toffin
x


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## JasperBlack (Sep 1, 2012)

I smash jasper's up slightly in my Jamie Oliver pestle and mortar! Look like getting another as it smells rather fishy now, lol! They are so little I think jasper struggled with the full kibble! He is starting to eat the larger pieces now 


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## CurlieKatie (Sep 12, 2012)

That's great news about Polly


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