Music playing is "Born for You" Written by David Pomeranz
Recorded by Kathie Lee Gifford (A Fellow Small Pawser!)
(Lyrics at bottom of page)

***URGENT LIFE OR DEATH EMERGENCY***
June 13, 2002 8:00 A.M..

Three year old "Crissy" lay dying in an Indianapolis shelter, bearing her teeth and growling. We suspected she was either sick or injured. Volunteers Marti and Andy Lindell at MLindell@itt-tech.edu, went to spring her last night only to find she was urinating pure blood. She was rushed to emergency where x-rays revealed four large bladder stones. She needs surgery to remove these stones, but the total estimate is right at $2000.00. You see, she is too sick right now to survive the surgery. They need to stabilize her for a couple of days before they attempt it. She is in ICU and they are flushing her bladder with IV's, giving her antibiotics, and pain meds. I need to tell them by tonight if we have been able to raise the funds to save her. Can you help us to help Crissy? She will be a wonderful baby for someone if we can save her life now.
Here is the estimate to save her...I will talk to the doctor in charge, this evening, and ask for a rescue discount if we can raise the funds to treat this little one who is so sick. No, she is not a pure Bichon, but she looks as if she once knew a Bichon, and she somehow managed to find her way into our arms, bless her little heart.

<Subj: Crissy
Date: 6/13/2002 11:09:26 AM Central Daylight Time
From: MLindell@itt-tech.edu (Marti Lindell at 011)
To: cptheo4@aol.com ('Carol Theodorovich'), pup3@aol.com ('Robin Presnall')

Dr. Smith called us this morning around 6:30. Crissy made it through the
night, but she is not out of the woods yet. They are trying to pump her
full of antibiotics and lasix to get rid of the fluid in her lungs and
around her heart, and then there's the problem of the quarter-size stones in
her bladder that has totally blocked any output of urine. Soooooo, the
urine is backed up in the kidneys and has no where to go, causing the onset
of renal failure. And then there is also a problem with her trachea which
is making it hard for her to breath. I haven't even gotten to her eyes,
yet...they are absolutely, unbelievably BAD. Dr Smith says she will have to
see an opthamologist if she survives everything else, but right now the eyes
are the least of our worries.

This poor little girl would have surely died within hours if we had not
rescued her. I could tell from her belabored breathing that she was in
distress, and her little whimpers told me she was in pain. While we were
waiting at the emergency clinic, she was content to just lay in my arms or
my lap, barely moving except when the resident kitty walked by and she
instantly sat up and followed the kitty with her eyes. I rocked her like a
baby for almost an hour while she napped until the Dr. could see her. My
heart is aching for this little girl, she does not deserve the condition she
has been left in for months by some uncaring owner who turned her in to
animal control. Dr. Smith says she has had the bladder stones for a while,
and any vet who would have examined her should have known it.

We need everyone's prayers for little Crissy. She is only 3-5 years old and
could have a normal healthy life with the right family. If we can get her
heart, lungs and kidneys stabilized by Monday, Dr. Smith will remove the
stones from her bladder and she will feel so much better. I prayed last
night and again this morning, but we need the power of Small Paws® volunteers
to help us get this little girl through this trauma. I'm going to stop by
the clinic on my lunch hour to see how she's doing, and I'll check on her
again before I leave the office at 8:00pm tonight. The clinic is only three
miles from my office, so you know I will be over there every day until I can
bring her home.

P.S. Our email server at home is still kaputz, so use my itt-tech.edu addy
in the meantime.

Marti Lindell

Update 6/14/02
We have raised most of the funds needed to save Crissy. Surgery is scheduled for Monday. Mart Lindell went to visit her last night and she wagged her tail a bit. (Crissy, not Marti)We thought about moving Crissy to a regular vet which would be cheaper...but no one would be there at night and weekends. This emergency vet is monitoring her urine output every hour, which is essential for us to see if her kidneys are shutting down. Keep praying! So far so good! More as it becomes available!

UPDATE 6/14/02 9:30 P.M.


Chrissy is sitting up in ICU! See the blue bandage on her leg? That is where the IV is. This is from her Foster Mom Marti....
<Here's what we were able to get of Crissy last night at the Clinic. She had
been resting quietly, but when she saw us she sat up, started wagging her
tail, and tried to lick me through the kennel. In pix#1 you can see the
blue bandage around her right front paw where the IV is giving her fluids,>

June 15 UPDATE 10:00 A.M.

Subj: Crissy update
Date: 6/15/2002 9:36:48 AM Central Daylight Time
From: MLindell@itt-tech.edu (Marti Lindell at 011)
To: Pup3@aol.com ('Pup3@aol.com'), cptheo4@aol.com ('Carol Theodorovich')

Robin, Dr. Smith called us last evening to give an update on Crissy. He is
still concerned about her trachea and started her on anti-inflammatory meds
to see if that will help ease the breathing problem. He doesn't want her
trachea to collapse while she is under anesthetic during surgery. He is
going to do another set of x-rays tomorrow to see if the fluid around her
heart and in her lungs is gone. He believes she is improving by the hour,
and she may be strong enough for surgery Sunday afternoon. He will let us
know for sure if he is going to do it then so we can be there. He will be on
duty at the clinic from 7am to 7pm on Sunday.

If all goes well with the surgery, she might be home with us as early as
Tuesday. He says she will need special attention for at least the next 4-6
weeks, and he will give us detailed instructions on how to care for her.
Once the bladder stones are analyzed he will have a better idea of their
composition so we can take steps to keep them from forming again. He usually
sends the lab a tiny sampling of the bladder tissue just to make sure it is
normal and healthy. He said she may have to stay on antibiotic therapy for
quite a while.

Let's keep praying for her. She still has a long road to recovery, but her
future is looking brighter already thanks to Dr. Smith.

:)Marti

June 15 UPDATE 6:25 P.M.

Date: 6/15/2002 6:11:43 PM Central Daylight Time
From: ajlindell1@insightbb.com (Andy Lindell)
To: PUP3@AOL.COM (ROBIN PRESNALL)
CC: mflindell@insightbb.com (Marti Lindell)


These pictures were taken around 2 pm today. Crissy seemed "better" today. Marti was at work - so I made a solo visit - she (Crissy) reacted to my voice (positively). She came to the front of her kennel and was sitting up and sniffed my hand. I offered (and she took) 2 dog biscuits! I'm starting to travel with dog biscuits in my pocket so guess I'm becoming a "dog" guy.

We will visit tomorrow evening and Dr Smith will be there. He had mentioned the possibility of surgery on Sunday - depending on Crissy's condition. We'll keep you posted!

Subj: Crissy update
Date: 6/17/2002 6:50:19 AM Central Daylight Time
From: mflindell@insightbb.com (Marti Lindell)
To: pup3@aol.com (Robin Presnall), CPTHEO4@aol.com (Carol Theodorovich)

Dr. Smith called at 3:55am to tell us that Crissy came thru the surgery like a real trooper. Her trachea did not collapse which was his biggest fear, and she was already awake and resting comfortably in her kennel when he called. He removed four large stones and one small one from her bladder. She should feel much better. He says if she recovers well today, she may be ready to come home by 9 or 10pm this evening. I will go over to check on her during my lunch hour today.

Praise the Lord, and Thanks to God and all the Small Pawsers for all the prayers and thoughts for Crissy. I prayed so hard last night that He would give her strength and the will to live through the surgery. And she did! She made it! Another SPR success story! WOW, I am so relieved and happy for this little girl. She deserves a chance to make a difference in someone's life, and she has a lot of love in her to give. She has already begun to show that to me and Andy.

:)Marti

Update June 18, 2002

Chrissy came home today!

Look what came out of that baby's bladder. 4 Bladder stones.

Date: 6/18/2002 8:56:49 AM Central Daylight Time
From: mflindell@insightbb.com (Marti Lindell)
To: pup3@aol.com (Robin Presnall), CPTHEO4@aol.com (Carol Theodorovich)

Hey everyone,
We picked Crissy up from the hospital last evening around 10pm. Dr. Smith surprised us with a little dog we hardly recognized...he had trimmed her face while she was still under anesthetic and got all that yucky gunk off her face...so now we can see the cute little face that was hiding. She is still not in the best of spirits, but her tail is wagging when we talk to her. She's a little uncomfortable from the sutures, but her urine is CLEAR and frequent. What a relief for this little girl! She went out into the yard this morning and peed and peed and peed. She's a little overwhelmed with her new foster siblings, so we are keeping her quiet in a kennel so she can continue to rest and recuperate. But her tail is wagging and she is alert.

Dr. Smith gave us the stones he removed from her bladder...YUCK!!! We're sending you a picture...there were three nickel-size, one quarter-size and one pea-size. Can you imagine...it is so unbelievable that these were in her bladder. I don't know what we are supposed to do with the stones, but they are Crissy souvenirs now.

We are keeping her on her meds round the clock and a special prescription food until Dr. Smith gets the lab report back on the composition of the stones. Then we will know if she has to stay on prescription food forever or if she can have regular dog food. She will have to be on the prednisone probably for the rest of her life to help her trachea problem. She is getting antibiotics and hydrocodone twice a day, and eye ointment for the eye problem at least for the next 10-14 days. She will go back to have her sutures removed next Monday.

Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes for Crissy. She is improving every day.
Here' some pictures we took at the hospital of Crissy and Dr. Smith who saved her life. Isn't he a handsome guy...Crissy thinks so.

Love to all the Small Pawsers,
Marti

Chrissy's vet who saved her life!

Subj: Crissy Update
Date: 6/26/2002 7:29:09 AM Central Daylight Time
From: mflindell@insightbb.com (Marti Lindell)
To: pup3@aol.com (Robin Presnall), CPTHEO4@aol.com (Carol Theodorovich)

Crissy is doing soooo well. She got her stitches out last night and Dr. Smith was very pleased with her progress so far. The lab report on the bladder stones indicated that the stones formed as a result of having a long term infection that went untreated. (That just makes me so angry, that anyone would let a dog suffer like that!!!) She is still on antibiotics for a couple more weeks, and continued meds for the trachea condition, but otherwise she is back to being a normal little fluff with quite a personality. She is running around, jumping baby gates and checking out the backyard...things she could not do even a week ago, and certainly not two weeks ago before her bladder surgery. She is learning some manners and social skills being with her foster siblings, and we are slowly doing some basic obedience. She is completely housetrained and that is a major relief.

Next stop for Crissy is the groomer for a bath and a haircut, and then on to the opthamologist to see if this eye infection has caused any damage to her vision. Once we get her final check up with Dr. Smith in a couple of weeks, hopefully she will be ready to find a forever home. In the meantime, she's getting plenty of love and attention.

:) Marti

"Born for You" Written by David Pomeranz
Recorded by Kathie Lee Gifford (A Fellow Small Pawser!)
Too many billion people
Running around the planet
What is the chance in heaven
That you'd find your way to me

Tell me what is this sweet sensation
It's a miracle that's happened
Though I search for an explanation
Only one thing it could be

That I was born for you
It was written in the stars
Yes I was born for you
And the choice was never ours
It's as if the powers of the universe
Conspired to make you mine
And till the day I die
I bless the day that I was born for you

Too many foolish people
Trying to come between us
None of them seem to matter
When I look into your eyes
Now I know why I belong here
In your arms I found the answer
Somehow nothing would seem so wrong here
If they'd only realize

That I was born for you
And that you were born for me
And in this random world
This was clearly meant to be
What we have the world could never understand
Or ever take away
And till the day I die
I bless the day that I was born for you

What we have the world could never understand
Or ever take away
And as the years go by
Until the day I die
I bless the day that I was born for you

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Or you may send a check to:
Small Paws® Rescue Inc.
% Robin Pressnall
3316 S. 72nd.W. Ave.
Tulsa, Oklahoma,74107