Category Archives: The Other Critter’s

Usually Mondays are a day where I blog about the bunnies but as our family dog peacefully went to the Rainbow Bridge this past Friday, I wanted to dedicate today’s post to her.

Maggie was a lovely miniature schnauzer who came in to my life when I was 13 years old. We have had an amazing 15 years together that’s included numerous hikes, vacations at the cottage, snuggles, laughter and tears.

In her later years she lost most of her ability to see and hear as well as many of her teeth. Although this may have slowed her down Maggie still had her bursts of playfulness where she’d chase my sister’s dog, throw a bone in the air or just start bouncing around giddily.

Maggie suffered from what the vets believe was a stroke Friday morning that left the back half of her body paralyzed. Although she seemed alert and free of pain we decided this was her body’s way of saying that it was time.

I feel so blessed to have had such a lovely dog in my life and Maggie, know that your family loves you and will always have you in our hearts.

xox

I am very relieved and excited to announce that Ella is almost back to her normal self! She had another x-ray and check-up yesterday which showed there were no signs of lead left in her gizzard! We were all (vet included) so relieved to know the medication has worked.  At this time no more treatment is necessary.

It was a very hard decision to have her feathers clipped again.  Although she bonded so well with us when we did them a few years ago I truly believe birds are meant to fly.  After this however I’ve decided her health is more important.  I had the vet leave the first 5 feathers so she still has some flight and can glide quite well, but she is unable to get herself up high.  I have to admit we had an amazing relationship the last time her feathers were clipped and I’m excited to get that back.  We have already been thoroughly researching mega-sized parrot gyms for her to make life on the ground as fun as possible.

When we got home Hubby and I set to work putting her cage back together.  Since we’ve been giving her more free time to help regain strength in her feet we thought it would be good to get her in her house.  At first she was having difficulty because her cage is so large it means a lot of climbing and her little feet tire quickly.  Today however she was doing a better job at holding on longer.  I’ve tried to put toys right beside perches so she can feel safe while she plays. Perches have been placed close to other perches so it’s easier to hop from one to the next.  She has a variety of perches and seems to feel the most comfortable on the larger, uneven ones so I’m going to check out the pet store and see if I can put some more in there to make it easier on her.  Maybe I’ll even throw in a new toy or two!

She’s chirping a lot, ringing bells and rattling things so I’m pretty sure she’s happy to have her space back.  We on the other hand, are just happy to have Ella back!

It’s been about 2 weeks since Ella’s first vet appointment and I’m happy to report that she is recovering well!  Although she is still unable to grip and has trouble balancing, her toes have gone back to their proper positions and she is able to walk fairly well.  She can even perch on larger perches but right now prefers to play on solid surfaces like the ground or our bed.

Ella has had a second x-ray which determined the metal flakes were still in her body but were definitely breaking down.  This means the injections are working but slowly.  Our vet recommended we do another 5 days of injections and then switch to an oral medication.  Apparently sometimes you have to treat birds with lead poisoning for up to 6 weeks!  We weren’t too concerned since Hubby is a pro at the shots and Ella doesn’t seem to mind them at all.

A few days ago we started a 10 day round of oral medication which we’re hoping will be the last of the treatment.  We have a follow-up appointment in a week which will hopefully be our final x-ray and check-up!  In the meantime we still have her in the makeshift cage with blankets on the bottom to keep her comfortable but we did add a few toys for fun.  Now that she’s also walking I’ve started letting her out for a few hours daily in our room.  The bed makes the perfect cushy landing pad for her.  I leaned one side of her cage against our dresser with a few toys and perches on it so she can practice climbing, perching and playing.  Sometimes it’s painful to watch her struggle or slip but we’re hoping it will help her strengthen her feet.

We continue to hope for the best but so far her progress has exceeded our expectations and we are just thrilled that she is on the mend!

Yesterday while making large batches of dog food (yes we make our own), Ella our Pacific Parrotlet, started frantically trying to grip her perch with her beak.  Her wings were flapping but she seemed unable to use her feet.  When she finally fell to the bottom of her cage she was having difficulty walking and was pulling herself across the cage with her beak.  My husband was on his way home from work so I called him to ask if we could bring her right away to the vets.  Then I called our vet to see if we could bring her in as soon as we could get there.  In the mean time I moved her from her cage in to a small travel carrier we have for her, put a face cloth inside so she would feel safe and jumped in the truck as soon as Hubby pulled in the driveway.

Upon examining her, there were no noticeable signs of injury.  All her vitals were good, she had pooped on the way over and could move her feet around, she just couldn’t seem to grip anything with them.  She was also her normal, sassy self, hissing and lunging at us when we came near.  The vet recommended we begin with an x-ray to determine if there were any broken bones, if she was egg bound or if it was some kind of metal poisoning.  They were having a very chaotic day and told us to come back in a few hours.

When we came back the vet showed us her x-ray.  Everything seemed normal other than a few spots in her stomach, indicating lead poisoning.  This was terrifying because although we let Ella fly around freely in the kitchen, it’s always under supervision and even now we can’t figure out where she came in to contact with lead.  The vet told us the first step would be to inject her twice a day for five days with Calcium EDTA which would bind to the lead and help it pass through her system.  Since I’m a big sissy with all of this stuff, they brought my husband in to the back room and taught him how to give her the shots properly.

When we came home, Hubby set to work on modifying her cage.  He took the sides off and secured the top of the cage (which is grated so she still gets proper ventilation) to the bottom (which is made of about 8 inches high of plastic).  This way she can’t try to climb to a perch and fall and hurt herself which she was repeatedly doing.  It also stops her from trying to fly up anywhere but then come crashing down because she’s unable to land.  We laid a pillowcase down on the bottom of the cage to soften it for her, then made small nests out of towels so she has somewhere to rest and a place to put her head up.  I spread some seeds in one corner of the cage put a lid of water in there and a piece of apple (one of her favourites) to encourage her to eat.  Before we moved her in there I held a small measuring cup of water up to her and watched her drink.  I also put a piece of apple next to her beak which she took a few bites out of.

She fluttered around a lot last night, I think it was weird for her to sleep on the ground instead of on her mirrored perch.  For a long time after we moved her in, every time she couldn’t see me she would chirp.  I kept talking to her and coming back to the cage until she seemed to have settled down.

This morning she seemed unchanged.  I was glad to see that many of her seeds had been husked so she must have been eating.  Hubby gave her her first shot which went pretty well and she’s settled herself in under a towel with her head poking out.  Right now I’m trying to leave her alone so she can get some well needed rest and later I will try and feed her again and give her fresh blankets to snuggle in.

So for now, we are going to be focusing on the wellness of our bird and not the website.  I hope that in another week or so we will be able to bring you great new toy ideas and that Ella will be back to her normal self.  Unfortunately the vet has warned us that even if the lead exits her body the damage may be long-term.  We are just hoping for the best and doing everything we can to keep her comfortable.

Thank you for your understanding,