The recipe we are using to augment Bella and Buddy's nutritional needs as recovering bait puppies appears below. As part of my study in canine nutrition, I have been reading the text book for the class and researching what will work ASAP to help get Bella with D. Mange (not contagious mange due to, perhaps, impaired immunity).
Both Bella and Buddy were traumatized beyond belief and no animal lover wants to think about 2 lb, 3 week old Buddy being grabbed by the head by a bigger dog yet he certainly had the wounds to prove it, he had a deep wound on his back leg and one on his neck as well. Taken away from his mother and fed to a fighting dog in training is absolutely horrible and we animal lovers are sickened by the very thought.
Bella got caught up in the Hurricane Sandy mess as she was found on 10/23/12. She was taken to the vet shortly after and Dr. Mitch Biederman thought she, in addition to being attacked, had been hit by a car as she had road rash on her body and a terrible wound on her hind quarters. Because of the uncertainly of living arrangements around the storm and flooding, Bella underwent many changes and change is stress even when its good change.
As a certified stress management consultant, I have spoken to people who got a new job and were so stressed they got sick, some people get sick when they finish a herculean task…the stress comes from dealing with life when the stress is reduced and life goes back to normal.
Years ago when I was doing a lot of speaking engagements, TV and radio shows, when there were none to do I felt stressed, as life was so quiet without the continual rush of off a crowd, the merry go round being still made me wonder what was I forgetting to do.
If we humans are stressed by change how can we expect more from helpless injured animals who nearly had their lives nearly taken, eaten out of garbage pails, had parasites, are being moved away from flooding, have a plethora of strangers poking, prodding, testing, etc.
Once we factor stress and malnutrition, injury and illness we see a complex
situation emerging and we can start to understand why Bella’s immune system could not handle all the changes. Additionally, some dogs’ immune systems do not completely develop until they are 12-18 months old. Certainly, Bella had lots of issues to deal with and now that I am studying pet nutrition I see that buying supermarket dog food in bags or in cans is not enough nutrition to overcome the magnitude of the damage to Bella or Buddy.
So, as I continue to build on this soup recipe and in between batches…SLOWLY to avoid any other issues, I am learning, researching, expanding my knowledge base as well as the following of the Facebook community now as of this writing at 1087 friend in 2 weeks,
we see that things are changing with Bella and Buddy and they are doing well.
Their recovery physically and psychologically is not over and it won’t be over for at least 6 months. Recovery from life threatening wounds is an immense and intense process.
We’re aiming, with the help of pet care professionals, (while I am becoming one myself), to boost immunity and speed the process to optimum recovery in the shortest possible time while keeping an eye on costs since most of us are struggling during the recession and those of us on Long Island still are dealing with Hurricane Sandy issues.
We are hearing some very welcome tips from the Facebook Community, please send them to SavingBellaBoo@yahoo.com (yes, we know it rhymes ;o) and we welcome them. Our mission if to provide tips, share information, get it organized and put it out there for people who find themselves drafted into rescue work they can afford to do, do right and do swiftly…it’s one dog at a time!
After I complete the canine nutrition course, I may take feline nutrition as well….since I have been involved for 30 years in the personal empowerment field, consciousness expansion, etc, I am thrilled to be back to doing what I always wanted to do as inspired by my father, a victim of human exploitation, in elder abuse. For the record, losing my father’s life made me ill as well and I deal with a serious health issue as a result of the stress. The fact that I spent a fortune on lawyers and travel, left me financially devastated when I was supposed to inherit over a million dollars. The truth be told, I would have paid $2 million to save my father’s life. Now, all I can do is save what he loved most, dogs, as America is not ready to hear about the toll of elder abuse. While writing a book was what I was encouraged to do, its been a catharsis, but nothing else except manifestation of a miracle by the presence of loving people some of whom are quite famous. Without a doubt, I know that miraculous things can happen when our spirits are pure, our work is diligent, our love is committed to something bigger than ourselves.
For now, as I work towards becoming a pet care professional and canine nutritionist,
my goal is to assist a community that loves animals as much as I do and wants to save lives one dog at a time….it’s a calling…and I know that God works in mysterious, beautiful ways and I consider Bella and Buddy to be messengers, harbingers, of wonderful things to come.
And, so we want to share that the Bella Soup recipe’s latest edition has kale in it and this new potion will be given slowly to make sure we don’t have any negative effects…dogs, like us, don’t do well with sudden changes.
Of course, I used about 4-5 ozs of kale to the 7 quart batch I cooked yesterday.…and here’s a tip…sauté` the rest of the bunch in some olive oil with a little bit of olive oil and get some great nutrition yourself. After all, if you don’t take care of you, how are you going to take care of all the animals that need rescuing? :o)
Thanks!
love,
Irene
PS Thanks again to all the wonderful pet lovers who LIKE US at Facebook...here's a beautiful sentiment from one of them and I hope they don't mind me sharing it with you because Bella and Buddy are pit bulls, too.
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