Just before PPSS and I go find our bed(I should think about dinner too!) as it is now 3:30 AM and we both have been up since 7:30 Tuesday AM; I wanted to also update BHRR’s Ava Marie’s blog in respect to those red marks under her arms. As soon as I showed them to the Vet, he said the same thing; it looked like she had been ‘branded’ or ‘burned’ and that it could be possible that it was from a harness. If it is a reaction to metal on a harness; they are so deep and she will be scarred even when the areas heal, they are that bad. What we are going to do is try different pieces of metal on her skin to ‘test’ to see if she is reacting to copper or stainless steel etc. for the clamps that are used in the surgery for her cruciate repair are metal. With how bad this looks to be of a reaction and we do not know how long the exposure was and we are, of course, just making the best judgement call we can as to it even being a ‘metal’ reaction to something like a harness; we will need to experiment to see if we duplicate the reaction. We do not wish to see her in surgery and being clamped off with metal clamps and having a reaction. So, per her Vet, we are going to do some testing. They are not infected and I will take better close up pictures of them later today. I wish she could tell us about these marks. I do remember seeing a Dane that had reacted to the buckles on his doggie coat as it criss-crossed under the underarms and had metal buckles when I was out and about one day and we see many dogs that have reacted to metal tags on their collars(rabies, license) as well as the metal leash loop or fastener on their collars yet I have never seen such a nasty reaction to a harness, if that is what it is. We looked so closely throughout her hair to see if we could find other traces of the use of a harness yet I did not see those on Sunday and I still do not see them today, not did her Vet. Puzzling for sure yet they are not bothering her(however, with the pain that she is in with those cruciates, anything else is secondary) and I am keeping them clean and dry to heal as best as they can. With how big she is, she is getting some rubbing with the skin on the arms but as she is not very mobile, she is getting minimal irritation from her weight and the rubbing.

Later today, my focus is to get BHRR’s Potter and BHRR’s Alberts Blogs updated plus I have CRA Paperwork to complete. AND for those that are still considering donating to BHRR’s Ava’s Action Assistance Fund; I really hope you would do so. We need to raise another $4,700 and she has a very long road to travel ahead of her. Any help to make her road better travelled means the world! AND thanks so much again to everyone for the caring words, financial support in not just believing in what BHRR does YET believing in BHRR’s Ava Marie AND that she is worth every penny that comes her way to make her healthy again!