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LILLY GETS EMERGENCY SURGERY!!!

Written by Candy Kimmes, President, MFAR

There are many e-mails that come to me through the rescue that in the end, seem to be people that are just tired of their animals and want them “gone”. This one was different.

I received an e-mail Memorial Weekend from a young girl named Shelly about her injured llama named Lilly. Shelly lived in a very poor and remote part of Wisconsin. The email turned my stomach and brought tears to my eyes and I knew after 10 years in the world of animal rescue that this was a situation that needed immediate action. My gut told me that Lilly’s life was in danger and that she was suffering more pain and trauma than any animal should ever have to endure.

The e-mail was from a young girl in rural WI that said she had a llama that had gotten injured, by getting tangled in a rope, and that she had lost her job and couldn’t afford veterinary care. As I received more information about Lilly’s situation, there was a lot more to the story than I first thought. Shelly ultimately wanted to do everything “right” for her llama, but her knowledge and resources were very limited. Calling us for help or having her friend “shoot Lilly” she said were her only options. I just wish she would have called us sooner.

Lilly had been injured 10 days ago! She was tied to a fence post in the yard with no shelter and was not able to stand on her back leg because it was so badly injured. Shelly said she had not been eating or drinking water for “a few days” and had been tied there for the entire 10 days since injury.

The e-mails, loaded with disturbing information kept coming from Shelly. Miss Lilly had been in a “home down the road last summer where the people had gotten her in trade at an animal swap for a saddle”.  The people said they “never wanted the llama” and gave her to Shelly last fall. Lilly was kept with two horses over the winter in a small stall inside a barn.

As the weather improved this spring Shelly said she moved Lilly outside because “the horses were chasing Lilly”. Lilly was tied out in the yard to a fence post next to the horses on a lead rope. Shelly said the injury occurred when her St Bernard ran at Lilly trying to chase her. Lilly tried to escape from the dog and got caught up in her rope, it wrapped around her leg and she flipped over and was trapped in the rope.  Lilly was untangled but left to stand there with serious injuries and no shelter in the hot sun for 10 days. Shelly said Lilly has not stood on her leg since the injury occurred.

When we arrived, Lilly was still tied in the yard to a fence post. She was trembling and holding her back leg up. It was severely swollen in the hock (knee) joint. She winced her eyes and tried to pull away as Shelly walked towards her.  Shelly laughed and said, “Oh, she is a wild one! I have been sick so I couldn’t spend a lot of time with her. She gets about a lot. My brother chases her and tackles her when she gets tired enough to slow down. She doesn’t lead on the rope very well and she hates being touched.”

There was no shelter, she had not been shorn in at least two years and this week the thermometer hit 90 degrees 2 days in a row.  At this point we are in shock about how Lilly still has the strength and the spirit to keep standing!

Lilly was carefully loaded into a trailer bedded with hay. Lilly used every last ounce of energy she had to get up into the trailer. I quickly shoved the surrender forms to Shelly for her signature and off we roared to find help for Lilly!

My gut was right and I wanted to pull the truck over and vomit after we were out of the driveway. Lilly was in shock and severe pain. She was trembling and ready to collapse.  She had been standing on guard, tied to the fence post afraid that the dogs would come near her again. She seemed relieved to be in the enclosed trailer with the bed of hay and laid down. She rested the entire trip in her new bed of hay.

I knew from the swelling and the disfigured leg that the x-rays and veterinarian reports would not be good. I knew that Lilly may be too far gone to save, but whatever the outcome was, Lilly needed help. We stopped at our local veterinarian that gave her pain medication and did portable x-rays on Lilly’s injured leg while she laid in the trailer. I sat with Lilly in the trailer with her big blue eyes and long lashes blinking at me. My heart apologized a million times over to her for all of the pain and injustices she had to endure in her short life. When I talked to her, she would turn her head, and her eyes would focus in on me, almost as if she could understand this wild stranger sitting next to her! Maybe  she could trust me? How? Who knows after what she had been through! I promised her I would get her help, and get her pain under control!

The initial results of the x-rays were in after what seemed like days. The veterinarian came out from the back office with an emotionless face and quietly said, come into the back I want to show you the results. He looked down at the floor.  I asked if it was bad news and he didn’t respond. My eyes welled up with tears and I saw the pictures of the leg up on the wall in the dark room. The veterinarian said “these bones are supposed to connect here at a 90 degree angle, they are 2 inches off and it looks like several of the small bones of the joint are severely fractured.”  He said, “you have two options, put her down or take her to the University for a consultation to see if there is anything they could do.”  Then he turned to me and said, “she is a young llama with bright eyes and a strong spirit, she might make it through this.” 

OKAY!!! That answered it… We were off to the University! 

Poor Lilly had already traveled 3 hours in a trailer and was now going for another 2 more. It was a Holiday weekend and we weren’t even sure if she could see a llama expert this weekend! We had to take the chance. Lilly was still very alert and was listening to everything around her, watching everyone, was very docile and seemed like she was not ready to give up! 

Lilly was more comfortable now with her pain medications but I knew in my heart the prognosis was not good because she had been injured so long ago and because we was not eating or drinking..

I told myself I would not give up as long as Lilly seemed like she was not suffering. At this point, she was bright eyed, lying in the trailer looking around, and seemed comfortable.

When we arrived at the U, the emergency vets got a brief history and said they were concerned about her liver and kidneys since she was off of food and water for so long. They put in an IV, drew labs, gave her more pain medicine then took several sets of x-rays. They consulted the orthopedic surgeon on-call and we waited for all the results to come back.. We waited and waited..

The results were disheartening. The orthopedic surgeon said, “it isn’t good, there are multiple fractures in the small bones of the joint and we cannot repair the joint mainly because the injury happened several days ago. We are recommending amputation of the leg.”  He said it was unusual but that the damage was well beyond what plates and screws could fix.

WHAT!?!?!

Now what!??!?  We consulted as many people as possible and decided that we would try the amputation. Llamas have great difficulty with anesthesia and recovery but Lilly’s age was determined to be about 5, and her liver and kidneys were still functioning normally. So, surgery was arranged.

By Sat evening Lilly was out of surgery, she was awake, she had an epidural with pain medications running. She made it through the first part of what will now be a day by day recovery process!!

Sunday morning. Lilly has not tried to stand yet. She is still not eating or drinking, but she remains alert, on IV fluids. The goals for the day are to get her standing 

We need your help.

Lilly’s circumstances are extraordinary. The costs of care are rising by the hour at the University. The current bill is $4150. It was a very difficult decision to make, to take her there and to agree to the surgery. During these difficult economic times, I realize that the costs of Lilly’s care could be the mortgage payment on a house for a family for 3 or 4 months. I wasn’t sure how to justify this. All I can say is that I was mesmerized by Lilly’s beautiful blue eyes, her strong spirit and her willingness to trust me, a stranger after she had been hurt and neglected for so long. I told Lilly I won’t give up on her, as long as she is willing to keep fighting.

If you would like daily updates, I will try to send pics and updates to your e-mails.

Just drop me a line.

Any donation would be greatly appreciated.

Thank-you so much for your love of animals!

Candy Kimmes

Midwest Farm Animal Rescue

ckimmes@hotmail.com

715-672-3874

W2081 County Road T

Mondovi, WI  54755

  Click to donate $20 or more if you can!

Lilly After Surgery

Who We Are: 

Midwest Farm Animal Rescue was founded in 1998. We are a non-profit 501c3 organization. 100% of your donations are tax deductible and the great thing is that 100% goes directly to the animals! We do not have any paid staff. The animals are rescued and cared for daily, by volunteers. The expenses we incur are specialty feeds, veterinarian expenses, hay, straw, woodshavings, and farm supplies like water heaters, water tanks, garden hoses, electric cords... nothing too fancy.   

We also have animals available for sponsorship: potbellied pigs, farm pigs, horses, goats, Lilly llama, cats and dogs! You get to pick! With your sponsorship you will receive a personal letter from your sponsored animal, with pictures and the story of how your animal came to the rescue.

If you have specific questions about the rescue, or about anything else, please ask! We would love to hear from you!

Also, we do not send out fancy newsletters and mailings begging for money. Can you help us spread the word? Become an instant MFAR volunteer by forwarding this site, to all the animal lovers you know!

Thank-you!

Candy Kimmes

Founder and President, MFAR

ckimmes@hotmail.com

 We also want to promote the site www.petfinder.com   It is a great site that has rescued animals from all over the country that need homes. All the animals listed are from non-profit rescue groups like ours. There are all types of animals in need of homes from ferrets and bunny rabbits to 1000# pigs!! Please spread the word about adopting animals from rescues and from petfinder rather than buying animals from breeders and pet stores.. Many of the animals at huamne societies will be euthanized in only a few weeks or even days if they cannot find homes because there are so many unwanted animals out there..

Please help support Lilly and her Recovery!

Thank-you!