Jess's story

　　Jessica and Jennifer are Pointer mix pups from Arkansas. Here is their story:

　　These babies were found under a house in a rural Arkansas town. Their poor momma had passed away and they were fending for themselves. So of course they were starving and full of worms. The ACO didnt want to take them to the shelter with them being so young and susceptible to diseases so she called Jamie and she took them immediately. I became their foster the next day. Several weeks later they were taken in for their spay surgery and Jennifers was routine but little Jessica almost didnt make it out alive. All we were told is that she died on the table twice and was brought back each time. They also said she may not make it through the night but that if she did survive she would be permanently brain damaged from lack of oxygen to her little brain. She was taken to Underdogs primary vet immediately. She was in critical condition at this point. She started having seizures shortly after arriving. Jessica was totally blind at this point and could only raise her head a little bit. She was given food and water with a syringe, and she ate and drank all they would give her. She had such a strong will to live and was such a sweet little girl that we wanted to give her every opportunity to get better.

　　After 3 1/2 days at the vet the girls came back to stay with me. We wanted to keep them together so Jessica would have her sister to help her learn to be a puppy again and to be her eyes. Jessica spent the next several days just resting her little body and brain. I would take her out and hold her up to go potty. At this point she could move her legs but just couldnt make everything work together to stand,walk, etc. she had no sense of balance at all and her little head wobbled around like a bobble head. I made a sling out of a towel so I could hold her up and she began to walk!! It was wobbly and uncoordinated but she was giving it her all!! We would work together like this every couple of hours at first and then every hour and then one day I sat her down to put the towel around her and off she went!!! She didnt go far but she was determined! She must have fallen and gotten back up at least a thousand times but the day finally came when she wasnt falling over!! Her vision slowly began to return also!! She is still visually impaired but does very well.

　　Jessica (Jess) is just about the sweetest little foster Ive ever had. She is such a happy girl, its almost like she has a smile on her face all the time. I think she knows how close she was to not making it and is grateful to be alive!! Jess still falls down but if you didnt know her history youd just think she was a clumsy puppy. She loves to play with her sister and wrestle around in the grass or play tug of war with a rope toy. Shes good with other dogs, kids and kitty cats. She does like to bark at the kitties though. Jess is the submissive one of the two. She is house trained with a dog door. She is also crate trained. I seldom even close the door on the crate because thats where she hangs out. She still needs her last puppy shot but all other vetting has been done. She has also had flea/tick/heart worm preventative. She hasnt had any seizures since about the 4-5th day after she came back from the vet after her spay surgery.

　　We are thinking at this point that she will live a long, mostly normal life since she just continues to grow, learn, and get better.

　　Jessica and Jennifer will be adopted out separately. If you are interested in adopting Jess or Jen, please fill out our application at brighterdaysdogrescue.com