Koa's history

5 month old mini female suffering from severe head trauma.

Koa's story caught the attention of Larry Powell, a columnist with the Dallas Morning News. To see what he wrote, CLICK HERE.
Koa was also featured on KEYE, Austin's local CBS affiliate.

WARNING: This story will make your blood boil and isn't for the weak of heart. But it is a story of hope. You see, this little girl has been named Koa, which means "hope." And she will need all your prayers to make it through what has been done to her.

Here's Koa's Story...

At just 5 months old, Koa didn't want to go for a swim, but the boy in her family thought it would be cute to hold her against his chest and do a belly flop off the diving board into their pool. Koa didn't think it was cute -- she didn't think much at all afterwards because she suffered severe head trauma when her head hit the pool. So what did the family do?

Koa is unable to stand on her own since her head trauma.

They couldn't be bothered with helping her, nor easing her pain after being so cruel to her. They would have preferred her to die. They left her in their back yard where she screamed for three days. At only 3 pounds and in terror and pain, she couldn't make much noise, but finally this poor baby's cries attracted a neighbor who found someone willing to step in and help Koa. Of course, the family didn't want poor little Koa any more. They didn't care what happened to her.

When the people who first took Koa away saw how extensive her damage was, they realized they couldn't handle her and took her to the emergency clinic. This was June 2. Most of the people at the emergency clinic didn't think Koa had much of a chance. Her 'family' had abandoned her and she had such sever damage and was so emaciated, the road to bring her back would be long, painful and very expensive. Most felt it better to euthanize Koa and finally put her out of the misery her 'family' had inflicted on her. But Koa had a wonderful sponsor, Kimalee, who is a vet tech at the emergency clinic. We are sure that Kimalee's name means "Angel of Mercy" in some language. She has cared for Koa night and day, getting her strong enough to leave the emergency hospital.

Koa's shoulder and ear were also damaged by the impact. She still needs a feeding tube.

When she arrived at the emergency hospital, Koa weighed only 3 lbs. That's what a puppy of 6 weeks should weigh, not a 5 month old puppy! She required a feeding tube just to keep her alive. And she HAS fought for life and gained 1 pound so far. She still has her feeding tube in because she isn't eating and drinking on her own 100% of the time, but she is close. And, the swelling in her brain is slowly going down. At 5 months (such a critical time for a growing puppy) spending so much time in a cage, and unable to move has caused Koa to loose muscle mass, but now she is working very hard to stand and take a few steps. At a time when she should be running and jumping, poor Koa is having to learn all over again how to use her legs.

Koa is extremely underweight for her age.

Right now our priorities are to continue to put some weight on Koa and to get her started on physical therapy to strengthen her legs. If we receive enough donations, we would like to buy her a 4 wheel cart to help support her body as she learns to walk again. Koa will be in our care for many months as we nurse her back to health, but we are confident that she will live up to her name, "Hope." As she makes progress we will post updates. Any support that you can give towards her care would be greatly appreciated.

UPDATE: 07/03/04
Koa had her first visit to our rescue vet on Friday. She had her feeding tube removed and I can tell you that she is one very happy girl! She also had a round of puppy shots. And in 4 days, she was up from 4.1 pounds to 4.5 pounds. Her foster mom reports that there is most certainly nothing wrong with her appetite! Our vet is encouraged by her slow and steady improvement, and the fact that she is not having seizures. While she will probably never be "normal," he feels that she has a big future ahead of her. Because she is so young, healthy sections of her brain will most likely compensate for any permanently damaged areas. GO KOA!

Koa standing up by herself.

UPDATE: 07/12/04
So much has happened in little Koa's life over the past week. While her foster mom Barbara had previous plans on July 4, I was able to take care of her. This gave me a good chance to see just what this gal is all about! She is the most determined dog you could ever meet. She will spend hours working on standing and trying to walk. If she decides that she doesn't want to eat at that moment she will forcefully push your hand away. This is one strong gal and a tough cookie! If anyone can do she certainly can.

She had many visitors while she was here. Neighbors, long time supporters, and fellow owned-by-dachshunds couple John and Gail Chevrette have graciously and generously offered to pay for her cart.

Koa supporters, John and Gail.

They came over to see the wonder dog, and you will find a picture of them here. They pronounced her to be absolutely beautiful. Her cart is on order and should arrive in a couple of weeks. Many of the other CTDR fosters also stopped by to get to know her.

Today Koa had her first therapy session with Sandra Hudson (www.caninesportsrehab.com). She had read up on Koa and had done some research on brain injuries, and like our vet said that the fact that she is a puppy meant that she had a very good prognosis. She was very enthusiastic and the enthusiasm was certainly catching.

There are 4 areas of focus, and Koa is strong in 3 of those areas: strength, endurance, and range of motion. The area we need to work on the most is proprioreception, which is very simply explained as coordination.

Koa receiving physical therapy.

We started work on the physioball, which supports her body while you work on stretching her legs and getting them to move in normal motion. We have ordered one of those balls so that Barbara can work with her at home. We have a picture of her using the ball. Then she worked on the balance board, and Sandra gave us one to use at home. The last thing was to get on the underwater treadmill. We have included a picture which is a bit blurry since she was moving, but you get the idea. At first she was quite "freaked out" by the whole experience, but all of the sudden it seemed to "click" and she was walking on the treadmill! Barbara and I just started to cry! Sandra was so excited that she wants us to come twice a week just to do the treadmill.

Koa in water therapy.

Some people have actually said that we should put her down and put her out of her pain. I can assure you that she is not in any pain. She is very determined to make this work, and is being spoiled as she should be and wants for nothing. Others say "She's JUST a dog." I'll bet Koa and all the other dogs we have are glad we don't think they're JUST dogs. And the long list of supporters we have certainly shows that there are plenty of people who don't think they are JUST dogs. I look at Nicki here at my house. She came in just a mess. We have fixed up all of her health problems but she can still be quite skittish, making it very clear that people have NOT been good to her in her life. She has a wonderful home waiting for her this week. Then there is Redford, who was taken to the pound bleeding from a prolapsed rectum. He is now happy and healthy, running through the back yard squeaking his stuffed toy just like a puppy. Oops - gotta go, Dallas is smothering me in kisses.

No, they are not JUST DOGS.

Thank you for your support and prayers. They are working.

UPDATE: 07/20/04
Today Koa had another round of puppy shots. We have also made the decision to take her to a neurologist to get a better evaluation of her condition. Up to this point, the focus has been on getting her stable - it is now apparent that we need to go another step in order to determine the best way to help her move forward. She has an appointment in Houston on Tuesday, and will have an MRI when that is done. MRIs for animals are done in the same machines used for people, and at the same price! OUCH! But we need to understand the extent of the damage and the current condition of her brain. Once that is done, we will re-evaluate her physical therapy and determine what changes should be made there. Continue to send those healing rays!

Koa resting in her crib.

UPDATE: 08/01/04
Omigosh, soooooo much has happened in this little gal's life since our last update! Where to begin?!

Well, first of all, we have been contacted by an Assistant County Attorney with Travis County, and they are very interested in pursuing this case in the hopes of filing criminal charges. They have assigned a criminal investigator to try to track down the people involved. We are very encouraged by this development and hope that Koa will see justice served.

Last Tuesday, Koa went to see a specialist. However, some of his pronouncements didn't match with our observations and experiences, so we have decided to get a second opinion. We are researching board certified neurosurgeons to see who we think might have the best experience to evaluate Koa. Someone has generously offered to donate air miles to us should we need to fly somewhere outside of Texas, so that has given us even more options.

Koa eating from her bowl for the first time.

Sunday morning started with a HUGE milestone - Koa ate her breakfast and drank her water from a bowl! No bottle! I don't know if everyone can truly appreciate what a monumental step this really is for her. Considering her head trauma, coordination is what is most difficult for her, so her ability to eat from her bowl shows that she is making big progress in her processing skills and her ability to coordinate her actions.

Then we had to get her ready for her close-up - that's right, Koa is now a STAR! We were interviewed and Koa was filmed for a featured segment on Austin's local CBS station, KEYE 42. We are very happy that her story is getting out there and putting a face to the reality of animal cruelty in our society. For a very quick synopsis of what aired you can go to http://keyetv.com/localnews/local_story_214211945.html

UPDATE: 08/05/04
From Koa's Foster Mom, Barbara: Koa WALKED last night, it was a very funky walk, but a walk just the same. She walked backwards, and sideways, and sometimes a few steps forward. AND, she did this for about an hour. I was jumping up and down and the dogs were all barking, it was a real celebration here. This morning when I got her up, I put her in the floor and went to fix Miss B and Casey' breakfast. I had the front door open, 'cause Casey likes to bark at the people going down his street. I heard Casey bark and of course he jumps on the screen door when he does this. I just ignored him and continued to fix their breakfast. When I walked back into the livingroom, Koa was gone. I almost had a heart attack. I started calling her name, (like she was gonna answer me lol) I looked for her for about 10 minutes. I was about ready to call 911, when Miss B went behind the couch and low and behold, who do you think she found? You guessed it. Missy Moo, (aka Koa) had gotten all the way across the livingroom floor and got all the way under the couch against the wall. And I had looked under the couch twice and didn't see her. I had to completely lift the couch up and away from her to get her out. WHEW!!!!!!!

UPDATE: 08/11/04
We took Koa to Dallas yesterday to the VETERINARY REFERRAL CENTER in DALLAS, for her appointment with a neurologist and her MRI. She saw Dr. Ducote and her intern assistant, Dr. Bowens. Both of them are wonderful, and they were so good with our precious Koa. They found that her pupils have good response to light, but she has damage to the nerve that processes the signal to make her "see." The MRI showed that she has hydrocephalus, water on the brain, with severe brain damage. The only hope is surgery, placing a shunt in the brain and burying it under the skin, routing it to the abdomen, where it will drain the fluid and it will be absorbed there. There are giving her a 50/50 chance that the surgery will even be successful. And, even if it is successful, Koa will never be normal.

Koa getting settled in for her ride back from Dallas to Austin.

The vet said, at best, it will allow her to be a little more stable in her gait, and maybe allow her to eat without so much bobbing and swinging of her head. Without surgery, she will die. After much soul searching we have decided that Koa deserves every possible chance that we can give her. She has fought so hard so far, and we are sure that if she could speak she would say that she wants to try surgery. Right now the shunt material is on back order, but as soon as they can get the material they will let us know when she can get in for surgery. In the meantime, she will be on prednisone to reduce the swelling and a diuretic to start draining the fluid.

The surgery will cost around $2500, and the final bill will depend on how many days she has to stay afterwards.

UPDATE: 08/17/04
The shunt material should arrive at the hospital around the 19th, and Koa can have surgery shortly after that. However, since going on her medication she has become fairly agitated, probably from all of the changes she is now feeling, and after speaking with Dr. Ducote we have decided that it would be best for Koa to be cared for at the hospital until she has her surgery. She will be going up to Dallas tomorrow. Please keep Koa in your prayers during this very difficult time.

CLICK HERE to see a list of Koa's supporters.