Good things come to those who wait, and I certainly waited for my perfect family to find me. I joined rescue 202 days ago with a serious medical problem. I had a luxating hip… the hip was out of socket because the socket was flat. Plus, I was a little plump, like 20 lbs overweight.
The first surgery Dr. Lay attempted with screws and wires to replace the ball in my hip, but due to my size, I bent the screws. 
Then I had a femoral head osteotomy or (FHO). I called a round exercise pen at Dr. Larsen’s my new home. I lost some weight, and I had weeks of rest.
Finally, I was able to leave the clinic. I moved in with foster parents, Nancy and Scott, and I started water therapy.
So, you could say I am a bionic Bulldog. I am truly blessed to have found rescue, received superior vet care and now I can run, play and live pain-free!
Here I am today on my adoption day with my new mom, Ashlee, and new dad, Jason, and I am so excited to be adopted. There are some teenagers in my new family too that I am just going to love to pieces.
I’m looking forward to checking out of rescue and into a fabulous new family that was picked just for me.
Welcome 3 year old Ellie May Lou to rescue. Her parents contacted us with an emergency situation. Ellie May had dislocated her hip and needed surgery. The family could not afford the surgery and had other things going on that would make the recuperation and rehab very difficult. So they made the only choice they could. They let the love of their life go to rescue. They said she is a super sweet gal and loves kids.
The surrender was made at the clinic Sunday. Additional X-rays were done and our orthopedic surgeon examined her today. The socket of her hip is almost non-existent and there is very little likelihood the hip will stay in place.
He is reviewing the films, but he will most likely perform a Femoral Head Osteotomy. An FHO is a surgical procedure to remove the head and neck of the femur (the long leg bone or thighbone). The muscles of the leg will initially hold the femur in place and, over time, scar tissue will form between the socket and the femur to provide cushioning that is referred to as a ‘false joint.’ Although this joint is anatomically very different from a normal hip joint, it provides pain-free mobility in most patients. Dr. Lay feels she is a perfect candidate for this procedure.
We will schedule the surgery as soon as possible. Ellie May Lou had to be sedated during her exam today and was so sleepy when I saw her. She was not a good subject for pictures today. We will get some in the next day or two and post them. But we do have one her parents sent us.
1/15/129 Update: Ellie May Lou here. Sorry I was so sleepy yesterday to pose for my pictures. As you can see I am a little on the plus size. But I was so angry today when someone asked if I were pregnant! Well guess what? My tests came back and I have hypothyroid. See there, it’s not my fault. Just a little ol pill every day and I’ll be back to normal in no time. I know I need to lose some weight to keep pressure off my hips.
I met this nice doctor and they are scheduling my surgery and will get me all fixed up. And my favorite thing to do is to get all the belly rubs I can.
1/23/19 Update: Foster girl Ellie May Lou did well coming through her hip surgery! The doctor did an open surgical reduction to save her hip. We’re told the socket was in pretty good shape. The doc reconstructed the joint capsule. It was augmented with two screws, spiked bone washers and four strands of nylon multifilament. Now, it’s six weeks of rest for this pretty girl. Her surgery bill was $1,306, but we know she’ll feel like a million bucks soon!
3/20/19 Update: Ellie May has had a tough several weeks. First she had her dislocated hip put back in place with plates and screws. But she was so heavy the metal bent and had to be removed. When the surgeon did that, he was never able to get the joint to stay in place. So he performed a femoral head osteotomy (FHO). This is a surgical removal of the head and neck of the femur. In simpler terms, it is the removal of the “ball” part of the ball-and-socket that makes up the hip joint. This is not an uncommon procedure and will enable her to have a pretty normal and pain free life.
So she is now going through several more weeks of leash walking and therapy at the clinic. Heather spends time with her each day for her therapy and takes her home over the weekend to continue the therapy there. And in spite of not being able to move that much she has lost over 10 pounds. Her weight is now close to where it needs to be.
6/5/19 Update: Forgive me for not writing sooner. I guess you could say I’ve been busy getting ready for my furever home!
You see I moved from Dr. Larsen’s veterinary clinic to Dallas in April to start my rehabilitation therapy after my hip surgeries. My new foster parents know all these wonderful people at Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center (DVSC) who help Bulldogs like me work out at the gym! Yes, can you believe it? I never heard of such a thing, but apparently all kinds of dogs go there to work out. They have an underwater treadmill, balls, hurdles – you name it. Even better? They let you eat while you work out! So they are 5 stars in my book!
I just completed a 6-week work out program and have graduated with honors. I feel and look fantastic! I’ve lost a lot of much needed weight, kept it off and gained muscle and strength in my surgery leg. They say I don’t need to go back to the special gym at DVSC and work out anymore, but I kind of liked it! They said home exercise is just fine, unless there is a medical concern. Well, how about a social concern? ! I love people and socializing, so who wants to work out at home anyways? I’m very pretty and friendly and don’t care to sit at home much.
I’m a tiny lady with a petite figure and let me tell you, I’m the fastest hip wiggler in the west! I am spunky and frisky, but a proper young girl. I love to play, go on walks and go bye-bye in the car. And let me just warn you… I can sprint, jump and run like the wind! I love to dance, prance and raise my paws high when I’m happy, which is all the time.
You would never know I had TWO hip surgeries, except I’m still trying to grow my hair back where they shaved it to operate. So I kind of have a funky hair style, but that makes me unique and I get more attention that way! Hey, no worries because my hair will grow and I will be even more beautiful!
I live with 3 other fur siblings in my foster home. I have two sisters, a Bulldog, Sydney, and an older, more mature American Bully Boxer mix lady named Polly, who I really like. I hear they are alumni of Lone Star Bulldog Club Rescue, so that’s really cool! I play with the Bulldog lady because she’s about my age and size. We have a lot of fun together. We only got in one brief little argument because she woke me from my beauty sleep to play and I didn’t like that much. It rather startled me, so I punched her lights out and that was that. I think we’ve moved on and that’s water under the bridge, but foster mom keeps close tabs on us because she doesn’t tolerate fights. She says we need to love each other and get along. The Bulldog/Boxer mix lady, Polly, doesn’t pay me no mind and that’s just fine because we are both good roomies and just do our own things. We do sleep together at night with Foster Dad. That’s the best seat in the house, if you ask me!
Now, my foster brother Otis is a big handsome blue Great Dane. I’ve never seen such a big boy. He rather reminds me of a horse or small pony I once saw on TV. Anyways, he’s quite the looker. He picked me up from Dr. Larsen’s and took me to my new foster home in Dallas. At first, I wasn’t sure if I was riding him home or going in a car. I’ve never ridden a horse before, so I was relieved when I found out we were traveling by car. Otis is very kind and gentle with me, so despite his large size, I decided to give him a chance because all the ladies have raved about him.
We got along just fine for about a week or so, but then I don’t know what happened. He brought Foster Mom a big, 5-foot-stuffed alligator toy when she came home from work one night, right in front of me, and I just didn’t like it. So I yelled at him and threw a few punches. I really lost my cool and cussed him out. He didn’t even lay a paw on me because he’s such a gentleman, but I gave him a tongue lashing just the same! I know it’s not very nice or lady-like… and I know it sounds crazy because he’s 120 lbs and I’m 45 lbs. But I speak my mind and I can hold my own ~ just saying ~ so look out!
Like I said, I’m a petite lady, so foster mom thinks I’d be most comfortable with dogs my size or less. Male or female seems to make no difference, as long as they aren’t too big because that just makes me nervous.
Foster Mom and Otis are heartbroken because I don’t like him anymore, but I can’t help the way I feel. I said I was sorry and I’ve tried to be nice to him, but it’s just hard for me. I’m trying to trust the big guy, but it would probably be best that my furever home have no large animals. Now, my fear of large dogs can be re-evaluated, case-by-case, because I’ve hung out in vet clinics and places like DVSC where I worked out and I seemed to do OK. What can I say? I’m complicated, I guess.
Doc checked my thyroid to make sure I wasn’t going nuts since she started me on a hormone supplement before moving to Dallas, but she said it’s fine and to stay on the same dose – it will keep me healthy and trim. So just remember, if you adopt me, you will need to monitor some things because I’m on a hormone supplement called Synthroid. Anyways, I sort of want to be a princess and have my own castle because I can be fussy from time-to-time, but I’m too social and vivacious a lady to be single. I would love to meet potential new fur siblings. I just want to make sure we get along!
I love, love people! I’m happiest being with people all the time. I’m not scared of them one bit. I’m not sure about real little people because I haven’t been observed with them, but medium-sized people are just fine. I’m so spunky I might knock a small person down, but medium or larger people – game on. Let’s play! I need a home where I can be given lots of attention and love because that’s what I have to give! I don’t want to be crated or locked up for too long, but I will for a little bit. Trust me, I’ll let you know if it’s too long. Y’all will hear me hollering in Oklahoma so just be forewarned. I’m persistent and stubborn. I can holler and sing a long time until you give me what I want…. either attention or food!
When I first arrived at my foster home, I was pretty picky about everything I was fed and it was all great healthy stuff and even some not so healthy stuff. Foster Mom and Dad seem to think it was because I was nervous and just getting adjusted. Now, I seem to eat just about everything without any trouble. I really love to eat and never miss a meal, but I need to be careful because I want to keep my petite figure and keep a wiggling like I do! My foster parents really spoil me with high-end quality food. They said my fur siblings and I eat better than them!
They feed me a varied menu with all kinds of good healthy supplements for my hair, skin, joints and nails. I eat grain-free kibble, (Pure Vita, Farmina), canned (Koha Fromm and Weruva). I also eat lots of good human food! I love steak, fish, poultry and eggs. I eat veggies and fruits whole and powdered down in something called Honest Kitchen. I love lots of special treats they give me, especially peanut butter, femur bones and jerky. And I prefer any pills, if I must, in a fig newton, thank you very much! Oh, and I love grocery trips to Paw Depot and Hollywood Feed! They have not only yummy food there, but fun toys and some fancy accessories ladies like me need! Yes, I love to dress nice so please keep me looking pretty.
I’m pretty good with doing my business outside. I have an occasional accident, but as long as you take me outside often, I should be OK. I am an educated lady and smart enough to know where the door is to let you know to let me out. They told me since I lost weight, I have some extra folds in my lady parts, so I need to keep them clean or I might get a urinary tract infection. My foster parents are keeping me real clean, but I still got a skin and urinary tract infection, so I’m on antibiotics right now. Doc said I might need a nip and tuck down there around my lady parts. but I don’t want to think about that right now… like Scarlet O’Hara, I will think about that tomorrow and keep my legs crossed!
Anyways, I do like to stay clean and need to stay clean, because I have some typical Bulldog allergies besides that you will need to watch. I do fine in the bathtub – c’mon what girl doesn’t like a nice bubble bath?! I do take medicine for my allergies if I get particularly itchy, so make sure you know I’m itching and not wiggling because I’m happy to see you! I will need routine bathing and my bedding washed regularly (or more so if I’m itchy)! Foster Mom and Dad wipe me down with unscented baby wipes when I come in from outside to keep the allergens off me, but just make sure if you adopt me, to wipe me down on days I don’t get a bath. I want to be comfy and smell nice!
OK, folks that’s a whole lot about me, but like I said, I haven’t written in awhile because I’ve been so busy moving and getting settled in Dallas making new friends! I promise to stay in touch more often now. If you think you would like a pretty spunky girl like me, maybe you’ll be my perfect match. Please submit an application today.
