THE Christmas MIRACLE


Christmas is the season of Miracles, and a Miracle has happened here at Pappy's Papillons.

On Nov, 16, 2009 at approximately 4:15 pm I was at work when I got a call from my Daughter-in-Law . One of my
neighbors had called her and told her that 2 of my dogs had been hit by a car and that one of them was dead. She
told me that my son had taken one of my granddaughters to the doctor but she was putting the other 2 kids in her
car and was going over to check on the dogs. At this time we did not even know which dogs had gotten hit. I was
devastated, I was at work and could not leave, and even if I could I was over an hour away from them. So I waited,
4:30 ,no call. At 4:45 my daughter-in-law called and told me  that no one was dead. Orianna seemed to have a
broken hind leg, but Andre was hurt very bad, He was bleeding around his head.
A man and his mother from my community had been walking down the road and saw Andre lying in the road and
picked him up and placed him in my yard. Later he told me that one of the other dogs was barking at Andre trying
to get him to get up, but Andre could not get by himself. My postmaster saw the dogs running across the road and
tried to call my house, but no one was home, then she called another neighbor to get my son's phone number, But
by the time they had gotten in touch with my son, it was too late, two of them had been hit by a car. My neighbor
came up and tried to put the dogs back in my yard but they didi not know her so some of them stayed out until my
son got there. My next door neighbor got some of her towels and covered Andre up because she had seen him try
to raise his head, she knew she had to keep him from going into shock ( they had thought he was dead).
My son, got to my house and put my dogs up and then he put Andre in a crate and Orianna in the seat and rushed
them both to my vet. They had already called and told my vet they were on the way with them.
When I finally got in touch with my son, he told me that Orianna had actually started walking on her hind leg and
that she had fractured her pelvis. But they were still working on Andre. At about 5:30 my charge nurse gave me
permission to leave, so that I could be with my dogs. I went straight to my vet's office. Orianna was in her crate, I
went straight to Andre, they had him on a heating pad and had him covered up and had IV fluids going on him.
They had shaved one side of his head trying to find where he was bleeding from, he had bitten his tongue. Andre
had no visible signs of injury, but he had been hit in the head. His brain was already swelling. The vet told me he
was in a very guarded condition, and that if he survived 36-48 hours, he had a chance of survival, but what his
mental state would be, he did not know. He as given Manitol to decrease his brain swelling,he would be kept
sedated, he would be kept warm to prevent shock. I stayed with Andre for a while, he would try to raise his head if
you touched him but that was all he would do.
The next day, I had to work but when I got to work they were slow, so they let me go back home, I had gotten very
little sleep wondering how my Andre was, or if he was even alive. I stopped at my Vets office and they were working
on him. he raised his tail at the base as if to say to me, I am still here, I know your voice. Whether he knew me or
not, I don't know, but I would like to think he did. My son was there to check on him too. I stayed with him a couple of
hours and then I went home. I returned that evening and there was not change in his condition. I held him, stroked
him, sang to him. He was peeing and he would try to move around but with no purposeful movements.
The next morning was Wed. Nov. 18th. I was at the vets office when they opened but still no change in Andre. He
had been moving around alot and they had to sedate him. That evening my daughter-in-law and granddaughters
visited him as I did. I held Andre, I sang Hush Little Baby to him, as he would just cry and cry , I rocked him, I petted
him , I changed his pee pads as he as getting lasix and he would pee a lot, he would get very restless when he
needed to pee but no other signs of knowing anyone.
The next morning, I needed to get the oil changed in my car and do a few errands so I did not get to the vets right
away. I called and asked how he was doing, he vet tech told me that physically he was Ok but neurologically he was
just not there and that it may be time to start thinking about letting him go. I cried and cried all morning until I got
there. I told the vet tech that I did not know what to do, she told me to listen to  my heart, I told her my heart was
telling me no. Andre had given me so much that I could not give up on him yet. I held him, sang to him, and told him
to hang on that he could fight all of this. When I left the vet told me that there was no hurry that we could hang on
to him.

Thursday afternoon, I went back to the vet's office and went down to the kennel area, I walked over to Andre crate
spoke his name and he lifted his head, he was my bobble head baby. I lifted him up and changed his pads, asked if
I could give him some water, they gave me a syringe of water to wet his tongue and he started lapping it. After a few
minutes one of the tech's asked the vet if we could try feeding him. Boy did he eat, we had to put the food on our
fingers because Andre's bottom jaw was fractured right in the middle, It was Miracle come true. I stayed several
hours with him.
Friday morning, they did not want to feed him ,they were going to try to wire his jaw together, that afternoon I went
back and his surgery was done, he was trying to wake up, but he was very sleepy.
Sat. Morning he got to come home, he could only hold his head up, but he was eating and would drink water. He
had to go to my son's because I had to work that weekend.. But on Sunday night I picked him up and took him
home, I set up my granddaughters play yard to keep him in. I took him back to the vet on Tues. for a check up; he
was sitting up with help and he would try to stand, but he could only stand on either his front legs or his back legs
not both, he would crawl, and he could turn over. His neurological exam was Ok. But he had not given me his
trademark tail wag. The vet told me he though he was either partially or totally blind. I was to bring him back in a
week.
The next Monday, he was walking, ( he had actually started walking on Thanksgiving Day ). not with good balance,
but at least he was walking. He walked with stiff movements, just like the movies and shows I have watched where
humans had sustained a head injury and was learning to walk again. He was going out the doggy door and in and
out of the crates, he was not blind. He could not get down my back steps, but he soon leaned not to even try that.
Dec. 2nd, my birthday and Andre gave me a tail wag, not his big wonderful tail wag but at least there it was. Andre
was having a problem with getting choked on some foods and having some vomiting but he was put on reglan and
pepcid to try to correct this.
Dec. 10th. Andre is wagging his tail more and is starting to act like his old self. He had tried running but that does
not work well, he is going down one set of my back steps now without a problem.
Christmas Day, --Andre is more and more like himself everyday, and everyday there are improvements. He is very
fighty around the other dogs, I don't quite know about that but hopefully that will improve. My vet has told me to try
giving him some of Oliver's  Phenobarb to see if it will calm him any.
Dec. 29th. --Andre got his wires off his jaw today, he is home, sleepy but he is Ok.

Seems like overnight and the fighting stopped, of course he still wants to fight Chance but he always did that. He is
going up the back steps in a normal fashion now. At first he would kind of hop up them, but now one leg at a time.
Now he has normal movements, he still has a balance problem, and he may always. He still has a problem with
some foods choking him and that may continue, he does not like for you to be in his face, but I hope that will
change, but he has progressed from a nearly lifeless body to a tail wagging Andre. He does not play with the other
dogs like he used to , maybe he does not remember how to .  Even now if he starts to get upset about something I
will pick him up and sing Hush Little Baby to him and he quiets down. He remember what kennel up means, and
bye-bye, and he remember the sound of his collar jingling means going bye-bye.
The middle of January I will start him back into conformation classes with my vets permission to se if he can get
over some of his fears. We will take him slowly and hopefully he will be back into the dog show ring. By the  way I
did not mention Andre is a 6 1/2 lb sable and white Papillon. His registered name is UKC/Int'l CH Draco's Ears
Andre the Giant . He is AKC pointed.

My Thanks to to my neighbors for helping Andre, my daughter-in-law, my son, and of course the Rowan Vet Clinic,
Dr Ralph Derrickson and Staff and God for standing by my decision not to put Andre to sleep and to give him a
chance. Without Dr Ralph and staff's  knowledge in the care of Andre he would not have survived. I knew he was
my fighter. Andre had prayers going out for him from Georgia  to New York and many cities in between.  I do
believe that Andre's Angel  kiss on top of his head helped keep him safe

 Jan. 13th, 2010 -- Andre cries now when he is given a bath, I don't understand what that is all about , he always
loved his baths before, but he will stand  still now , at least he is not fighting me and trying to get out of the tub,
Andre is now off the phenobarb and doing well without it. He still loves to go bye-bye and knows that cookies means
you are getting a treat. It will take a while for his front leg fringes to grow back, but they will. As you can see in the
pictures to the left there has been great improvements in Andre, he does not have an empty look to his face and
eyes anymore.

I will continue to add any new  events so keep watching.

  Feb. 3, 2010 ---- Gosh, it has been 2 1/2 months since the accident, I saw Andre trying to play a little the other
day, He is  doing great. I am still working with him to see if I can get him back into the shows, he seems to do well
around other dogs. .

  March 4, 2010---Things are still going good for Andre. He is trying to play some, but he just does not know how to
play without being too rough. Maybe that too will come back to him. Sometimes he paces a lot, you have to wonder
what he is thinking of . He did better with his last bath, no crying. He comes often and scratches on my leg to get
me to rub his ears and head. He still has a balance problem.

Thank You
Patty, Gabby, Oliver, Ollie, Chance, Penny, Sky, Timmy, Orianna and of course Andre
The Christmas Miracle
Andre 1 week after the
accident
Andre 1 week and 4 days after the
accident
Andre on 11/29/2009
Andre on 12/5/2009
Andre on 12/16/2009
Andre on 1/13/2010
2/24/2010
2/24/2010