The Wolf Mountain Sanctuary, Lucerne Valley, Calif.

ISTAS

Emergency Surgery


Saturday, 9:56 PM

ISTAS HAD TO UNDERGO EMERGENCY SURGERY THIS EVENING.
HE HAD A BLOCKAGE IN HIS INTESTINE. THEY DID THE SURGERY AND HE IS HOME. THEY FEARED HAVING HIM IN THE HOSPITAL AND HAVING HIM WAKE UP IN UNFAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS. THEY THOUGHT HE MIGHT HURT HIMSELF OR OTHER ANIMALS IN THE HOSPITAL AND THEIR CAGES ARE NOT STRONG ENOUGH FOR HIM.

HE IS HOME ON THE FRONT PORCH IN A TEMP CAGE WITH STAFF SLEEPING WITH HIM.

PLEASE SAY PRAYERS, WE NEED HIM TO PULL THRU........

THANK YOU.....

DONATIONS REQUESTED... THIS SURGERY COST ALMOST 2k. VOLUNTEERS DONATED THE FUNDS TO GET IT DONE AS THEY REQUIRED UP FRONT....

JASON WOLFBOY PUT UP 1k, I PUT UP $500 AND TONYA PULLED THE REST FROM WOLF MEAT MONEY..... WE HAVE NO VET COMPOUND CURRENTLY AND IT IS HARD TO MOVE THE WOLVES AROUND AS THEY ARE IN THEIR OWN LITTLE PACKS...

PLEASE PLEASE PRAY FOR ISTAS!!!

-----------------------------------------------

Sunday 1:44pm

Istas made it thru the night with no painkillers so it was a rough one and he did not sleep at all. Jason and David and Bob stayed up with him all night.

He is on iv fluids now and cannot take anything by mouth until tomorrow.

Keep the prayers coming!!!!

----------------------------------------------------

Monday 8:48am

Issy slept from midnite to about 5am. This is the first time he has slept since his surgery. He is on the porch at home and seems to be handling all the special attention well. He is still on iv fluids and will start getting a mush type food later today.

Unfortunately he cannot go with any other wolves for 2 weeks. Istas will not be able to go back with Yawto and Wacipi because of this long separation.

In captivity once a wolf is removed from his compound for a long period of time, the other wolves will not accept him back and will gang up and try to hurt them....

So we have to build a new pen for him and we can put him and Wanagi back together..... Good news we have all the fencing, we just need some poles...

I will keep posting updates on our special one....

Keep praying!

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Monday 2:56pm

Bad news, Istas has been rushed back to the vet, he is throwing up blood....

PRAY PRAY PRAY
--------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, 8:25 PM

Istas is still fighting, they are doing more tests and he is staying in the hospital for now.

Tonya says that he is young so that is on his side.....

KEEP PRAYING

---------------------------------------------------

Tuesday 8:39 AM

Istas made it thru the night fine. Ton called the girl she hired to watch him every half hour. He is still at the vet and not at home. He is not vomiting anymore and is drinking alot of water, receiving IV fluids but will not eat. Ton will go up later to try and get him to eat. She thinks he will not eat because he is not home.

Still no word on what is going on. Ton thinks that because they sent him home he did not do well. He seems to be doing much better there as he relaxes better. He is the star, getting all kinds of attention and loving pets from all the staff. When he is home, he is up and down, wanting to be with his pack.

I did some research trying to find out if a wolves intestine and esophogus are larger than a dog and could not find anything. The vet says his are very big.

They think he has enlarged esohogus which is bad news and not curable.

I started looking for a exotic animal vet to talk to the regular vet so Tonya is going to call Mark R. Johnson, DVM.   He is a vet that has worked many wolf release programs and seems to me to be an expert.....

So we can breathe a little better today.

Keep praying everyone....

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday 12:00pm

Istas is not doing well, Katii, a friend and adoptive mother of the wolves called a doctor at California Wolf Center for us as we are too busy keeping Istas calm. Kim at the CA Wolf Center (bless her sweet heart) was "on it" when Katii told her what was going down. Kim called their (California Wolf Center) vet's office immediately. It turned out their vet was in surgery at that moment but his office would have him call Tonya as soon as he was finished with his patient. He did, and he has been an immense help to Issy's doctor.

We also called Mark R. Johnson, DVM, to get his opinion on this "strangulated esophagus" condition and he assisted Istas' vet also.. He told her that if (IF) that was a real diagnosis he'd find it surprising in such a young wolf (Issy is 4), but agreed that if that what was wrong there wasn't much to do, if anything, to fix it.

In order to find the cause of the vomiting, Istas's doctor is now running a full-body set of xrays (of some kind) taken every hour as a white fluid is fed to him thru a tube down his throat, which he was having NO part of so he had to be sedated, and that worked. Istas is in good spirits, and we are very hopeful. His incision looks a bit (a 'bit') infected, but that will be knocked down with antibiotics.

We also talked with Dr. Patricia Carter from Helen Woods Hospital and she gave us some great things to tell the vet as well.....

Istas was feeling quite a bit better after he woke from the sedation and wanted to go outside. He was a bit dopey at first, but each hour his eyes became brighter and his gait steadier and stronger. After a few hours he was wanting to run!!! The vet said that the white fluid coated esophogas which made him feel alot of relief. He is on pain meds so he also feels a little better with no pain.

After all the xrays were done, there is no blockage and they have almost completely ruled out the esophagus issue. He had no punctures from his surgery.

The doctors think that his throat was so tore up from the bones and the vomiting that it became swollen which made it look enlarged.

He is receiving antiobotics, acid reflux medication and also medicine to help repair his esophagus. He is still receiving fluids thru an iv to keep enough fluid in his body.

We left him about 7pm to all go home for a much needed rest. The night staff has all our numbers and will call if there are any issues. He was sleeping when we left.

Please keep up the prayers and please donate anything to help us.... With all the xrays today, no telling how much the final bill will be.

Istas has been such a gentlemen thru this, a trooper, he has not once tried to bite anyone. He has been fully cooperative, knowing they were helping him.....

HE IS DOING BETTER AND WE ARE SO HAPPY!!!!

The prayers are working from all of you concerned and great people.

THANK YOU FOR THE DONATIONS AND PRAYERS!!!

Thank you to the staff at the hospital and the other vets that helped us so much!

If I have forgotten anyone, thank you, we are all VERY tired.

Will post more tomorrow.....

Howls!

TO DONATE THRU PAYPAL, GO TO

www.paypal.com

AND OUR EMAIL IS wolfmtnsanctuary@yahoo.com

---------------------------------------

Tuesday, June 25

Istas is healing nicely. His wound is being treated with ointment to help it heal nicely.

This week he started eating a little bit. He was satisfied with nothing. Tonya made him chicken, rice, beef, all cooked but he would only eat little bits. He needed to eat to have bowel movements which he did not have for quite a few days.... He started seeing Tonya feeding the cats, so he wanted cat food. Whined for it when she fed... :) He has been acting like quite the little baby... :)

Tonya was sleeping in the pen with him until she woke up to water splashing as he was peeing. LOL She has not had much sleep at all.

During the day when there are not alot visitors, he gets to wander around the grassy area where Apache Moon used to lay. We feel that Apache's spirit has entered Istas. Istas has been acting so calm and wise since Apache passed.

He has most of his strength back and is quite hard to hold on a leash.

He has not tore up his padded bed in his pen which shows he enjoys the comfort of it.

He misses his pack mates and Tonya takes him to visit them thru the fence daily.

Today for the first time he ate red meat YAY!

We are still in desperate need of funds as we have to build him a new pen. We also plan to build Tamaka his pen. The county has not wanted us to build more compounds but we are GOING to do it! We have no choice.

Istas cannot go back in with Yawto as he is now the Alpha. We plan to put Istas with Wacipi and Wanagi back with Yawto. Wanagi and Yawto are the wild ones. :)

We have the fence for the pen!!!

Updated pics are on the right of this page!

A kind friend of the wolves from www.care2.com made this great video of Istas, check it out: ISTAS VIDEO

Sorry it took so long for the update but we have been VERY busy!

Til next time . . .

When you look into the eyes of a wolf, you see your soul . . .



After he got home

Poor baby, hurting in pain

Back at the hospital

Another xray, he is so good

Feeling better, wants to walk

Shondra (GREAT PERSON) and Tonya

Momma's Love

Danna, Shondra and Tonya a bit relieved

Tonya, David and Michael

Momma and Istas taking a nap

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Updated June 26, 2007

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		ISTAS Emergency Surgery

		Saturday, 9:56 PM ISTAS HAD TO UNDERGO EMERGENCY SURGERY THIS EVENING. HE HAD A BLOCKAGE IN HIS INTESTINE. THEY DID THE SURGERY AND HE IS HOME. THEY FEARED HAVING HIM IN THE HOSPITAL AND HAVING HIM WAKE UP IN UNFAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS. THEY THOUGHT HE MIGHT HURT HIMSELF OR OTHER ANIMALS IN THE HOSPITAL AND THEIR CAGES ARE NOT STRONG ENOUGH FOR HIM. HE IS HOME ON THE FRONT PORCH IN A TEMP CAGE WITH STAFF SLEEPING WITH HIM. PLEASE SAY PRAYERS, WE NEED HIM TO PULL THRU........ THANK YOU..... DONATIONS REQUESTED... THIS SURGERY COST ALMOST 2k. VOLUNTEERS DONATED THE FUNDS TO GET IT DONE AS THEY REQUIRED UP FRONT.... JASON WOLFBOY PUT UP 1k, I PUT UP $500 AND TONYA PULLED THE REST FROM WOLF MEAT MONEY..... WE HAVE NO VET COMPOUND CURRENTLY AND IT IS HARD TO MOVE THE WOLVES AROUND AS THEY ARE IN THEIR OWN LITTLE PACKS... PLEASE PLEASE PRAY FOR ISTAS!!! ----------------------------------------------- Sunday 1:44pm Istas made it thru the night with no painkillers so it was a rough one and he did not sleep at all. Jason and David and Bob stayed up with him all night. He is on iv fluids now and cannot take anything by mouth until tomorrow. Keep the prayers coming!!!! ---------------------------------------------------- Monday 8:48am Issy slept from midnite to about 5am. This is the first time he has slept since his surgery. He is on the porch at home and seems to be handling all the special attention well. He is still on iv fluids and will start getting a mush type food later today. Unfortunately he cannot go with any other wolves for 2 weeks. Istas will not be able to go back with Yawto and Wacipi because of this long separation. In captivity once a wolf is removed from his compound for a long period of time, the other wolves will not accept him back and will gang up and try to hurt them.... So we have to build a new pen for him and we can put him and Wanagi back together..... Good news we have all the fencing, we just need some poles... I will keep posting updates on our special one.... Keep praying! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Monday 2:56pm Bad news, Istas has been rushed back to the vet, he is throwing up blood.... PRAY PRAY PRAY -------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, 8:25 PM Istas is still fighting, they are doing more tests and he is staying in the hospital for now. Tonya says that he is young so that is on his side..... KEEP PRAYING --------------------------------------------------- Tuesday 8:39 AM Istas made it thru the night fine. Ton called the girl she hired to watch him every half hour. He is still at the vet and not at home. He is not vomiting anymore and is drinking alot of water, receiving IV fluids but will not eat. Ton will go up later to try and get him to eat. She thinks he will not eat because he is not home. Still no word on what is going on. Ton thinks that because they sent him home he did not do well. He seems to be doing much better there as he relaxes better. He is the star, getting all kinds of attention and loving pets from all the staff. When he is home, he is up and down, wanting to be with his pack. I did some research trying to find out if a wolves intestine and esophogus are larger than a dog and could not find anything. The vet says his are very big. They think he has enlarged esohogus which is bad news and not curable. I started looking for a exotic animal vet to talk to the regular vet so Tonya is going to call Mark R. Johnson, DVM. He is a vet that has worked many wolf release programs and seems to me to be an expert..... So we can breathe a little better today. Keep praying everyone.... ----------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday 12:00pm Istas is not doing well, Katii, a friend and adoptive mother of the wolves called a doctor at California Wolf Center for us as we are too busy keeping Istas calm. Kim at the CA Wolf Center (bless her sweet heart) was "on it" when Katii told her what was going down. Kim called their (California Wolf Center) vet's office immediately. It turned out their vet was in surgery at that moment but his office would have him call Tonya as soon as he was finished with his patient. He did, and he has been an immense help to Issy's doctor. We also called Mark R. Johnson, DVM, to get his opinion on this "strangulated esophagus" condition and he assisted Istas' vet also.. He told her that if (IF) that was a real diagnosis he'd find it surprising in such a young wolf (Issy is 4), but agreed that if that what was wrong there wasn't much to do, if anything, to fix it. In order to find the cause of the vomiting, Istas's doctor is now running a full-body set of xrays (of some kind) taken every hour as a white fluid is fed to him thru a tube down his throat, which he was having NO part of so he had to be sedated, and that worked. Istas is in good spirits, and we are very hopeful. His incision looks a bit (a 'bit') infected, but that will be knocked down with antibiotics. We also talked with Dr. Patricia Carter from Helen Woods Hospital and she gave us some great things to tell the vet as well..... Istas was feeling quite a bit better after he woke from the sedation and wanted to go outside. He was a bit dopey at first, but each hour his eyes became brighter and his gait steadier and stronger. After a few hours he was wanting to run!!! The vet said that the white fluid coated esophogas which made him feel alot of relief. He is on pain meds so he also feels a little better with no pain. After all the xrays were done, there is no blockage and they have almost completely ruled out the esophagus issue. He had no punctures from his surgery. The doctors think that his throat was so tore up from the bones and the vomiting that it became swollen which made it look enlarged. He is receiving antiobotics, acid reflux medication and also medicine to help repair his esophagus. He is still receiving fluids thru an iv to keep enough fluid in his body. We left him about 7pm to all go home for a much needed rest. The night staff has all our numbers and will call if there are any issues. He was sleeping when we left. Please keep up the prayers and please donate anything to help us.... With all the xrays today, no telling how much the final bill will be. Istas has been such a gentlemen thru this, a trooper, he has not once tried to bite anyone. He has been fully cooperative, knowing they were helping him..... HE IS DOING BETTER AND WE ARE SO HAPPY!!!! The prayers are working from all of you concerned and great people. THANK YOU FOR THE DONATIONS AND PRAYERS!!! Thank you to the staff at the hospital and the other vets that helped us so much! If I have forgotten anyone, thank you, we are all VERY tired. Will post more tomorrow..... Howls! TO DONATE THRU PAYPAL, GO TO www.paypal.com AND OUR EMAIL IS wolfmtnsanctuary@yahoo.com --------------------------------------- Tuesday, June 25 Istas is healing nicely. His wound is being treated with ointment to help it heal nicely. This week he started eating a little bit. He was satisfied with nothing. Tonya made him chicken, rice, beef, all cooked but he would only eat little bits. He needed to eat to have bowel movements which he did not have for quite a few days.... He started seeing Tonya feeding the cats, so he wanted cat food. Whined for it when she fed... :) He has been acting like quite the little baby... :) Tonya was sleeping in the pen with him until she woke up to water splashing as he was peeing. LOL She has not had much sleep at all. During the day when there are not alot visitors, he gets to wander around the grassy area where Apache Moon used to lay. We feel that Apache's spirit has entered Istas. Istas has been acting so calm and wise since Apache passed. He has most of his strength back and is quite hard to hold on a leash. He has not tore up his padded bed in his pen which shows he enjoys the comfort of it. He misses his pack mates and Tonya takes him to visit them thru the fence daily. Today for the first time he ate red meat YAY! We are still in desperate need of funds as we have to build him a new pen. We also plan to build Tamaka his pen. The county has not wanted us to build more compounds but we are GOING to do it! We have no choice. Istas cannot go back in with Yawto as he is now the Alpha. We plan to put Istas with Wacipi and Wanagi back with Yawto. Wanagi and Yawto are the wild ones. :) We have the fence for the pen!!! Updated pics are on the right of this page! A kind friend of the wolves from www.care2.com made this great video of Istas, check it out: ISTAS VIDEO Sorry it took so long for the update but we have been VERY busy! Til next time . . . When you look into the eyes of a wolf, you see your soul . . .		After he got home Poor baby, hurting in pain Back at the hospital Another xray, he is so good Feeling better, wants to walk Shondra (GREAT PERSON) and Tonya Momma's Love Danna, Shondra and Tonya a bit relieved Tonya, David and Michael Momma and Istas taking a nap Website Photo Disclaimer All photos on this site are copyrighted and All Rights Reserved, they are not Public Domain. This means you cannot copy, print or use in any way without permission. Unauthorized copy or use of such will be fiercely prosecuted.