Kyra's Story



Wendy Deane, Kyra's handler, will tell the story of Kyra's surgery and her recovery on this page. We will also provide links to her story in the paper, films on You Tube, and Kyra's friends on Facebook. Thank you to all of you who have donated to Kyra's vet fund. It will be hard for such an active dog to slow down, and with your generous support she will be back out training in no time.


Thank You


Links


Ruben Rosario: A dog who's helped so many now needs help herself

Wright County Journal: Feature Story




Thursday, February 4, 2010
Kyra was able to respond to her first search mission yesterday!
Sylvester "Sly" McCurry has been missing since Jan 17, 2010 in Superior, WI. He was last seen leaving the Stargate bar.
The St. Louis Cty Rescue Squad, who was asked to help from the Superior , WI police dept., called us (and a few other handlers from various agencies) in to help out. Previous extensive searches were unable to locate Mr. McCurry as of yet.
The focus of our searches yesterday was mainly along the Superior Bay and St. Louis Bay areas and the piers where there were some areas of open water.
The weather was great for searching with the temps starting out at 7 below but rising quickly to the low to mid 20s (F) when the sun came up.
Kyra was able to work for the majority of the day (off and on). I was going to call it quits after about 2 p.m. (I didn't want to push her too hard her first day back), but we were asked to check one more area (out on the ice) so we worked that for about a half hour as well.
Kyra is a bit more conservative on the ice now and flatly refused to cross any ice that looked unsafe (I liked that!). Just as we were headed back to land, there was an area next to the shoreline that had a bit of water on top of the ice. It was probably only about 4 feet across and Dave (member of SLC and a k9 handler), wearing an ice rescue suit, walked and jumped on it first to be sure it was safe. I crossed as well and called Kyra over to me. She apparently felt we were both idiots for going over dangerous looking ice and refused to cross. I appreciated the fact that she'd rather be safe than sorry on the ice so we brought over the "banana boat" (an inflatable ice rescue craft that looks a bit like a canoe) and I had Kyra hop in that with me holding her so we could be towed across this "expanse" of water. Kyra was fine with that idea.
She used the 2-1/2 hour drive home to catch up on her sleep and was a bit sore getting out of the truck but she recovered quickly within about a minute of walking around. She seemed to be ready to go again this morning though!


Monday, February 1, 2010
Kyra had her last hydrotherapy appointment yesterday. John (the hydrotherapist) said that she looks great and she didn't need to go to hydrotherapy anymore (she only went twice after the last surgery).
It's been rather cold to work her too much right now as the inside of her leg is still rather bare and the titanium plate that is in there gets a bit cold rather fast (they only took the screws and rods out). But, since the weather looks like it'll be warming up later this week, I'll be getting out a lot more often to work her now. She is pretty antsy to get back to work too :).
I've already contacted the Crystal Civil Air Patrol to find more people willing to hide for her. After I do a talk and demo for them, we'll be scheduling some training times as well.
We are always looking for subjects to hide for the dogs so if anyone wants to volunteer, just drop us an e-mail! (northstarsarda@yahoo.com) It's a great way to help out without having to dedicate too much time and it's an invaluable service! Plus, it gives you a chance to catch up on your reading, sleep, or bird watching while waiting for the dogs to find you :).
Wendy & K9 Kyra


Wednesday, December 30, 2009
By the time I got done crying with happiness, I was too tired to dance :).
I'll be leaving work in about a 1/2 hour to go pick her up :).
The vet said that during surgery, she did have a heart arrythmia and when her heart rate was slow, she could hear a slight murmur. Once off the anesthesia, the arrythmia went away and she couldn't hear the murmur anymore, but since it didn't happen with the last surgery, she thought it would be a good idea for me to have it checked out by a cardiologist at the U of MN. I was going to chalk it off as just the meds and not worry about it, but the vet felt that I should have it checked out. So, in a couple of weeks (once she heals a bit and before I get her really going on her exercise), I think I'll take her there and get her checked out.
W


Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Kyra's vet checked her leg and said the other leg no longer requires surgery. They are still going to remove the hardware from Kyra's other leg.
- Editor


Tuesday, December 29, 2009


Well, tomorrow is surgery #2 day. I drop Kyra off at the vet at 08:00. I'm hoping she's the first on the list for surgery (so she'll get it over with faster and I won't have an anxiety attack waiting - lol). They will be doing surgery on both legs. TTA on the right leg and removing the hardware on the left leg. I'm praying she won't need to have the hardware removed after the right leg heals.
I'm SO looking forward to putting this all behind us and having a dog that can run, jump and of course, work again. My hope is to enjoy 2010 with a healthy partner!
I'll write again tomorrow afternoon to let you all know how the surgery went. I'll be at work keeping my mind as busy as possible so I won't worry too much (I hope). I have Dec 31 - Jan 10th off of work to take care of her.

Wendy


Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The consensus is that her body is rejecting the hardware they used. Granted, it's Titanium which is the least infectious, but the infection isn't ON the hardware, the hardware is just irritating the area nearby (below it) which is apparently enough to send the body into a tizzy to get rid of it.
The interesting part is, this may not happen with the other leg. Sometimes it does but quite often it doesn't. Also, they won't need to take out all of the hardware, just the screws and plates (I honestly can't remember what is left, but something is :)). It's mainly the screws that seem to be the issue.
They should have the results of the culture that was taken by tomorrow sometime to find out what type of antibiotics would be the best to use. She's on a general (broad spectrum) antibiotic right now. Dr. Levine feels that we can still go ahead with her scheduled surgery on the 30th and if he needs to, he can take out the hardware on the other leg at the same time (ouch). Not quite as invasive and they won't need to drill into and essentailly "break" any bones like they do for the TTA surgery.
She already looks a bit better this morning (about a 2" round open wound on her leg). She doesn't seem to hardly notice it other than to lick it on occasion when it starts to ooze a little yet. And, she still wants to play so apparently she is handling it much better than I am :).
W


Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Well, yet another set back. Kyra was doing SO well too! Now she has another infection in the same spot she had an infection last time. Everything was healed nicely too. The hair had all grown back around the scar and she was using the leg very well. On Sunday, as she sat beside me in my truck, I happened to notice a small bald spot at the bottom of the incision area. I looked closer and saw it was just a little puffy as well. By yesterday morning, it was very puffy and obviously infected.
I took her to my regular vet (couldn't get in to the other vet) and he thinks that she may be rejecting the hardware (part of it at least). The bone is healed well enough that they could remove the hardware now, but the idea of yet another surgery just doesn't tickle me (or her).
I've got an appt. at 11:30 today for the surgery vet and we'll see what they recommend. Either way, I'm guessing I'll have to postpone the surgery on the other leg for a bit. (sigh).
W


Monday, November 30, 2009
Kyra had her second hydrotherapy appt yesterday at K9 Hydrotherapy in St. Louis Park. Her first one was last week. We were given several exercises to work on during the week and she did very well! Her muscle mass increased quite a bit during just one short week on her surgeried leg! She mainly works on the underwater treadmill while at her appt. to build up her strength. She thought it was a bit strange when she first got in the tank and it started to fill with water (only up to her belly). She was fine with that but then the floor started to move (treadmill) and that surprised her a bit. It took a couple of minutes to convince her that she could walk on it and not have to stand off to the side where the floor wasn't moving :). Pretty soon she'd start to get bored and start sniffing around the tank and stop walking briefly, but then the leash would tighten up and she'd have to catch up to the floor again :). The second time in the tank, she jumped right in. It only took a couple of seconds to get her used to the moving floor this time.
The therapist suggested she have one more time on the treadmill in two weeks this time. Then she wouldn't need it again until after the second surgery (scheduled for Dec. 30th). We'd just keep doing all the homework exercises until then.
Still no off leash hard runs right now . The other leg is bad enough that he's afraid she'll completely rupture it if she does. But, her energy and enthusiasm is quite high right now and keeping her from being a nut case is the difficult part. I'm ok with that :).
We are getting there!
Wendy


Thursday, November 05, 2009
Kyra had her, not quite 8 weeks, vet check yesterday. Xrays looked very good. The infection appears to be gone and she is doing well on the leg. We were a tad concerned about a spot on her leg that appeared just a bit swollen and warm, but it turns out that it was just a bit of thicker tissue covering the head of the screws, like scar tissue. Nothing to worry about. So, finally, she can start hydrotherapy!
We've already started some jogging, which is helping both of us :). We shouldn't need to go back to the vet again until the next surgery now. The plan right now is to build up her strength again so she can easily handle the next surgery which will be scheduled for the first week of January.
Thanks!!
Wendy


Thursday, October 22, 2009
Kyra is doing much better now. The swelling is gone and her leg has FINALLY stopped "leaking". She's back to being perky again and can get around very nicely now. I'm allowing her to use the 2 steps from the deck to the backyard now (Monday was the start of week 6). And, we are back to our 15 minute walks.
Hopefully her leg will be healed over by the end of the weekend and I can re-setup her hydrotherapy appointment for the end of next week.
Wendy


Friday, October 16, 2009
(dictated by Wendy)
Good news, bad news. After a nice streak of health we had a disappointment with an infection. Luckily it was just an infection. After three weeks of antibiotics she'll be good to go. Otherwise the leg is doing good surgery-site-wise. Everything looks good and is healing really well. It just puts us behind a week or two in the healing. Hydrotherapy has to wait 2 weeks instead of starting today. In two days she should be feeling better.


Friday, October 16, 2009
Kyra's leg has some swelling. She went in for x-rays. We are waiting to hear more from Wendy.
- Editor


Thursday, October 15, 2009
Kyra is doing so well that I just haven't had anything to post lately :). She's been completely off all pain meds for about 4 days now (I had lowered it significantly before that). She's walking very well and has been able to walk faster as well without limping. No jogging or running allowed yet. She's even doing straight sits (not sitting on her hip) occasionally! Not bad since her other leg isn't great either.
I did manage to work her on a couple of lineups last night. I put one training aid out in a line up of several other things (toy, a couple of hats, flashlight) and asked her to search. Slowing her down to get to the line up was the only difficult part. Once there, she gave a cursory sniff to each item until she hit the correct one and immediately sat. Ya, she missed working :). She may not be able to do any longer problems yet, but she's thrilled she gets to do something. The treats will have to do for now though as her reward for finding the target item. It'll still be a while before she gets her tennis ball reward back (sigh).
Tomorrow is the big day for hydrotherapy (water rehab). I'll take pics and let you all know how it goes!
Wendy


Tuesday, October 6, 2009
(phew) Kyra was feeling much better last night and this morning. We even did a bit of training where I'd have her identify to me the glove or the keys (whichever I'd ask for). Nice since she didn't have to run around to do that. I think I'll bring some 4x4 gauze pads to work again and have people scent them up by wiping their hands on them again. Then we can work on scent line-ups for fun.
W


Wednesday, September 30, 2009
It was a rough weekend. It started off all right on Saturday with Kyra being pretty perky but it went downhill after that. I put her in her crate and went shopping for about 2 hours.
After feeding them, I gave them all some beef tendons to chew on. I gave Kyra two since they weren't very big. Star (Bichon) decided that the "spare" bone would be hers (although she already had one that she was ignorning) and went to grab it. Kyra grabbed it quick and made a dash to the living room. Unfortunately, I had her on a leash to prevent her from running and jumping on the furniture! She made it to the end of the leash (5' while turning the corner around the chair and although I tried to stop her as soon as I saw what was going on, it was too late. She hit the end of the leash and wiped out on the floor. She was sitting on her right haunch (non surgeried leg) when I got to her, appearing to be no worse for wear. She got up, continued to the living room and chewed her bone on the floor in there while I hovered over her for the next couple hours. She seemed to be alright, but she was a bit quieter after that. The next day (yesterday) was worse and she was very quiet all day and barely wanted to get up and walk around. When she would get up, I'd have to help her a bit and hold on while she steadied herself for a few seconds.

I was beginning to wonder if it was a reaction to the pain meds or something instead, but she showed no other symptoms, other than lethargic and all over sore. She didn't limp on the surgeried leg at all so I think it was the right leg that was causing more pain. At about 4pm I fed them and made her walk around the back yard (used treats :)) for a few minutes. That limbered her up and she was a bit perkier and had a good expression on her face again (alert and bright rather than a hang-dog look). She appears to be back to being fine this morning. I had been considering a visit to the emergency vet yesterday and would have if she had had any other symptoms, other than sore and lethargic. Glad I didn't have to.

Surgery is a good thing sometimes, but it's so hard to watch your partner be in pain. I just kept the big picture in my head of her running thru the woods again doing what she does best. It's going to be a long winter!
W


Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Lack of sleep has called for a couple of consessions. Kyra has been licking at her scar, especially at night, way too frequently. Still looks ok, but I want it to heal completely before starting her hydrotherapy. I didn't have the heart to put a big plastic e-collar on her, so I thought I'd go back to the bell and when she moved, it would wake me and I'd tell her to leave it. I'm pretty sure her plan was to wear me out instead so she could get what she wanted. After a night of fitful sleeping to wake up fairly frequently to tell her to leave it only to fall back to sleep while hanging 1/2 over the side of the bed awaiting the next wakeup call, at 4am this morning, I tried the tactic of picking her up and putting her on the bed with me. I'm pretty sure that this was her plan all along and I am just a slow learner. She settled down nicely while I stared at the ceiling for the next half hour before I had to get up to get to work.

The other consession I'm making (and Kyra :)) is that I ordered a "Comfy" e-collar. It's a traditional e-collar alternative and I hope it works. It's made out of foam so it's more flexible and comfortable (so they say), but hopefully will keep her away from her current scar until it's completely healed and for her next surgery so we won't have to watch her 24/7.

The other issue now is perkiness :). It's an issue I'm happy to have again, although it's tough keeping her from falling over! She does her happy dog dance of swinging her butt around in a quick circle. Not a good idea when you just had surgery on a leg and it's not incredibly stable! But, we are working thru that pretty well.

I took her to the front yard (she was terribly bored and begged to go to the front) where I had a training aid out still. I didn't tell her to search for anything since I knew she'd get WAY too excited and dart around with no regard for her leg. I just casually walked her around and when she hit the odor she started to sit (her indication she found something). Before she went thru the hassle of sitting all the way, I reinforced her with a few treats and she wore a grin on her face on the way back into the house :). Ok, maybe I did too :).
W


Tuesday, September 29, 2009


Click on the picture to see a larger version of the montage.


Monday, September 28, 2009
I think Kyra is bored, but she's also still sore, so she's pretty all right with it. Me on the other hand, I'm going stir crazy being at home so much and not training her!
She got her stitches out on Friday. She was very patient about it all, but oh so very happy to leave so quickly :). A nice 50-80 minute drive each way (traffic was terrible both directions) for her 10 minute appointment, but it got us both out of the house which was nice (sad eh?).
There are times when Kyra looks so good walking, that you can hardly tell she had surgery just two weeks ago. Then there are times that she looks like she's about 16 years old and needs a cane. That's usually after her walk in the back yard for 10 minutes or her range of motion exercises and then she sleeps for a couple of hours and is pretty sore when she gets up from that.
All in all, she is doing very well though. She should be able to start her swimming therapy after week 4, so not too much longer to wait.
W


Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Kyra got to go to work with me for a 1/2 day today. I grabbed her dog bed, threw on her Ruffwear harness (great for helping to lift her in and out of the truck!) and dropped my Mom off at the dentist. I think my Mom needed an afternoon away from the dog even if it meant spending time at the dentist :).
I threw her bed on the floor of my office and she laid right down to settle in for her nap. She's been at my work a few times and realizes how boring it is for a dog, so napping is best. It's a perk to work at a company that loves dogs and allows me to bring her in on occasion when I need to!
Several people came in to say hi to her and she would just lay there and look pathetic while slapping her tail on the floor, when in reality, she just didn't feel like getting up. She can go from a couch potato to being a rocket with stamina on a search :).
W


Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Amazing the difference a few days can make! Last Thursday, Kyra's leg was dark purple and red from the bruising from surgery. Today, most of the bruising is gone!
Pain seems to be mostly when she first gets up to start walking around. Once walking around, she limbers up a bit and will put nearly full weight on the leg and occasionaly, I hardly notice a limp (ok, rarely, but it does happen :)).
Friday she goes in to get her stitches out and checked out to see when she can start some water (swimming) therapy at K9Hydrotherapy, Inc. Bummer that she still can't chase her tennis ball during therapy yet (I had to hide all the tennis balls a couple of weeks ago).
Her main entertainment right now is chewing on bones and wrestling with the 9lb Bishon of my Mom's since she can do that while lying down. I'll try to upload a video of that...it's pretty cute.
W


Friday, September 18, 2009
Thank you all so much for your support and generous contributions! Already, we have received the goal amount in donations for Kyra's surgery fund! We need no further donations for this fund. If you still wish to send a donation, we would put it either in our emergency vet fund for any of the other unit dogs for the future, or into our general fund for equipment or trainings. Again, we can't thank you all enough for making Kyra's surgery possible!
W


Friday, September 18, 2009
I've discovered an added bonus to Kyra's surgery. Her "stay" cue is getting much better and is so much easier to work on right now (grin). It happens to be both of our least favorite obedience exercise to work on. We both get bored easily. So, it's nice to have an additional silver lining to this surgery :).
Kyra's getting back into a routine at home. She slept all night (well, she changed positions on her dog bed a good 8 times...the bell on her collar alerts me whenever she moves).
My Mom was taking care of her while I was at work yesterday. Luckily one of my aunts was there as well. My Mom had a bit of trouble "steering" Kyra and Kyra decided she wanted to go into the bushes to lie down. My aunt had to pick her up to get her out of there (picked up Kyra, not my Mom :)).
W


Thursday, September 17, 2009
It's a slow road to recovery. She is walking, nice and slowly. She'll stop every few feet to take a break. Occasionally, she'll just sit down wherever we are in the yard. I can't blame her. I remember what it was like post surgery myself. It hurts!
But, she did play a bit (while laying down in the yard) with Star, the 9 lb Bishon. Star bites (grabs/play bites) her in the neck and jowls to get her to play. Kyra was rolling on her back and biting Star's neck back. They had a good time for a few minutes while I guarded Kyra's hind legs from Star's play bites :).
W


Thursday, September 17, 2009
I'm headed back to work today (sigh). I wished I would have asked for the rest of the week off too. But, my Mom is home with Kyra and will take good care of her. Luckily too, Kyra is pretty layed back when I'm not there (ok, she sleeps most of the day :)).
Kyra is still doing pretty well. She doesn't appear to be in too much discomfort (still on pain meds of course), although when she does walk, she does it very slowly (good thing as then she actually uses the operated on leg too). She stops a lot so our 5 minute walks tend to take a tad longer than that.
She watches my Mom's two little dogs running around the yard and gets a bit perkier. I think she'd like to join them now that she can't. :)
I'm glad I'm one of those people that can typically get back to sleep fairly quickly since every time Kyra moves at night, I'm checking to make sure she is ok and that she isn't licking at her stitches. I put a bell on her collar so I know when she moves.
My Mom and I were looking at Kyra resting in the living room on a tiny little rug (she seems to love the smaller beds and rugs...weird dog) and thinking of how hard it's going to be to do surgery number two now! But, at least the leg she just had operated on will be much stronger than the leg she needs operating on yet. And, we'll know what to expect more the second time around. I'm still not looking foward to it though :).
Ok, I have to go to work now :(.
Wendy

Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Wow! I am so moved by the responses to help Kyra! Thank you all soooo much! Kyra is home now (what a relief) and is doing well. Ok, she's sleeping a LOT, but she appears to be fairly comfortable. I have been very impressed with Dr. Levine and the entire staff of the Inver Grove Heights Animal Hospital. They were terrific with Kyra!
She's walking very slowly, and I'm sure it doesn't help that the other leg needs surgery yet too. Dr. Levine said that the leg he operated on had very little of the ligament left holding it together. What thread was left, wasn't doing a lot of good. Amazing that she would continue to want to work! Dogs are such non-complainers! W




Tuesday, September 15, 2009
(dictated by Wendy) Brought her home. She's sore. Took the bandage off because it was so heavy. The Vets were awesome. Techs were awesome. She's finally resting after an hour and a half. She's resting on that leg. The vet said she can and she might, and she did.


Monday, September 14, 2009
Kyra is out of surgery as of about 2:15pm and is already starting to wake up. Everything went very well! What a huge relief :)! Her vet tech said that she was just perfect to work with. No crying or thrashing at all. Now I can focus on her "homework" to know how to deal with her when she gets home tomorrow and for her recovery period of 8 weeks. Then wait about 2 -4 weeks after that to have the next surgery (sigh). I've already set up a ramp from the deck to the back yard so that will help getting her up and down the stairs. And, I've been making her use it for the last week. She's used to doing a lot of agility stuff for search work, so it was pretty easy to put a cue word to it of "ramp" to remind her to use it.

I can't even begin to thank everyone for all of their support, contributions, and prayers!! It's been incredibly humbling and touching! She's no longer just my partner, she's all of yours too! THANK YOU!

Monday, September 14, 2009
I did well and didn't start tearing up until I actually walked out of the vets office without Kyra. When the vet tech asked me what time I wanted to pick her up tomorrow, I must have sounded a bit quick with my answer of "As soon as possible!" The tech just laughed and asked if this was the first time she's been away overnight from me. I sheepishly answered "Was I that obvious?" But, I know she is in very good hands. Dr. Levine and all of the staff at Inver Grove Animal Hospital are truly some of the best in the country. I know of many people that have travelled from several states away just to take their dog to Dr. Levine for ortho surgery. She is scheduled for surgery around noon today so hopefully I'll hear of how well it went by around 2pm. Thanks for all of your support!!!

Wendy

(Letter from Wendy's Brother to Pioneer Press)
My Hero,

Please indulge me as I take a minute to tell you about one of your local heroes who I happen to know only by relation...As a deployed service member in the USAF who has served with many folks I consider to be heroes for what they do for our country, I feel compelled to tell you about one back in Minnesota who is always there for all of us. Wendy is one of those rare people who get involved when others are in need by volunteering both her, and her dog's (Kyra) services to search for missing people. As you can imagine, this involves many years of training, courses, certification and above all a love for what she and others like are willing to do. Finding a missing child lost in the woods or helping to recover the remains of a missing person to ease the pain of their family is amazing and fulfilling thing to be part of. If it was her job, she would be the CEO by now, but little do most folks know, Wendy and those like her organize, train and go out to help those in need completely at their own expense. While most of us struggle to find an hour or two that we can donate to a worthy cause, she and her teammates train constantly for the chance to help others, and when called upon travel across the state at their own expense to help a family in need. They are not there for the glory and there is no pay, why do they do it...they simply want to help others! In addition to the standard expenses for equipment and training, these heroes must ensure the best care for their K-9 partner which again is another expense they must absorb themselves. I knew Wendy was involved with search teams for years, but I never really understood the cost she and others absorb to provide this help until I found out about her most recent vet visit. Wendy is of modest means and usually spends more on her dog/search activities than she ever spends on herself and in these tough economic times she was dealt an emotional and economical blow as she was told her partner, Kyra would need orthopedic surgery on both of her rear legs which will cost approximately $3,000 per leg. Wendy had been saving to replace her vehicle, but will now be using what she has to keep her partner healthy and able to continue searching for the coming years. If you want to help Kyra or would simply like to donate to one of the non-profit search organizations that serve Minnesota, go to http://www.northsta rsarda.com/ and read about them and consider making a tax deductable donation to help with some of the expenses these locals heroes absorb every day in an effort to their fellow Minnesotans.

CMSgt Todd Deane


Friday, August 28, 2009
I had planned to wait until the first week of Oct. for Kyra's first surgery, but she's getting worse each day and I can't make her wait that long. So, I'm going to schedule her first surgery for the week after Labor Day (if I can wait that long) and if I need to, I'll work out some payment plan with the vet.
W