[Left: Domino rocking her body cast. Top right: before (top) and after xrays of her sternum. Bottom right: during surgery, using a pen to show the depth of the defect where her sternum was growing ‘in’ rather than ‘out’.]
Domino was a kitten I fostered who had a severe case of pectus exavatum, a condition where the sternum doesn’t grow correctly and instead damages the lungs. She stayed with me for months during her recovery and I became extremely fond of her.
[The first reluctant cuddle with her pups. Roxy keeps a quiet, anxious eye on both me and her little ones as she tries to figure out unexpected motherhood.]
On Thursday I was asked to step up and foster a young dog who had just had a Cesarean, lost several of the pups, and was struggling to adjust. My foster work for the BCSPCA has always been a huge part of my life and I agreed without a second thought. Probably I should have thought about it — Roxy’s anxiety turned out to be a little more than I bargained for! Her improvement since then has been tremendous and I feel so lucky to care for her and her two remaining ups, Esther and Cyrus, but there’s no denying that our first night together was…well, rough!