Joanie was found near death on the side of a road in Denton, TX.  Named Joan of Ark, after the Noah’s Ark Animal Shelter (Gainsville, TX) who nursed her back from the brink, Joanie was brought into an ATDR foster home for a higher level of care and specialized vetting.  She was in extreme condition with severe emaciation (only 6 lbs for her apparent body size of 18 lbs), dehydration, malnutrition and hair loss.  She was so weak she could not stand for more than a minute or two.  The story of her determined fight for life spread far, across every ocean and 6 continents.  So many hearts were touched by little Joanie: volunteers and vets… friends and strangers…and none more than her foster family.  After she crossed the bridge, it was determine that Joanie was suffering from an extremely advanced and virulent case of Canine Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).  This was already assumed to be her condition after all other possibilities had been ruled out, but final confirmation would have required a procedure she would not have survived.  There is no cure for IBD, only management, and so Joanie’s ongoing treatments, food, and medications were structured towards this goal.  She had fought so hard and long, showing so much feisty spirit and determination during her brief stay with us.  However, the severe and advanced state of the disease proved too much for her valiant spirit to overcome.  Although the devastating decision to free her from her pain was already being discussed with her foster family, in the end, Joanie faced her final journey on her own terms and took with her the love of many, many hearts. 

The Joan of Ark Memorial Fund, has been created to establish a way to save, treat and rehabilitate other Dachshunds who are victims of extreme injuries or disease such as broken bones, Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD), distemper and other life threatening or severe conditions.  It is our hope that Joanie’s quiet light will shine on, and donations in her memory will provide a chance at life for other special needs Dachchunds, giving them new, better futures in loving homes.

Report from Noah's Ark - The vet said Joanie was the worst case of emaciation he had ever seen in a living dog.  She has no visible muscle mass and is literally skin and bones.  We don't know how this happened, but Joanie is one tough little dachshund.  She's learning to trust people again, and has learned that everyone who encounters her now wants to shower her with love and compassion.  Because she is so thin and frail, she eats small meals throughout the day.  She will need some dental work at some point in the future, but that will have to wait until she's whole again.  Her blood work came back showing anemia, but amazingly there were no signs of illness or renal failure.  She is also heartworm NEGATIVE, much to everyone's surprise.  She is now taking short walks outside for brief potty breaks, then she settles down for a nap in her soft little bed, covered in blankets.

April 16, 2009 - A loving and experienced foster family has welcomed Joanie into their home where she will be closely monitored and cared for around the clock.  Little Joanie has a long road ahead of her and she will require extensive blood work, a special diet, gradual exercise and lots & lots of TLC to see her through the next few months.  If Joanie has touched your heart like she has ours, please consider making a donation toward her ongoing care.  We will post frequent updates on this precious soul so that all who have fallen in love with her can follow the progress of her journey.  Our heartfelt thanks to Debbie Lhotka, Noah's Ark Animal Shelter in Gainesville for taking the first brave step to save this special life, and for trusting us to do the rest.

Joanie had her first visit with an ATDR vet today.   She is in a catabolic state which is preventing her from gaining weight - a result of severe starvation where the body starts breaking down to produce energy/calories.  He prescribed an anabolic steroid to reverse the condition, but it's a controlled substance and not readily available.  Cindy, Joanie's foster mom, called and visited about 20 pharmacies before she finally found one who will compound a special chicken flavored dose for Joanie.  It will be ready Monday, April 20th.  While at the vet's office they weighed her - she weighs 7 pounds, but this INCLUDES HER BED.

Joanie's doing as well as can be expected.  Her menu today consisted of two good sized hamburger patties (with cheese); 1/2 can of IVD brand Duck and Potato canned food (all spaced out throughout the day in very small portions), and she enjoyed a few very tiny licks of cherry vanilla yogurt for dessert.  She remains alert when she is awake, but she has been sleeping a lot, which is a good thing.

April 18, 2009 - Joanie is more alert today and resting comfortably in her bed, covered up with her fleece blanket in true dachshund fashion.  Cindy thinks she saw a little tail wag today, but can't be certain.

April 19, 2009 - Cindy had some gardening to do today & it was such a pretty day Joanie came out for some fresh air.  She was very "active", sniffing the air, soaking up the sunshine, even walking the rows of the garden for a bit.  All this activity made her sleepy so she rounded out the day with a nap under the apple tree.

Joanie enjoying the sunshine

April 21, 2009 - Joanie had her first dose of the anabolic steroid Winstrol yesterday.  Veterinary Pharmacies of America in Houston prepared it in "chicken flavored" liquid form and she'll get it twice daily.  She has a very good appetite and her drinking has definitely increased since she started the Winstrol.  Cindy says she's more alert today and has gone for two walks in the garden.  Her bark is a little stronger too.  She was weighed using a baby scale and it registered 3.56 pounds yesterday.  Today she weighs 3.58 pounds.

April 23, 2009 - Today's update comes from Joanie's Foster Mom, Cindy.  "Joanie has shared a week of her life with me as of today. Despite the fact there is very little change in her appearance, there have been very obvious changes in her personality and overall being.  She is stronger,  more alert and, though she rests a lot, she does not sleep as much. She does not growl when I go to pick her up like she did at first and I think that is because maybe she just feels a little better overall.  Her appetite continues to be good and her water intake is steady.  I put up a puppy pen outside under one of our big trees and she has spent the majority of yesterday and today hanging out – watching the birds come to the feeder above and over just a bit from her, enjoying the breezes and filtered sunlight and putting out an occasional much healthier bark when one of my crew gets too close to her pen for her liking.  I am pleased to report that she weighed 3.6 pounds this morning, before breakfast so she is going in the right direction so far!  I am going to need to get her a bigger bed too (actually two new beds – one for inside and one for outside).  She really enjoyed stretching out on a pillow today while outside.  She stretched out and put her little foot up in the air towards me as if to say “scratch my chest”, but we just did not quit there.  The absolute best part of the day today was when I picked her up to bring her inside she actually gave me a little lick on the cheek – I GOT A KISS!!!!  How great is that!?!?"

April 29, 2009 - Joanie had a small setback just after her 1 week update.  She became a little aggressive and it was obviously from the steroids, so her dose has been reduced and she seems to have leveled off now and is more like her former self.  She is so much stronger already and doesn't wobble or fall forward nearly as much as she did only a week ago.  She's up and moving around more and even played a little with her blanket today.  She went to back to the vet this morning and she weighed 8 POUNDS (without her bed)!!  The vet's notes show she weighed 6 pounds on the 17th so she's gained TWO pounds!  (Note - The baby scale was not right and we apologize for the inaccurate information.)  All the prayers, good thoughts, boiled chicken and steroids have made a significant difference in Joanie's life.  Please keep the prayers and good thoughts coming; Cindy will take care of the chicken and steroids!!

May 13, 2009 - Hi everyone!  So sorry for the delay in posting an update on Joanie; our webmaster has been on vacation!  All the news on Joanie is good, as she continues to thrive and soak up plenty of TLC, good food and relaxation.  A few days ago she spent a big part of the day outside helping her foster parents, Mike & Cindy "work" in the yard.  She must've worked up quite an appetite because when she came inside she discovered her foster brother's food dish and proceeded to eat the entire bowl of Wellness kibble!  As you can imagine, Wellness is now on her list of foods!  Her weight hasn't changed much, but she has gained about a 1/2 pound.  Her attitude is wonderful, she's much stronger and she's moving about more & more to explore her surroundings.  We are all so touched by the outpouring of support and emails we're receiving for Joanie!  Thank you all for your good thoughts and prayers for this tough little girl!!

May 21, 2009 - Look at the Glamour Girl!  The news continues to be good for little Joanie.  While she hasn't gained much weight (she's holding steady at 8.5 lbs) her coat is looking better and she's feeling GREAT!  She's alert, active and is pretty much Cindy's shadow around the house.  What Cindy does, Joanie does; if there's yardwork or gardening to be done Joanie's right in the middle of things; and she has a bed set up in Cindy's office so she can monitor all activity in there as well.  When she's not with Cindy, she's set up in the utility room with beds and several piles of blankets & sheets so she can hide in different parts of the room - and she does; she goes from pile to pile!  Her energy level is good; she can trot down the driveway and does it almost daily!  This past weekend Joanie attended a local animal event with Cindy and she spent some time visiting our volunteers while they worked the booth.  She got plenty of laptime as they took turns holding her in one of her new beds.  Here are some photos taken on Sunday, May 17th.  What a beauty!

May 28, 2009 - Joanie continues to grow stronger and Cindy says, "she's extremely happy!!".  She has so much rebuilding to do internally, but if you look closely you can see the improvements in her coat and overall appearance.  She's grown quite comfortable in her new surroundings and has plenty of outdoor space to explore and enjoy.  Of course she also gets plenty of lap time and TLC when she's not outside soaking up the sunshine!  Here's a couple of photos taken a few days ago when she was out surveying the property.

July 8, 2009 -  This update comes from Joanie's foster mom.  "Joanie has been on pancreatic enzymes for a little over a week now.  She's been very interested in eating, along with getting up and around more.  She has varied her menu and is dining on two different brands of kibble, Wellness still seeming to be her favorite.  The dry food is down all the time for her, and 3 times a day she also gets her serving of wet food with the enzymes mixed in.  She recently took possession of a huge dog bed – it actually belongs to one of my Lab rescues, but she found it one day and has made it her own. The center pillow has been replaced by one of her favorite comforters though, because she was having a tough time burying herself under that big pillow!  It stays under the desk in the office, right next to the computer station and she can peek out and check on me periodically.  She had lost a little weight, but is back up to 8.5 pounds. Her first rib, closest to her chest, is almost gone from sight!  We continue the Winstrol only once a day now and just this week when I had the Vet call in a refill for her, the young lady at Veterinary Pharmacies of America said that the owner had read her story and was so touched by what we were doing for her that he instructed them to refill Joanie's prescription at no charge!"

October 15, 2009 -  For all you wonderful people out there who have been keeping up with, contributing to, and praying for Joanie's recovery, we have an update for you.  We wish with all our hearts it could be a more positive update, but it simply isn't.  Joanie is going to need all the contributions, healing rays and prayers you can possibly send her way.  She is now in an even more dire fight for her life, but Fighting She Is.
 
Within days of our last update Joanie started waking up in the middle of the night barking.  Her foster mom would find her standing in a corner staring at the wall.  She seemed a bit disoriented but she knew who her Mom was when she picked her up and returned her to her bed.  Our first  thought was she had a touch of dementia or maybe her little eyes were beginning to fail.  Some nights she would stay in her bed and bark until her foster mom would go to her so she then began to think that maybe she was creating a monster of sorts.  This week Joanie got into a corner between the computer desk and the wall - it is maybe 8 inches wide - and must have panicked.  She may have been trying to claw her way out or trying to get turned around; she scratched herself up quite a bit and was completely undone and exhausted when her foster mom found her.  Joanie had quite an emotional setback over this incident and she even refused to eat!  The following day she appeared even more disoriented and her mom began syringing electrolytes down her every few hours and got some of the recovery canned food down her in the same fashion.  Joanie slept a great deal and would make no attempt whatsoever to mobilize herself.  The following morning her foster mom took her to our vet, Dr. Powell. 

She weighed in at 7 lbs, had blood work done and her electrolytes were checked. Electrolytes were normal.  All the important blood levels where significantly lower than they had been in mid August at A&M.  We discussed her episode from a few days prior and the possibility of her developing dementia.  It is Dr. Powell's opinion that what we were seeing, and probably have been seeing over the past few weeks, is the brain's reaction to the body's inability to absorb the necessary nutrients to function normally.

His observation was as follows:  The intestinal wall is thickened due to the cellular constitution and the only way to diagnose the condition further is to do a biopsy.  The procedure requires anesthesia and Joanie would probably not do well or survive the process.  This would only enable us to put a label on the problem, but the risks are just too high to even attempt this.  Dr. Powell's recommended course of action is to give Joanie whatever she wants to eat, WHENEVER she wants to eat it!  So, we are trying different foods to find out what is most palatable for Joanie.  The last few days, she is loving hamburger patties, and that is encouraging.

We know so many of you are with us when we say this breaks our hearts.  Our Joanie has fought so hard to live.  We must be heartened though by the fact that in the last few months she has known more wonderful care, more soft beds, more great food, and more love and prayers than most of us get in a lifetime.  So if you will, please continue sending positive thoughts and prayers Joanie's way until it's time for her to end her struggles.  Joanie is doing everything in her power to continue her fight for life, the least we can do is whatever we can to assist her.  Again, thank all of you who have kept her in your thoughts, made donations to her care, and cared about such a deserving spirit.

Nov 1, 2009 - We have sad news to report.  Our little Joanie passed away this morning.  She died quietly and peacefully in the arms of her foster Mom.  We are very saddened by this news and will post more information later.  Please keep Joanie's foster parents, Cindy and Mike in your thoughts.

Cindy and Mike Manning
Debbie Lhotka
Amy Abadia
Cherry Abadia
Jane Adams
Maria Adams
Barbara Ahrendt
Carol Ahrens
Connie Alderson
Kimberly Althouse
Leigh Ann Atz
Austin Girl Blog
Darrell Bain
Delana Baker
George Bark
Thomas Barnard
Edward Benline
Mary Bergstrom
Linda Bertetta
BizOp
Katherine Black
Christine Bly
Carson Bording
Tracie Boureois
Tina Brandon
Gail Braswell
Patt Breiling
Jean Brewer
Betty Broman
Rebecca Bronakoski
Pamela Brown
Darlene Bryant
Les Burns
Andrea Cammarata
Dr. Valerie Campbell, DVM
Paula Cates
Karen Chahrouri
Nina Chalmers
Shaun Chapman
Sherry Childress
Nolen Clark / Accents
Betsy Clarke
Julia Cody
Jane Cohen
Neva Cohen
Kathleen Coleman - DFW Dachshund Rescue
Katie Collier
Crystal Conde
Kelli Copeland
Roy Cordero
Jennifer Coyle
DFW Dachshund Rescue Foundation
Donna Crum
Linda Cunningham
Debra Curby
Linda Dale
Kirk Davis
Victoria Davis
Lorelei Dedcovich
Peter Deg
Barbara Derton
Tina Dewey
Digital Access Media
Bonnie Downing
Cynthia Drummond
Sharon Duncan
Auguste Dunnick
Marie Dutto
Richard Eads
Randy Eaves
Cranky Editor
Marsha Edmiston
Mark Edwards
Ronald Ellerman
Robin Elliott
Rita Ellis
Essay Town
Michelle Evans
Tina Ezell
Marilyn Faiola
Doreen Falasca
Fancymehandbags
Ann Fanto
Lawrence Farris
Patricia Ferraro
Vitoria Ferraro
Janelle Ferreri
Denise Filipek
Wanda Fischer
FM 1488 Animal Medical Ctr - Dr. Jess Jeffries

Ulrike Foken
Jeffrey Fonseca
Corrin Foster
Lorrie Garcia
Mary Gardner
Velma Gee
Jenny Gerritse
Edward A. Gilman
Laura Golden
Maria del Carmen Gonzales
Richard Gordley
Keith Graham
Donna Greco
Amber Gugino
Selena Gutierrrez
Lisa Halbert
Melanie Hancock
Joyce Harris
Michael and Lisa Harris
Susan Harrison
Charlotte Haskins
Judi Headrick
Jane Henshel
Katie Henze
Amanda Herring
Dorothy Hill
Eric Hilston
Lenore Howard
Nora Howard
Marcy Hubanks
Eleanore Hurley
Jenna & Stacia Hutson
Barbara Jacobs
Susan James
Amanda Johnson
Carrie Johnson
Linda Johnston
Paul Justice
Yuriko Kakurai
Srilekha Kanungo
Susan Kilgore
Kimberly Kilmer
Jennifer King
Brenda Kinser
Melinda Kirby
Stephen Kissinger
Jessica Lavalley
Lambert Vet Supply
Susan Lamberts
Susan Laufman
Deborah Laymon
Paul Ledoux
Jack Leonard
Melanie Lindsey
Patricia Loyer
Laura Lusty-Willis
Billie Lynch
Stephanie Mackey
Melissa Major
Jamie Meahl
Malamon Media, LLC
Russell Malm
Wendy Martin
Debbie Martinez
Whitney McAnallen
Ruth McDaniel
Dennis McDonald
Susan McIntosh
Jaclyn McKenna
Joanne McKnight
Courtney McGee
Michelle Meyer
Amy Mikelson
Dawn Miller
Sally Monahan
Lauren Moore
M. Moran
Jennifer Morrill
Linda Moser
Bonnie Mulligan
Tina Myers
Cheryl Nafie
Pamela Naylor
Neckies
Sara Nelson-Johns
Andrea Newborg
Lynn Newland
Ninh Nguyen

Shawn Nolan
Mary Margaret O'Brien
Carla O'Neil
Edward Patience
William Paulini
Sarah Gilmer Payne
Debra Peck
Mary Perlman
Kirsten Pflomm
Cathy Popham
Nancy Porche
Diane Price
Dorcas Pruitt
Connee Quaid-Robertson
Gillian Quinn
Katie Rawlins
Leslie Redfield
Kimberly Reed
Suzanne Reiter
Aaron Revill
Harriet Reynolds
Sarah Ricca
Nicole Rich
Susanna Roberts
Janet Rogers
Andrea Roosth
Richard Russell
Emily Rutland
Judy Ryan
Julia Ryan
Aunjunee Saldivar
Amy Salvato
Lois Sauer
Kimberly Schiro
Terri Schocker
Amanda Shannon
Kathleen Sheppard
Laurel Sherry
Carolyn Shipsey
Bobbi Slagle
Lanny Silks
Brandon Simmons
Jean Siska - DFW Dachshund Rescue
Amber Smith
Donna Marie Smith
Becky Sossaman
Penny Sprague
Judy Spring
Susan Spurgeon
Teresa Stanton
Cynthia Staten
Ceil Stein
Kathleen Stemnock
Lynne Stephenson
Nicole Stewart
Laurie Stoker
Carla Strobel
Mary Swiggett
Addie, Lucie & Staci Szybowicz
Lynn Taylor
Mindy Taylor
Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine
Deborah L. Thomas
Tracy Thomson
Margaret Thurmond
Laura Tillison
Jonathan Townsley
Gloria Trumble
Laura Trumble
Lynn Ukleja
Saskia Vaerewyck
Veterinary Pharmacies of America
Jeannette Jessie Cardenas Waguespack
Dawn Wallace
Ann Wallentine
Troy Walters
Rick Warner
Alicia Warr
Lawrence Watkins
Jima Watson
Brandi West
E. Jane Whitaker
Clyde Williams
Phyllis Wise
Cheri Witter
Nicole Wolack
Grover & Carolyn Wonderlin
Cynthia Worley
Karen Wosley
Matthew Zeve