Rumors of My Death Were Premature

[draclvr]

Long story short... Buddy is an ancient Labrador, 13 or 14 years old; he had a very large mass rupture through his belly, probably malignant; after antibiotics cleared up the infection, had to do surgery as it was not an option to leave this huge open mass hanging out of his belly, especially in the flies in the spring and summer. They used the minimum of anesthesia - basically a pre-op dose because of his age. But it hit him hard and he didn't come out of it for almost two days. He was home for 2 days and then started crashing. From last Friday through Monday, he was on IV fluids as his kidney and liver function blood work was off the charts. They did another blood test Monday and the numbers were a little better, but some were still double what they should be. So late Tuesday morning I picked him up and brought him home, essentially to die. They even left the IV port in his vein to make euthanasia easier. The vet told me as soon as he was off the IV fluids, he would probably go down fast.

He was doing nothing but sleeping, so I left him under a tree in the yard while I worked in the asparagus bed. I looked up an hour or so later and there he was heading down to the pond. By the time I got down there, he was going for a nice swim. I nearly had a heart attack not knowing if he had the strength to get out by himself. Plus, he still had that port in his vein... Oh, dear.

Buddy hadn’t eaten for over a week except for what they were able to force feed him at the vet’s office which was very stressful for him. So, I started digging in my freezer and found some packages of freezer burned chicken breasts, some chicken thighs with a date of 2011 on them and a couple of packages of beef that were also from several years ago. I put it all in the pressure cooker and cooked it down. Then I put it in the food processor with the broth from the pressure cooker and chopped it up real well. I added a jar of canned carrots, some cooked rice and some vegetable oil.

Miracle of miracles! He ate it! In fact, he was wolfing it down like he hadn’t eaten in over a week – oh, yeah; he hadn’t! Plus I am now able to get some antibiotics back in him, considering his excursions down to the pond. By Wednesday he was following Dave around again and woofing at the UPS truck. So Dave ran him in to the vet this morning (Thursday) so they could take that port out of his vein since he still is going down to the pond. They couldn’t believe it was the same dog who left there Tuesday.

We don’t know how long he will last as he could crash tomorrow. But for now, he is enjoying being himself and doing what he likes to do.

[LadyKestrel]

Your story brought tears to my eyes, Drac. Buddy is one tough guy, and I'm so glad he's better. I wonder if he's embarrassed about the poodle cut on his front legs.

[Rosaboobie]

I woke this morning to read this wonderful news - I had tears streaming down my face with joy - You go, Buddy - What a fighter!

[draclvr]

The Bud Man is such a cool dog. Someone dumped him off out here in the country back in 2004. We can't take them all in, but Buddy was one we did. Some man had beaten him horribly. All Dave had to do was pick up a shovel and he would run and hide. Or if Dave just moved a foot near him, he'd run off. After a couple of weeks, we had him neutered and he started following Dave around - at a distance. One afternoon, Dave went behind the chicken house to get something and there were two ginormous dogs back there - I mean like Great Dane enormous. Usually, if you holler at a stray dog, they will run off. Not this time - one of them put it's head down, started growling and came for Dave. There was an iron fence post about 6 feet away, but he knew he wouldn't get it in time. All of a sudden Buddy shot past his leg and took this dog on with growling and snarling. The dog stopped just long enough for Dave to grab that fence post and when he threatened the dog with it, both of them ran off. When he came from behind the barn, the one started for him again, but he threw a wooden stake at it and it ran off. The neighbor kids were outside and he ran over to the fence and told them to run for the house. The little boy who was about 11 at the time, got his paint-ball gun and put about 200 round of paint-balls into them and they took off. Their dad found out where the dogs came from and told the guy if he ever brought them out here again, they would be shot on sight.

After that, if Buddy's nose wasn't 6 inches from Dave, he wasn't happy! He's been Dave's shadow ever since.

[Rosaboobie]

Awwwh, what a lovely story. I have found from personal experience that dogs you have rescued will lay down their lives for you.

[Stella]

What a wonderful story! I'm so happy for you.

[Diat60]

Wonderful to hear some good news! May Buddy have a long time yet to go.

[mbday630]

Wonderful stories! What a dog. Every day I look at my old dog and wonder how much longer he will make it. It will be so sad when he goes. but, I treasure every day with him.

[Rosaboobie]

Yes indeed. mbday, you must treasure every single day. At one point I was told that Benji probably didnt have long to live and I decided there and then that, instead of being miserable about the situation, I would cherish and be grateful for every single extra day I had with him. Well, that was 2 years ago, so now I dont even think about what the vets told me back then.

Is Buddy back to eating normal food yet, Drac?

[Val]

Wonderful story Drac! So pleased he is on the mend again - holding thumbs he continues to improve.

[draclvr]

I'm trying to transition him back to a high quality canned dog food along with a bit of his kibble, but he MUCH prefers the home made stuff! I froze 7 pints of it yesterday. If he continues doing well, we will have to kennel him and our other dog Charlie for 5 days while we go up to NW Iowa for Mother's Day. I'm hoping he's back to regular dog food by then, but if since the dear boy can eat as royally as he wants to, I'll have to take the frozen packages in to them. My friend Kim is a vet tech there and she will make sure he gets what he wants!

I have to say that although this is a bit of work, it's really not that bad and is so much better for him than commercial dog food. I read such awful things about the dyes and grain they put in it and the allergies and digestive upsets they cause.

[StarLite]

A sad story with a happy ending, I love those kinds. Yes indeed Buddy is quiet the fighter with a very strong will to go on. I'm glad he didn't go into the pond though, glad you caught him when you did Drac. Do you have a picture of Buddy's face, if you post it I will make a tag for you. This story just made my day, kudos Buddy and to you Drac for taking such good care of him

[Rosaboobie]

I have to say that although this is a bit of work, it's really not that bad and is so much better for him than commercial dog food. I read such awful things about the dyes and grain they put in it and the allergies and digestive upsets they cause.

That is exactly why I feed my dogs home cooked food every day - Its what they were used to in Kenya, and I didnt think it right to change their diet - at least this way I know exactly what they are eating.

[Kickaha]

Thanks for sharing this! Great to read this kind of thread!

[draclvr]

Oh, Starlite, Buddy goes in the pond every day! That first day when he was still so weak was when that was the first place he went! By the time I got down there, he was having a lovely swim. It's just a small, very shallow muddy pond - nothing deep at all. In the middle it might be about 3 feet deep because all the silt has run into it over the many, many years it's been there. It's mostly just a frog pond!

I remember talking about the food thing with you, Rosaboobie. Is it Maloo that gets such digestive upset? What do you feed your dogs?