Mr. Snuffaluffagus~Adopted

 

Rescued by Jackie in Miami, and transported by Jackie, Michelle and Jen. His photos can be seen on Facebook.  More about his temperament in a few!

06/22/13:  Snuffy is a kind dog. If he hears your voice, he wags his tail. Now is not the time to judge his temperament, because he’s very calm, but he’s also very sick. Snuffy was adopted last week, but he was returned a week later, because he stopped eating. At first, it was thought that he was throwing up, but the moment I saw him last night, I knew it’s kennel cough. I took him to the vet, and they confirmed that he is not dehydrated, so I took him home with me.

Snuffy has only eaten the equivalent of one can of food all week, and he stopped drinking water completely. He was already emaciated when we rescued him last week, and he has lost even more weight – his weight loss is now critical.

I’m giving him doxycycline and I’ve started him on high doses of vitamin C. I gave him some canned food last night, but he refused, I also gave him water and chicken bullion, he refused that as well.

06/23/13:  This morning, I sat on the front porch with him, and after he was comfortable with me, I offered him turkey thighs and beef liver. He devoured it, and I was thrilled. He then helped himself to a large amount of water. I tried to give him a second helping of food, but his coughing prevented him from eating any more.

He is resting now, there is plenty of food and water in his giant crate, in case he decides to help himself. I ran out to the store and prepared him his next batch of stew, which includes Chicken Breast, Beef Liver, Silver Cordova Salmon, zucchini, carrots, celery, sweet potatoes, rosemary and garlic.  I also added a bit of pancake syrup to his first bowl to be sure he has enough sugar.

His cough sounds worse, but I’m wondering if the sticky infection is loosening and if he’s just able to expel it more easily.

Kennel cough is a common virus that attacks shelter dogs. It’s much like a cold, however, in Snuffy’s case, his loss of appetite and emaciated state converts this common and easy-to-treat virus into a potentially deadly condition – pneumonia. Pneumonia kills, so I’m treating this very seriously. I will provides updates of his condition daily.

Here’s is my first morning with him, and since then he has eaten several bowls of Snuffy Stew, he has had plenty of water, and he has pooped!

06/24/13:  For those of you who are new to TDL, I should explain why we cook for our sick dogs.  Every bite that an emaciated dog eats is important.  You have to make the best of it.  If the dog has shut down and stopped eating, you have to make the dish irresistible.  Medicine alone will not cure what ails him.  When a dog shuts down, they simply don’t care if they live of die.  If a dog can look forward to something, affection, a walk, food, whatever it is, then the dog will turn around and his attitude will help him fight to survive.  When I rescued Frances, he wouldn’t eat anything I gave him.  Not even canned salmon.  He wouldn’t lift his head when I entered the room.  He practically lay in his crate, wanting to die.  Frances had been poisoned by Ticks.  I had to take him to the vet, get him re-hydrated, use glucose, a shot of antibiotics, and a vitamin B shot to jump start him into caring again.  Once he ate, I took him back home.  Eating is critical to puppies.  If a puppy doesn’t eat, you have every reason to be concerned, and you should cook stew for him.  If he still doesn’t eat, you need to rush your pup to the vet.  Anti-nausea medication works wonders to get a dog to eat.  I believe that a combination of anti-nausea medication, and chicken stew has saved our parvo puppies.

Snuffy is improving.  His first night was horrible, because he couldn’t rest, he never stopped coughing.  His second night, however, he really slept, only waking up every two hours to cough.  He continues to eat and this morning he showed me a little bounce of energy, running around the yard.

He does have a family in South Florida that wants to adopt him, but I have to wait until he is better, to temperament test him with other dogs.  While at the Wilson house, he did well with Nitro and Fiona.  Here, he growls in his crate at other dogs that come near him.  Is he simply food aggressive?  I wouldn’t blame him one bit, but that has to be resolved before he can leave and be part of a pack.

06/25/13 Update:  I was so proud yesterday that Snuffy’s cough was getting better, then as dinner time rolled around it was bad.  He was coughing constantly.  I started him on Clavamox and am continuing the Doxy.  Kids always get worse at night!  This morning, there is much improvement, but antibiotics don’t work that fast.  I have a grooming appointment for him on Thursday, I hope he’s well enough to endure a bath and having his feet groomed.

He did give me another happy bounce and a quick run around the yard this morning, so clearly he has more energy.  He likes to go under the bushes and scratch his back on the branches, it’s hilarious.  For the most part, he is very quiet in is crate.

I don’t have to scruff his pills down his throat any longer, I hide them in chicken hot dogs…. much less messy for me!  He’s eating some kibble, but I’m still serving up the Snuffy Stew!

I hope these meds start to take affect.  I’m still watching for signs of pneumonia, but as long as he’s running around, and having bursts of activity, we should be fine.  I’m sure you can tell I’m getting very frustrated, but I’m the most impatient person I know!   His first Doxy was on the evening of the 22nd.  His first Clavamox was tonight.  It’s only been three days on Doxy.

06/26/13 Update:  About 50 years ago, someone working for a major pharmaceutical company invented Doxycycline.  Not long afterward, another brilliant person invented Clavamox.  When used together, they knock out Kennel Cough.  I’m very proud to re-introduce to you Mr. Snuffaluffagus!

Tomorrow he goes to Newman Veterinary in Deltona and meets Serena where he will have another bath, and get a manni  petti!  Based on his energy level and his desire to play with toys, I really believe this guy is younger than we first estimated!

06/27/13 Update:  This has been two weeks of pure hell for this poor boy.  Last night was so much fun!  Jen and her daughter came over, and they got to see Snuffy again, remember, they fostered him after his Miami transport.  He remembered them!  I mean, he really remembered them!  This is one smart boy!  But I had no idea what was going to be in store for me this morning.

I really wanted to get Snuffy’s fuzzy slippers removed, he was shaved down at Miami-Dade, but they left his feet untouched.  He chews on them a lot, so I thought let’s get him to look even!  He had an appointment at Newman Veterinary Center/Deltona today with groomer, Serena.  While I was there, I figured let me ask Dr. Oliver to examine him, and ask him to fill three prescriptions, for Doxy, Clavamox and his cough tabs.  Seems like a no-brainer right?  WRONG!

Ray was my Vet Tech today, he reviewed Snuffy’s paperwork, looked down and asked me if he was here for his neuter as well. Neuter?  No, he’s been neutered!  He was neutered by Miami-Dade on the 14th, just two weeks ago.  Ray looked at me and smiled, and looked at Snuffy again.  “I don’t think so Gisele!  He has not been neutered.”  Ray examined him again.  One testical was neutered and one was not.  Ray checked to see if it was swelling, but it wasn’t.  The dog has one testical.  I wanted to cry.

Dr. Oliver came in, and confirmed that Snuffy has one testical that has not been neutered, it is not swelling, and it is still attached.  How could that happen?  I reviewed the paperwork from Miami-Dade, and I wanted to cry.  I texted Jackie and asked her if he was neutered.  She replied, and said he was.  But he wasn’t, but he hasn’t been, but how could this happen, what went wrong, and why?

Dr. Oliver said he had never seen anything like it in his 30 years.  How could a doctor be operating and forget one… they are side by side, how could a doctor get so distracted to not operate on both testicals?  However, there is a chance that it is a hemmotoma, a sack of blood.

Dr. Oliver brought another doctor in just to get a second opinion, she examined Snuffy, and confirmed that it did appear that he does have one testical.  She also doubted it was a hemmotoma.  I left Snuffy for yet another surgery.  I’m furious, this dog shouldn’t have to endure this.  I felt so bad for him, and when Ray came back with the paperwork, I shared with him how yes, it is funny, but I want to cry.

Snuffy has gained three pounds since he’s been with me for less than a week, but he is still terribly thin.  He is such a love, he wants to be petted, and is starving for attention and affection.  I really want to cry.  Regardless if it’s a botched neuter or a hemmotoma, it needs to be fixed immediately.

TDL is getting two adorable puppies from Alabama this afternoon, and I can’t foster them.  Kennel cough is highly contagious to puppies who have not been vaccinated.  I thank God Laura Burke offered to foster them for me, but… I just want to cry.

Surgery Update:  Dr. Oliver confirmed that it was a hemmotoma, and again, he said he has never seen anything like it before.  It has been removed, and Snuffy will be coming home shortly.

07/02/13 Update:  Snuffy was adopted last Sunday by Jim and Barbara of St. Petersburg.  Jim and Barbara adopted Tinker Belle from TDL several years ago.  I talked to Barbara last night, and Snuffy is doing great with his new pack!