Can’t Afford to Lose Another Leg…

As you can see by the photo below, we are a week into refeeding, and Ivan is still very thin after coming from the foster home/rescue organization:

Resting quietly.

I’ve been mixing Pet Kelp[supposed to be nutrient rich] with rice, stewed chicken, Pedigree kibble and a bit of water together to make about two cups of food several times a day. He won’t accept the kibble alone. I’m still hand feeding most of the time, but now he is starting to rat from the bowl. He also gets salmon treats and peanut butter for its dense calories. Poop is looking good.  Well, as good as…er…poop can look.

All I can think of is that the recent heat is just exhausting him when we go out. He cannot, and I mean *literally* cannot walk more than a few feet without needing to stop and laying down. He immediately starts panting heavily. [But remember, he has to navigate a staircase before he even gets outside.]

I groom him a few times a day. “What’s there to groom an a Mastiff!” you say? Well, my Mastiff friends will back me up when I say that the dewlaps are connected to the twolaps are connected to the threelaps and all that turkey gobbler which falls into everything they sniff, eat, or lick. Towels at the ready. And you’ll please forgive me for making this analogy, but it’s the closest one I can think of. Under Ivan’s chin are dark stubbly bumps which look like the sometimes  the razor bumps that some men of African descent get. So I put some balm on him and give his muscles a massage before bed.

But last night, I ran my hands down over his back legs, and noticed [just barely] that when I did, some fluid appeared to leak from his right heel. No obvious cut or scrapes. Really, no trauma at all. Lighting wasn’t good, so I made it brighter, rubbed again, and saw that it was blood and clear fluid coming out of two pin-hole sized dots. When I say “pin-hole”      I mean the size of this asterisk *.

But when I put slight pressure from above the pinholes, big drops of blood and pus seeped through! As a people-nurse, this would not be good for my patient. I would express concern to her doctor immediately, for she could be at risk for bone infection, tunneling pressure wounds, fistulas, systemic infection, even death. So off the the vet, 4th time in 8 days.

She diagnosed infectd “bursae over the pressure points of the hock” and noted again the underweight status. He is on antibiotics and steroids.

I was angry.

I started making calls and emails to the people who organized his adoption. PetSmart sponsered it, although five hours away from me, so I called that store and talked to the manager. She was annoyed and seemed put off. She said she knew the foster mom. In the end she said she’d call her but I don’t know if she did. Wasn’t happy with that, so I emailed PetSmart Corporate Headquarters and PetSmart Charities with photos of Ivan’s condition and how at the adoption, the foster mom gave no rabies or other vaccinations documentation. And I forwarded the emails and photos to that county’s Animal Control, and because they actually have really no control over foster situations…the people who regulate and license fosters in Georgia are under the Dept of Agriculture. So I forwarded to their “Animal Protection” division. They want copies of Ivan’s vet records here in FL to investigate the foster group as well as the foster mom.

17 thoughts on “Can’t Afford to Lose Another Leg…”

  1. Good grief, that poor kid! So, what’s the prognosis? An infected bursae sounds like something that can be treated, yes?

    I’m glad you started calling and writing, and hopefully someone with some authority will look into this case. I hope this woman doesn’t have any other foster dogs under her “care”!

    I’m sure he appreciates all the TLC you are giving him. Give him a little extra from me.
    Jackie, Angel Abby’s mom

  2. Thank you, Jackie and Angel Abby. We’ll see how he does on the antibiotix and steroids. The concern is – why hasn’t he gained weight? In fact, he even lost a little bit.
    Let’s hope it’s just the stress of rehoming.

    Well, the woman supposedly has 20 other dogs and some horses on her property.
    🙁
    The Dept of Agriculture did tell me that they are suspicious because they could not find the ‘rescue’ listed in their directory of licensed groups, that they only list a PO Box on the internet, and instructions to “call for a number”.

  3. Oh boy. Poor Ivan. I’m glad you complained. This is just so appalling.
    I don’t know if you should be too worried about his stamina. He has been through so much and as you say, traversing the stairs is probably as much as he can handle for now. The weight thing is a different story. I hope it is just a bit of stress which should start to ease now that he is in a loving home.
    I will continue to keep you guys in my thoughts and prayers. He just has to get better.

  4. you go girl!!!!!! that organization sounds terrible, as terrible as puppy mills!! but, of course the main focus now is ivan, and thank goodness you followed your heart and saved him. bless his heart, hope this bursa issue will clear up with the antibiotics. as for the heat – we’ve had over a 100 here in ET for several days, and even our healthy monkeydogs can’t take the heat too long. we’re sure it just zaps ivan’s strength once he’s out in it.

    glad the poop is good, that’s a start. hope he continues to eat and starts gaining a little weight. a jug fills drop by drop….

    charon & spirit gayle

    1. What on earth are monkeydogs? I thought I was pretty breed-savvy, but that’s a new one. Taking a peek at your pics!

  5. Fingers crossed and so many good healing vibes coming Ivan’s way. He is so blessed that he has you to watch over him. Almost choked on my coffee about the grooming…lots of skin rolls in this heat…that’s a lot of work.

    Here’s hoping he starts packing on the weight and that the antibiotics work!!!

    -Kori & Angle Lupe

  6. I will echo what everyone else is saying, great job in going after the horrible “rescue” person! Not much may come of it, but you have to put a voice to Ivan’s pain, if not it may continue to happen to other animals in their “care”. I do hope that the person is put out of the business!
    It is concerning me that he has lost weight 🙁 I will double up on my good energy coming your way and hope so much for his bright future.
    I have no medical background, other than what I have learned from having a tri-pawd dog with cancer.
    Sammy got an infection on his other leg because he used that most often to push up on to get up. After a round of antibiotics I learned to wrap that leg to keep it from getting sores on it.
    It maybe that Ivan doesn’t have enough cushon on his legs to keep the “bed sores” from coming up. It will most likely change once he gains weight, but until then, I would keep him on soft surfaces and maybe wrap the areas that are boney and pressure points right now.
    I know that dogs like to lie on cool hard surfaces during heat waves, so this maybe a bit of a challenge. Come on Ivan, just like “Princess” said, you just have to get better, we all are rooting for you!
    I feel Ivan’s hurt, I feel how much danger he still is in and want so much for him to make it through this. He deserves all the love and kindness in the world.

    1. You are spot on!
      I just made a post on the ‘ongoing care’ forum about wrapping and splints. Ivan DOES like to lie on cool surfaces. But yesterday he took a tumble going down the stairs and I think we are lucky a paw wasn’t broken. He is bearing so much weight on the front paw as he navigates downward. I asked the vet about splinting for support, but she said ‘he’ll just chew it off. they hate stuff wrapped on them’. I’m not sure what to do. Each hop downward is extra force and weight than if he were hopping horizontally. I noticed he dos not like me near me…he wants he out of the way, with a clear path. He does not even like the beach towel around him for support and will not move downstairs if it is around him. Oy!

  7. I dont have any medical experience but I am a calorie counter myself. 🙂 and the one thing I remember is when Levi was very thin after surgery I had to feed him TONs of food to make him gain weight. It was a lot more than I thought he needed…maybe Ivan just isnt getting enough calories per day to gain??? Just a thought?
    Also, I really hope someone gives you some answers about this foster home lady…i’d love to see her do some jail time and those other animals outta there…

    1. That is a possibility. It’s been SO LONG since I had a Mastiff, much less a starved one, that I probably need to make sure about calories. The vets all mentioned SLOW re-feeding, so I have tried not to make the portion sizes too big. Sometimes I worry that they are too large…probably this last few days they are rounding out over two cups toward three cups of stewed chicken and rice mixed with pedigree kibble [which he hates]. Believe it or not, eating actually leaves him panting and tired, so we took these feeds plus high fat peanut butter snacks to twice a day plus salmon treats.
      He didn’t poop yesterday, so I’m hoping he’s just USING all the food. His belly is soft and feels full to me. Not full in a bad way…just like it’s got food in it.
      I’ll update you whenever I get info on the foster mom…but so far, I have nothing in terms of an investigation.

  8. Right now he isn’t used to help. My Sammy was like that, ” just get out of my way, I need a clear path”. Unfortunately, he desperately needs you now. You know, sometimes as a nurse you just have to force someone who wants to do it for themselves to “let go and let you”. Sammy learned to trust me, and got to a point he would just hang in his harness and let me “lift” aka drag him into the car or where ever it was I was trying to put him. He had to learn that being lifted wasn’t going to hurt him. He had to give up some control. It was the most beneficial to him.
    I would also just try to wrap Ivan’s pressure point with that self stick ace bandage stuff. Worst case is you spent 3 dollars and he chewed it off and it kept him busy. Best case he lets it cushon him. Can’t hurt to try…. 🙂

    1. Well, I suppose it also depends on if we are talking dense, canned food or large sized kibble pieces that allow for lots of air in a ‘cup’ or smaller, more dense kibble. Did your mastiff get treats on top of his meals? I was told not to feed as much as a normal feed at first because he could get bloated or stomach torsion. Perhaps it’s time to take it up a notch. I’ve been giving peanut butter because it’s so dense in calories and getting pills in Ivan is like going spelunking in a cave. Pills in PB is better but he is crafty in his illness – somehow he can lick PB all around a pill and spit the pill out clean. And when I say ‘spit’ he does a “pa-tooey!” like a watermelon seed and it lands about two feet away.

  9. have you thought about adding greek yogurt to his food. I started doing this with Spencer after his surgery – to help keep his gut healthy and also for the nutrition. For him I did the fat free kind; but you could do the plain regular for Ivan. So much wonderful protein in that stuff!

    I second the suggestion of that self stick ace stuff. That is what we always used for Spencer after chemo and also as a pressure bandage around his chest after the MRSA.

    Oh, and a monkeybutt is one of the other family dogs who has all 4 legs. 😉 Teddy is our monkeybutt.

    1. AH! Now Monkeybutt makes sense. I actually Googled that, thinking it was something authenically canine. Please, please, don’t Google those keywords together, ESPECIALLY on an ‘image’ search. You can never un-see those images. If you ever comes across brain bleach, let me know, because I need it.
      Holy crap, your dog got MRSA? That stuff is EVERYWHERE these days. And it’s no joke. I don’t know how they treat canine pts but my patients would get infected over and over. And if it went in their bloodstream, not good. The sad thing is, a lot of pts get HAMSRA, or Hospital Acquired MRSA. Before I became a nurse, I thought hospitals were super clean places. Nope. They’re filthy. If you go there or visit someone, assume that every surface you touch is contaminated, and wash your hands.
      OK, sorry for that deviation. The Emergency Vet called me earlier and asked after Ivan. He didn’t mention Greek Yoghurt, but he did say cottage cheese is great for their protein. But you’re right, yoghurt has aci bifilus something something to keep the gut running along, or so Jamie Curtis promises.
      Wow – you most be super devoted to your dogs – you couldn’t settle for Publix 60 cent/cup yoghurt, you had to go all the way with Greek! And that is some expensive sour milk! When I lived in Bulgaria we ate the same type of yoghurt [Bulgaria is, after all, next door to Greece]. I wonder if I can remember how to make it or I will just give us all food poisoning.

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