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Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Elder Statesman, Doug, of The Missouri 11 needs your help

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UPDATE 12/29/10!

WE DIG DOUG!! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED THE EFFORTS TO SAVE DOUG!!!
Doug had his 10-day check up today after moving to Minnesota, getting cleaned up, checked over, on a new medical regimen... and the news is beyond what we'd hoped! This is the initial report from Dr. Judi:

"I am really impressed with how... much better he looks - unless he gets really excited - you can't hear his wheezing at all - his ears are almost normal and he's really attentive - he looks like a whole new dog. He has lost about 3 pounds - so I have her increasing the kibble again - I'd ideally like to see him gain 1 pound. We decreased the pred by 25% - will recheck in 2 weeks - but at the rate he is going we may be able to neuter him and also possibly treat his teeth - Amazing!"

You heard it here, folks! The scrawny, sickly "Charlie Brown Christmas tree" has been shown love and warmth and affection, and he's blossomed into the wonderful, happy dog we all knew was in there!

He's still got a ways to go - we're starting a new medicine regimen this weekend to try to get all of the inflammation down so his lungs and heart don't have to work so hard, and get his weight stabilized so that we can try to pull all the broken and infected teeth - so he still needs your support - both in good thoughts and wishes for him, and financial support if you can give that, too. But he is worth it! He IS rescue.

Dig Deep for Doug is running another two days - so please try to match our donors that pledged to double the dollars!

Our sweet 9 year old Elder Statesman from the Missouri 11 is in pretty sorry condition.  He is currently at the University of Missouri - Columbia College of Veterinary Medicine in Columbia, Missouri, fighting his infections with all he's got! Here is the report:

On Monday, he made the trip with his Guardian Angel, Bev, to the vet school  We were told that he was such a good boy and had a battery of tests, but never put up a stink and behaved himself as a gentleman.  After an in-depth physical and evaluation which included tests for heartworm, a full blood panel, urine and fecal analysis, and a full set of x-rays, the initial findings are raging infections of his teeth, gums, and ears.  He is also about 5-8 lbs. underweight. In consultation with the vet, we elected to have him stay at the vet hospital for IV antibiotics for the next few days. We are hopeful that with quality vet care - likely the first in his life - he will feel better soon.  PAWS volunteer Bev stayed with him the entire time making sure he knew she was there - thank you Bev!  We are still awaiting the final report on all the tests, however the worst news was that he has a tracheal collapse occuring.  However, it can be treated surgically. 

If this condition is treated with surgery, a stent that resembles a mesh sleeve is placed to reinforce the trachea. Prosthetic rings that look like the letter C can also be bonded to the trachea to form a tube that won’t collapse. The rings are rigid and veterinary surgeons are now using surgical techniques that involve a new technology in which stainless steel, self-expanding rings are being used. In a study, the new rings had a 96% success rate.  That's great news - because he can go on to live a relatively normal life if he gets this surgery.

(Update 12/10/10: It turns out that because of the bronchi involvement, Doug will not be a candidate for stent surgery.  His condition will need to be medically managed, which is a bit more intense, but do-able. It means Doug needing to go to a home with a caring, careful, non-smoking individual who will be sure he gets the medications he needs, keep him out of the cold as much as possible, and give him a quiet and sedate life. He can still go for walks with a harness (no collars for Doug!) and live a relatively normal life.)

As of Tuesday, he's eating some meals, has been dewormed and they started the oral antibiotics and antibiotics in his ears to clear up the infection there. The vets aspiratated the bump on the right side of his neck and pulled out a 'dark substance' that they believe is from an old infection.  It is probably due to an injury of some sort that was never treated. If he wasn't so sick they would clean and pull some teeth but there's no way he can withstand that right now. The students at the vet school take the dogs out to a fenced area to potty so he's getting some housetraining and socialization while there.

This poor old guy has been used and abused his entire life!!! He's been used at stud from the time he was old enough to breed and he looks and acts like he was never properly cared for in any way at all.  But fox terriers are resilient and intelligent, and most that come out of puppy mills are placed in homes and become wonderful, loving pets.  

For now, we're working on getting him well and ready to move on to the next phase of treatment, but we desperately need your help.  After 9 years of living in a hellish situation, this poor guy deserves the chance to be held, loved, and cared for by a family that will let him know every day how lucky THEY ARE to have him in their lives!

Can you help him get better?  Any donation, no matter how big or small, will go a long way in helping him realize a life of love and warmth.  Just click the button below to make your Tax Deductible donation via Pay Pal, or mail your check to:  Kathy Lauer, American Fox Terrier Rescue Treasurer, 8738 Prestwick Parkway, Brooklyn Park, MN 55443

Update 12/10/10:

Doug is back from University of Missouri - College of Vet Medicine and he's improved under their care. He's got a LONG, LONG, LONG way to go.  The good news is that he is coughing less and has put on a little weight. All of the vets working on his case are optimistic that his progress will continue.  While his condition is not curable, he can be managed medically. Doug's on quite a bit of medication for the next few days, and some probably for the rest of his life.  He will be staying with PAWS member who's a former vet tech until December 15th.  On that day, Carol from PAWS will meet Kathy from American Fox Terrier Rescue in Des Moines, Iowa - and then he'll keep heading north to Minneapolis, MN.  He has a foster home ready for him in Minneapolis, with Dr. Judi Funk from Compassionate Care Animal Hospital and Dr. Lindsay Merkel from the University of Minnesota Veterinary Teaching Hospital waiting to take over his medical care.  All involved, from American Fox Terrier Rescue to the foster home to the vets, are very excited to meet him!

Many thanks to the University of Missouri - College of Vet Medicine team and especially Dr. Meadows and vet student Nolan Butcher.  They, and all of the wonderful techs and staff people at U of MO  have been wonderful in making sure that Doug has a really good chance at a great life filled with love, scratches and kisses for the first time in his life.  Thank you all - the vets in Missouri, and the vets in Minnesota, for being very thorough in your explanations and so patient with our questions and concerns.

We still need your help with Doug's continuing medical care and treatment.  He's still got infections in his ears and teeth that need to be cleared up as quickly as we can.  He'll need more hospitaliztion and medications to get everything cleared up so he can be as healthy as he can possibly be.  Doug deserves it.  After spending his life in the misery of a puppy mill where his care was so obviously neglected, he deserves to be happy.  Can you help him on his road to recovery?  Just click the Donate button and help Doug out!  Or mail your check to:  Kathy Lauer, American Fox Terrier Rescue Treasurer, 8738 Prestwick Parkway, Brooklyn Park, MN 55443

 Update 12/19/10:

On December 15th, Carol from PAWS and her husband Larry got up very early to bring Doug to Des Moines for his trip to Minnesota.  He rode like a trooper and by 10:30 a.m., the paperwork was being reviewed, medication and the medication list (which is very extensive!) was passed on.  And while Carol and Kathy were going over things, the emails were arriving that the other dogs had landed safely at their destinations.  After a quick "yahoo!" Doug was switched to Kathy's vehicle and off they drove for Minneapolis. 

He was taken immediately to Compassionate Care Animal Hospital in Brooklyn Park where Dr. Judi Funk and her very able staff were waiting for him.  Dr. Judi and Dr. Lindsay Merkel from the University of Minnesota Veterinary Teaching Hospital had been collaborating and reviewing his records from U of Missiouri-Columbia and getting an intial plan of treatment and possible complications to watch for in mind for him and everyone was excited to actually get their hands on him.

They got him settled in at CCAH and fed him and let him relax and decompress after his very long day.  The next morning, Dr. Judi did a complete physical and determined that there would be no sedating Doug at this point.  We really wanted to be able to deal with his ears (flush and clean) and his infected gums from broken teeth, but he is still not healthy enough to withstand sedation.  So instead, Kathy went over to groom him, and the cardiologist, Dr. Janet Olson from Veterinary Cardiology Services found time in her schedule to come in and run a doppler echocardiogram and an EKG and determined that Doug's heart is healthy!  We finished cleaning him up and got him groomed as well as he'd allow ("No clippers on my head, thank you very much!") and he spent one more night at the hospital.  Then on Friday his foster family picked him up and brought him home.  He's doing wonderfully! 

Doug will always have breathing issues - akin to COPD in humans - because his bronchitis was never addressed and the damage can't be reversed.  But it can be medically managed.  The prognosis was good when he left the hospital for him to have a number of good years ahead with the proper medical management.  And every day in a warm and loving home sees him improving.  It's all very heart warming. 

You for more pictures stories and comments, you can see the latest on our Facebook page by clicking here. You don't need a Facebook account to view the pictures.  Please look at the pictures, become a Fan of our Facebook page if you'd like, and think about giving the gift of medical care to our wonderful group of dogs - especially for Doug.

Doug has lots of medications and continued vet care and follow up before he's truly as healthy as we can get him to be.  He's really come a long way in a short amount of time but he has a ways to go.  He's a great dog, and giving him a chance to live his final years in a warm, loving home means so much to all of us! So please consider Doug and the other 10 beautiful fox terriers from this gang as being deserving of your charitable contributions for the year.  They made it this far thanks to all of you who have donated to American Fox Terrier Rescue .  Their care and transport has been made possible by the generosity of people who simply love fox terriers and showed that love in the form of a donation to their care. 

Thank you to everyone involved in the effort to save these wonderful fox terriers from life in a puppy mill. Their lives are forever changed by your caring. From those that are hands-on to you who have financed the effort - and to all of you for your good wishes and emotional support!

Many thanks to Coconut Retriever and Doggie Duds, Wegmans, Pet Airways, Compassionate Care Animal Hospital, and U of M VMC for your support!  

Donate to AFTR

If you'd prefer to mail your donation click here for the address.

AFTR, Inc. is a 501-(c)3 charitable non-profit organization. Thank you for your kind donation!

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