LT was 58.2 KGS(128.04 pounds)! UGH! UGH! Even though he is being cut back on food; he is getting PB with his pills AND it is showing. Time to tighten up the hatches even more with this man! The Vet was just as unimpressed as I was with his head. We were unable to do a culture as it had been very effectively drained the day before by us. Yet, it is looking nasty and the Vet agrees. The Vet looked up and Clavamox will cover all the ick’s except for maybe 2 and I have brought home a needle that if(more likely when with the way things have gone in the past)it swells up again; to take a sample. So, I have taken home 10 more days of Clavamox and I cannot even bear to look at the Vet Bill right now in respect to all of this. sigh………… I feel the worst for LT though. He has been an incredible trooper! The Vet ended up giving him a liver treat(despite his weight plumpness)  😛 for they also felt very sorry for all that he has gone through and what he was put through tonight with a re-exam etc. All that poking and prodding and he was awesome. Just very happy and affectionate and taking everything in his stride. When the rain stops, I shall wash him again as he is slightly ‘off-white’ from the muddy outside and he has stains on his head from the SC. POOR THING! The Vet did say that he could maybe be that ‘rare’ dog that will have to be on antibiotics for months and months and months and I am praying that this is not the case. POOR LT! 😥 LT loved the ride home and I bypassed the McDonald’s and Timmie’s as we need to work on that waistline and if he is going to be on antibiotics even longer than a month; we really have to find a better treat system. The Vet said that she was so surprised to see a plump dog from me as I am always really great about keeping my dogs where they belong. I just keep saying, LT more than deserved his few extra pounds BUT now, he is getting ‘up’ there with the PB with his meds and we need to find an alternative. I do not wish to take to putting the pills in his mouth AS he has come so far with trusting and approaching and while many dogs will take to pilling that way just fine; without emotional angst; LT is not one of those dogs. He could very easily become handshy should pilling him manually become the ‘norm’ and if he has to be on meds for X amount of time; I am going to have to be inventive. PUTTING it into his food is not effective as he will eat all but the pill. I had been putting them into small pieces of hotdogs, until he figured out how to get the hotdog and spit out the pill. SMART boy!

I will be bringing LT in with me tomorrow to go back to the Vet. Despite 19 days worth of antibiotics between the Cephalexin and now the Clavamox; his head is not getting any better. I felt terrible for LT on Saturday; the pressure built up so bad in his SC that he began to shake his head and then it began to leak and then burst through the skin by Sunday AM. I drained as much as I could of the infection and the SC fluid and cleaned it all up with Betadine plus Germistat 4% and now he has literally a small hole in his head where it burst through. It is not just the cost of almost $1,000 spent to date on getting this under control; it is the obvious discomfort this is causing him. We need to get some resolution here; for financial relief and for him. We have just spent almost $2,000 on Bronson with him having to go back into hospital last Monday; $2,000 on the Newf pups that we assisted in rescuing and now we have also been asked to assist with another 9 Dane pups. We just cannot continue to drop money on ‘what if’s here. In addition to the almost $1,000 spent on LT’s SC; we will be looking at $1,500 to remove the SC and we also have many more financial demands being put on our Rescue with repairs having to be made to our horse lean-too and fencing for both horses and dogs and we just cannot continue to afford to keep bringing the dogs into the Vets and trying one thing after the other without any success. We need something to work for LT and we need it soon as I cannot continue to watch him be in clear discomfort, nor can I continue to watch our finances pool down to the below nothing that we already have. We had only one fundraiser last year and I have had literally no time to plan this year’s one at this time and it has not been pushed to the the fall. We are in seriously jeopardy of having to consider to close BHRR within the next 5 years. If you believe in BHRR at all; please consider donating as times are beyond tough right now. We truly cannot continue to assist the animals that are in need of us; alone. We beg everyone that follows the animals in our program; to just think about contributing to help us carry on. Thank you on behalf of every animal that has benefited from our program and for every animal that we could continue to assist with your help.

I brought LT into work with me on Monday April 21st for a recheck on his head. I was unable to bring him on the Saturday as I had hoped due to everything that poor Bronson was going through. LT weighed a very plump 57.60 KGs(126.72 pounds) and apparently, all that PB with the cephalexin has been showing itself on his waist line! He is now cut back on the food(much to my ‘seabiscuit’s displeasure again! LOL). The Vet was very surprised to see that after being on the Cephalexin for 10 days that his SC was still quite full of infection. We have now switched him to Clavamox and will re-evaluate after 10 days time. This is the fourth Dane in the recent past that has not fared well on the Cephalexin(Novolexin) and not only is cost a factor yet the poor dogs having to go to yet another antibiotic and to be on a longer course of treatment cannot be thrilling for them….well, they do like the PB part of it all! The Vet feels that he should be on these antibiotics for at least a month before we consider removing the SC; otherwise it will be a sizeable portion of the top of his head that will need to be removed and that is not a consideration and one that the Vet also supports. I talked to his pending adoptive home and they are in support that he shall remain here until such time as he is done his course of antibiotics and if need be; surgery to remove the SC. The SC even after being healed might erupt again(via a play bump etc.) or he could develop another one; even if this one is removed and we shall take it one step at a time, save up those pennies JUST in case he requires the surgery. 😀 We all want what is best for LT and we will evaluate as needs be as to what is in his best interest when the time comes. Once again, he was a HUGE favourite at the hospital and is so quiet(except in play…HEE! He can sure makes some neat sounds!) and settles down beautifully in his pen at the hospital. I adore this boy more than words can ever express! I also wanted to share that today, when I was vacuming(yet again….LOL with the spring here, it is at least a 5 times a day job)LT stayed on the bed the whole time I did the Master bedroom! WOOHOO! ROCK ON! Major progress. He even let me give him some loving on his back and tush and stayed on the bed! This boy has a huge piece of me and like always; if this wonderful home had not come along; he would have been one of those that would have tempted my soul to keep here. YET, I have always known that our paths; while we shall always be closely connected; he is meant to be in another home spoiled and sharing his very special gifts with them! THANK you LT for all that you have done for our home and for me!!!!

As per my my last write-up; I took LT into the Vet with me last night. When we did some deeper investigation into the area; it appears that the sebaceous cyst ruptured on the inside, causing it to become larger and eventually rupturing in a couple of spots and beginning to drain the building up infection inside. Caught if fast, thank goodness and as per my last post; he is now on the cephalexin(1,000 mgs every 12 hours) for three weeks. We will keep him on the antibiotics(the cephalexin is always the first line of defense that we use in these type of skin situations) for 2 weeks and then I have to get the cyst removed. Then he shall be on the antibiotics one more week for post-op care. As to what caused it to rupture; the latest FNA’s at his annual; could have irritated it some and then by bumping his head in play with another dog or on the side of something(bed, couch etc.); caused it to rupture. It is not really known. Being a responsible rescuer; I believe in full disclosure and also like to adopt out our dogs at the healthiest that we can, and I would like to do his surgery at my hospital; one of our Vets there is excellent in tissue work before I move forward on any potential adoption. As this happened while under my authority; and now requires a more immediate dealing of the situation; it is not something that I feel comfortable(based upon my own high level of standards)passing this along to his eventual adoptive home. The cost to me, would also be considerably less due to it being at my Vet Hospital and with me being involved. We are looking at about $1,500+ at this time for the surgery including bw and not including the pathology that I want to have done on it. So, all this to say; that I would dearly love to see him adopted April 20th AND his home has been notified that they are more than welcome to come and visit etc. yet he will not be going into surgery until later that week(around the 24th) etc. I will be doing presurgery bw again(his last bw was done when I did his neuter last fall) and promised to keep them completely informed plus a copy of all his vet records will be given to them at the time of adoption. He would not be available for final adoption until after the surgery. As a reputable rescue; I just cannot in good conscience just ‘pass’ along this to his new home. I know that many Rescues are like that and also that many homes are completely happy with this arrangement yet I have never felt right in what could appear to look like us ‘passing the problem’ on to his adoptive home. I believe in standing by my animals and do my absolute best and right by them that I can. I would like to see him recover in an environment he knows in a minimal stress situation(and while there is no real proof on what actually causes bloat/tort; stress has always been a key factor) etc. I really desire to work with his new home to make all this the best that it can be and shall absolutely take into very deep consideration their thoughts, views and feelings. This cyst is no longer something that can wait to be removed at a time when he might have undergone teeth cleaning etc. (which we might do at the same time as they will need to be done at some point within the next couple of years; yet we need to look at costs there as well for it is more of an elective type of thing at this time and with having just vetted 28 Newf pups; we wish to focus our financial efforts on this cyst removal and the ensuing pathology on it for I also wish to do a histio on it to get a pathology report by sending it off to Guelph. Just for peace of mind. We will take a look at it ourselves to get a prelim view as well. I just wanted to also add that MAN! I am just so proud of this boy and how far he has come with his loving and confidence! He is a HUGE hit at the hospital. His leash manners are perfection now, he settles in great at the hospital and LOVES to lean on people for loving. HE has come SOOOOOOOOOOO far since he arrived at our program and I cannot tell you how much this boy means to me.

I am completely not liking the look of that cyst on LT’s head and instead of bringing Kona in with me tonight to work for her annual; I shall bring in LT. It is continuing to drain with a mixture of blood and fluid(with none of the cheesy type of substance that one would normally find in a sebaceous cyst) and is even bigger than it was yesterday and he has a couple of ‘raw’ spots. Before starting any antibiotics, I want to see the Vet again(the same one that I saw for his annual and that we did the FNA’s with) to best plan the next course of action here. I believe that we will definitely be putting him at least on Cephalexin yet I will consult with the Vet first as to their thoughts too. It is not paining him at all and that is great. He is eating, drinking, pooping, playing, sleeping etc. all normally. He has no fever, eyes are bright and gums are healthy etc. It is me just not feeling great about that spot on his head right now and being the person I am; HE is going in! 😀

I am really not liking this cyst on LT’s head. It is almost twice the size it was when he was in for his annual not long ago. Did all those FNA’s irritate it??? I do not know and it is draining more than it has; yet the size of it is making me uncomfortable. I have Dyce going in for his annual plus post-treatment check-up tomorrow night when I go to work and I think I might see about getting LT back in on the Wednesday. I know what we found in the FNA’s etc. and I do not doubt the results yet I am still not feeling great about how much growth this has done since his annual. If need be; I will take the necessary steps in getting this removed sooner rather than later. Am I just worrying overly too much???? Perhaps….yet, I always feel more comfortable in having a second opinion if/when needed in respect to what I am seeing.

New slides #44 – #46 added of LT and also new as of March 29th, 2008; Tyke now has his own CafePress Store http://www.cafepress.com/bhrr/3019503 whereby all monies raised shall go to assist animals in need of our BHRR program. New items to be added as I can.