BHRR’s Jaxson is doing amazing! He completely ‘stole’ everyone he met on Saturday at our BHRR’s Mini Open house to ‘heaven’ as I knew he would! He is such an incredibly brave and strong boy. He has been healing just wonderfully and within the next day or so, I shall remove his pain patch plus his drain. The staples plus sutures can come out within another week. The Vet did say as the leg was completely ‘dead’ that Jaxsons’ recovery could be much better than other dogs who have leg amputations and though it is easier to physically remove a back leg and is also better on the dog to have a back leg removed(I have had several in-depth conversations with a couple of Vets on this topic) for mobility and balance; Jaxson is kickin’ major tush! We have had to switch over to a stronger antibiotic for his cold and now we are working hard to keep him ‘busy’ and calm for he is bored and last night, he had a small case of the zoomies in the house with Sean hot on his heels trying to ‘catch’ him to stop him. I have to admit it made me *giggle* a bit for Jaxson’s face was full of puppy glee with a facial expression of ‘I am free! I am free! You cannot catch me!’. Unfortunately, for him, Sean did ‘catch’ him and back to the X-Pen set-up we have for Jaxson he went. We have a double bed plus a twin in the X-Pen area and have been giving Jaxson nice dinosaur bones to chew and Kong toys with treats inside to work at getting out but he wants to be more physically active and we cannot let him overdue things. He is still very much in the early stages of healing and has a long way to go yet to Jaxson after having such a terrible leg with injuries like that; he feels like he is ‘on top of the world’. I have received quite a few inquiries in regards to if we shall be placing Jaxson up for adoption and the answer is ‘yes’. There is no reason why Jaxson cannot be adopted and when he is ready; we shall move his status to adoptable. As with any of the dogs under our care; should he never be adopted, he has a place to call home with us. I know that Sean is completely enamored with him and WHO would not be. This boy ROCKS! I am still debating about whether he shall come to the BHRR Boat Cruise Fundraiser this Saturday October 3rd and when I go to pay for the catering on Thursday; I shall see if the Captain is there to discuss this possibility. I do not feel overly comfortable having Jaxson be by himself that long. Up to now, he has been watched 24/7 between myself and Sean and at our Open House; by a wonderful Volunteer Suzanne. We still need to raise about $800.00+ more for his ‘Jaxson’s Journey’ Cause to pay off his Vet Bills and as always, we thank EVERYONE for their continued support of Jax. We shall continue to accept donations until his Vet Bill is paid off. We continue to plead to the public that with your kindness of monetary gifts; we can continue to help Jaxson on his journey to a much better life than what he had before coming to BHRR. I am also attaching two pictures below of Jaxson from the BHRR Mini Open House that was held on Saturday September 26th.

BHRR’s Jaxson – September 26th, 2009 – One day after left front leg plus shoulder blade amputation
*photo courtesy of A. Bennett & photo courtesy of C. Desjardins

After a really ‘rough’ start to the night that would have weakened the soul of even the most emotionally hardened invididucal, and, after the Hydromorphone(A narcotic that is 5-7 times stronger than morphine) that I gave to Jaxson around 12:30 AM, he rested fairly comfortably until around 8:00 AM today. Understandably, he peed on his blankets and is all cleaned up. The difference between last night and today is UNBELIEVABLE. The Vet did say that he would be doing much better this AM, but HE did not say that Jaxson would be ready to ‘run’ a marathon! HOLY! This boy is up and ‘at ’em’ like nobody’s business. It is all we can do to hold him back. When I called the Vet with an update, he said that it is amazing what happens in that 12 hour period with a young dog having his/her leg amputating. He does not know why it does but WOW! Jaxson had another HUGE pee outside this time and a fairly normal poop. He has yet to drink anything and the Vet said perhaps by this afternoon, he might. He ate a very small breakfast, took his antibiotics plus pain meds and now he is in his crate missing Sean. He has really really really bonded with Sean and we need to ensure that he continues to socialize and be around tons of other people to continue him along his already wonderful social disposition path. I am attaching a couple of pictures of Jaxson from last night and as much as I have seen in almost 25 years of Rescue work; I can still be surprised by how terrible people can be. For Jaxson to have been just dumped at a Shelter in the condition he was; is deplorable. These pictures are why BHRR exists. TO continue to help those that cannot help and speak for themselves for as clearly told to us by the Shelter, no one else stepped up to help Jaxson and if this handsome sweet boy had been put to sleep, what a loss it would have been to the world. He is incredible!!!! These pictures are graphic yet it is the reality, JAXSON’S REALITY. We continue to plead to the public to please open up your hearts to continue to allow us to assist Jaxson. He has a LONG way to go yet on his ‘Jaxson’s Journey’. He is nowhere near to being ‘out of the woods’ yet….

BHRR’s Jaxson – September 24th, 2009 *Full left leg amputation including shoulder blade

I just talked to the Vet. Jaxson was out of surgery by 3:00 PM and the Vet is very pleased with how things went. I was told that the nerve damage went deep into his chest and further than where the Vet was operating on and so most likely an injury deep into the spine that has resulted in Jax’s leg being the way it was. Apparently, he had no sensation or feeling in that leg from the chest downward(as per the findings of one other Vet that I work with of Jax having only ‘deep’ pain felt in some areas). The nerves were completely ‘dead’. Sometimes, when legs are being amputated and nerves are being cut; the leg will twitch, yet Jaxson had nothing. I talked a bit with the Vet as to his own expert view as to how this could have happened and it could have been 1) A Person(s) or 2) Jax culd have ‘possibly’ hurt himself yet regardless; shortly after he was hurt; he was dumped. That much is very clear. Poor Jaxson. 😥 BUT we care about Jaxson and his health plus happiness is a huge priority to us. So, after being seen by 4 Vets(two at the Shelter and two of my own), they are all in agreement with myself too; that this leg needed to come off NOW…. The next hour will be our next ‘worry’ point for sometimes they come out of leg amputations very dazed and disoriented. The Vet did say that due to all the nerve damage, that Jaxon might fare better coming out of the anaesthetic due to all the lack of feeling that he had previously. From there, we need to see how his pain management is going(he is on a Duragesic Pain Patch). The Vet is not overly worried about him not being on fluids in coming home yet we need to ensure that he is as comfortable as possible. We shall touch base in another hour to better determine the possible ‘go home’ plan for 6:00 PM tonight. After that, the following 72 hours will be our next ‘goal’ for Jaxson. Infection and shock are huge. The neuter went well too. Please please please consider helping us with Jaxson’s Journey Fundraiser, every little bit helps. I will update his blog as I can.

Jaxon’s was prepped for surgery around 11:00 AM today and the Vet is also going to be taking off his shoulder blade in addition to the leg for it will be better for Jax. We continue to thank everyone that has been donating plus supporting Jaxson by cross-posting his ‘Jaxson’s Journey’ Cause. $577.02 raised to date and though we still have a ways to go to reach $2,000; we shall continue to collect funds until he bill is paid for. Continue to send your well wishes plus positive energy Jax’s way. Jax’s fecal did come back NSF and his bw was ok. WBC was slightly elevated yet he is on antibiotics still for the cold. His chest was also clear upon exam today for his surgery.

I ended up taking Jaxson to work with me last night for I wanted to have him examined by my own Vet soon. I brought in all the notes sent with him and we await the disc with the actual digital x-rays on them. Jaxson weighed 32.8 Kgs(72.16 pounds) and the general consensus is in agreement that he should be around 85 pounds right now. I did bring in a fecal and we are running some bw for the decision is that this leg should really come off sooner rather than later. He is going to be so much happier(AND he is one happy boy!) without it and the Vet agrees that the leg is just ‘strange’ in many ways. He has ‘deep’ pain yet nothing surface related and you can see when he lies down how that growth plate on his shoulder just moves and appears to be disjointed. It appears that we are looking at several possible issues with that leg and it is ‘injury’ related and what a shame that he was dumped at the shelter in this condition. So, I have made an appointment for this Friday; September 25th to have this leg removed and we shall neuter him at the same time. I strongly suspected from the moment that I saw him myself and examined that leg that it should be amputated and I am feeling better about having my own Vet (the third Vet that has now examined Jaxson and has suggested amputation) concur for it is only going to cause him more angst and medical problems leaving it the way it is. He also has that nasty pressure sore on the back of that pad from how he moves and rests on his leg at times. BHRR focuses on the SN’s and takes in animals that others will not or cannot and we are pleading to the public to please help us to continue to help Jax….

The cost of his surgery is going to be $2,000 and while we can do a payment plan on the leg; we need to put down some money on Friday.

We are begging and pleading to all that support BHRR and have become fans of Jax; if you could assist us in anyway with a donation to his Vet Bill, so that we can take this leg off this Friday September 25th(it has to come off, it is posing a danger to him); you can donate by PayPal(button found in the top left corner of our homepage) OR you can write a check out to ‘Liston Animal Hospital’ and mail to:

Gwendilin Boers
2425 Totem Ranch Road West
RR#1 Oxford Station, Ontario
K0G 1T0

OR you can call Liston Animal Hospital at (613) 591-0966 to pay on Jax’s Bill directly by Visa or M/C – Jax’s bill is under the account name of ‘Boers’

Please help us with ‘Jaxson’s Journey’ as we beseech you to help us raise the funds needed to help Jax!

BHRR’s Jaxson – September 20th, 2009 *Pictures courtesy of P. Tops

I arrived home close to midnight last night with ‘Jax’ and I have decided to make his ‘formal’ name Jaxson…it is so befitting of him! He is not deaf(as some have asked) and he is LUVBUG Heaven! He travelled really well with the Volunteer who pulled him from SWO and then his transition to another Volunteer went great in Scraborough and I met them in Kingston last night to bring him back to us. I noticed that he is presenting with nasal discharge and has had a few sneezes….sigh….so, I am proactively treating him for that. I had an appointment set for tomorrow night for Jax. I have also read his folder and the finding of ‘lateral shoulder possible mild fracture at cranial aspet of physis. non displaced-can’t rule out growth plate’ was read. There is quite a bit of information sent in the folder and I will add as I can. His Rabies plus DHPP are not due until February 4th of 2010. His HWT was negative. He was given a dose of Revolution on September 14th and in October, we will switch him over to Sentinel. The same day, he was de-wormed with Strongid T and we will do a de-worming with Panacur and I will bring a fecal sample in for his stools are diarrhea and very smelly(especially when he does it in your house!). On September 11th, he was given Bordetella Intra nasal. His birthday is listed as December 18th, 2008. I can confirm that while he is crate trained he is NOT housetrained. He has peed all over my dining room chair and has had three bouts of diarrhea in my home. He was also microchipped at the Shelter before he left. He travelled amazing(only once did he try to get into the front seat and that was most likely because he was hungry and I had his bag of food there from the Shelter) and has loved everyone and every animal that he has come into contact with. I have some pictures from one of our Volunteers with her two boyz and will post as I can. He also has been fully integrated with Tain, Parker, Abbi and Potter at our home. He is playful, gentle with taking treats and food, does not resource, listens quite well, leash manners are not bad etc. He did a few little cries when I put him into his crate last night yet settled down beautifully. He ate his supper last night(gave him only about 1/3 of his food) well yet today, he has not eaten much of his breakfast. He has been drinking well and is alert, active – despite that leg(the one pad on the back of his leg is raw….the poor thing) and so affectionate!!!! He was a little bit nervous last night in the dark when first meeting Sean, yet quickly warmed up and came into the house with curious puppy abandonment! Only a couple of times has he exhibited some handshyness and he is VERY VERY VERY people oriented. Right now, he is lying behind my chair. He does not seem to fully understand the ‘comforts’ of the Kuranda bed and nor the soft doggie beds and we will work on that! I think I am in agreement with the first Vet who believes that his left front leg should be removed. It is not known if this is from something his previous owners did or from getting caught up in something himself; but the paralysis is very apparent and the muscle wasting going on is clear to anyone’s eyes. He lets me hold that leg, examine it and touch it all over and is not in any obvious discomfort and he likes to use that leg(he moves it from the shoulder) to ‘paw’ or ‘hook’ you for some loving or to get your attention. He is quite adept at moving around without that leg and it is very much a hindrance to him the way it is right now. I am not sure if hydrotherapy or Physio is going to help in his situation. There is a pulse, the leg and foot is warm, good circulation is happening yet he cannot utilize it. He is painfully thin, not neutered and that tail is nonstop wagging! He really needs a new collar and his body needs a lot more muscle. The Vet records state that he is about 63 pounds and I would like to see him closer to 80-85 right now. We are going to begin a fundraiser for Jax called ‘Jaxson’s Journey’; whereby any funds sent our way for Jax will be used for his Vet care. That leg amputation alone is going to cost thousands. AND for BHRR, rescuing is about helping that next one in need and he is just as deserving of a great forever home plus life as any other dog in need. BHRR’s Potter seems to instinctively know that Jax cannot quite play the way he should be able to and has been just magnificent to watch him interact with Jax. Parker on the other hand with those big ol’ clubs, is working on the ‘just a baby’ and ‘gentle’ words again when using those paws of his. I will update his blog as I can. I cannot wait for those attending our upcoming BHRR Mini Open House to meet him. He head and jowls on this boy are very irrisitable in addition to his charm AND he is just going to steal you right to heaven this one!!!!

UPDATE from Shelter on X-Rays taken today on Jax’s leg:

 So our vet today feels that perhaps there is some tendon or nerve damage causing him to not use the leg. She recommends physio at this point to see if his level of use increases. If not, amputation recommended. There is more detail in his medical record and as I mentioned I will send the xrays as well.
Thanks

We were contacted earlier this week about an ‘urgent’ ABD(American BullDog) in SWO that needed a Rescue. We waited to see if Bullies in Need could assist and when they responded saying sorry, that they were not in a position to help him; BHRR stepped up. With the help of two very wonderful BHRR Volunteers; BHRR’s Jax shall be here on Sunday night. It was most concerning to learn that our first message to our network asking for help with Jax was not received by many and yet our second request got through – thank goodness- and I have been working almost nonstop over the past 24 hours to try and save this boy. He will not be available for adoption anytime soon. Here is the information that was sent to us on this boy and I have posted two pictures of him below. The shelter is doing X-rays today and will let me know their findings. He is utd on shots and is on flea preventative. I do not know at this time if he is neutered.

Jax is a 9 month old American Bulldog, surrendered to by owners who only had him 1 month claim they do not have time to care for the dog. The dog presented here non weight bearing on the right front leg. After exam our vet feels there is paralysis of the nerve and thinks that amputating would be the best option for this dog (radial paralysis). However we are not equipped for this sort of surgery on such a large dog (65lbs and growing, very tall!).

The following is information from the previous owners:
– lived with a cat (in an apartment) was playful but could be rough
– seemed good with other dogs but did not live with any
– good with their 10 month old child
– had pancreatitis a few months ago on gastro diet
– housetrained
– was allowed to sleep on bed but was also crated when away
– seemed to bark a lot when no one home (neighbors told them)
– knows some basic commands

BHRR’s Jax – 9 month old American BullDog

For those not familar with the breed; here is some information on the American BullDog:

The American Bulldog is a loving gentle family companion, good with children and other pets, yet at the same time, fearlessly determined. It has been known to display heroic acts of courage in protecting its master.  Height: Males: 22 – 27 inches; Females: 20 – 25 inches. Weight: Male: 75 – 125 lbs.; Female: 60 – 100 lbs.

History/Origin:
Bulldogs in England were originally working dogs who drove and caught cattle and guarded their masters’ property. At one time, the breed was used in the grueling sport of bull baiting. With the outlawing of the sport in England in 1835, the original type of Bulldog disappeared from Britain and was replaced with the less athletic dog we now know as the English Bulldog. Yet the original Bulldog was preserved by immigrants who brought their working dogs with them to the American South. By the end of World War II, the last remnants of the working English Bulldog were disappearing in the U.S. Thanks to the breeding programs of John D. Johnson and Allen Scott, the breed was brought back from the brink of extinction. The American Bulldog was recognized by the United Kennel Club in 1999 in the rare, working class.  Information from bulldogbreeds.com