Buddy Zito the Wonder Dog

Wednesday night was day two of Home Obedience I for Buddy and I.  My daughter went along, as well.  He did fantastic!  Well, if you don’t count the barking and lunging at other dogs.

He learned and seemed to master the “down.”  We worked on “sit,” “down,” sit,” and “stand,” and by the end of class he was rockin’ it!  Samantha practiced with him today, and he was still doing great, so it seems to have “stuck.”  Go Buddy!  (We don’t need to tell anyone this is your 2nd time through class, now, do we?)

Buddy’s unpredictable around other dogs when he’s on leash.  The instructors there and the vet say this is because he wasn’t socialized as a pup.  So we’ve signed him up for — don’t laugh — dog playgroup to be around other dogs.  He likes other dogs and wants to play, but lunging and barking (the only time he barks.  Hello, I almost missed the pizza man tonight, Buddy!!) doesn’t make us friends.  Our first playgroup is tomorrow night.  I’m kinda excited.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

Joe took Buddy to the vet to have the bump between his toes examined.  Turns out it is an air-filled cyst.  The vet “popped” it with a syringe and cleaned it.  He told Joe that some bacteria breeds gas.  He also said the sooner we do the amputation, the better off Buddy will be.  Buddy now has two sores on his foot and is obviously in pain.

In less than an hour after returning home, the cyst (or whatever it is?!) filled up with air again!  The vet said we can pop it ourselves, but whenever I even get close to his paw, Buddy pulls away.  He has even started to lick it, which is unusual — he normally leaves his paw alone.  As I’ve said before, he is very stoic and seems to take the injury on the bottom of his foot in stride.   This new “owie” must really hurt.  We are giving him pain meds to help with the pain.

No more waiting.  It’s time to schedule the surgery to amputate his leg.  I would prefer the kids be gone during the day right after the surgery; while they are excellent nurses, they aren’t the quietest kids in the world!  And Buddy deserves as much peace and quiet as he needs right after the procedure.  I had wanted to take a family vacation around the 4th of July, but it looks like this needs to take precedence.  There will be plenty of opportunities for vacations when we have a healthy dog.

I’ve read and been told that when a dog requires a leg amputation, it’s best to take “the whole thing.”  So it threw me when the vet suggested he not remove Buddy’s shoulder blade, and leave part of his leg.

I posted a question on the Tripawd discussion boards and received some great feedback, so I can have a more educated discussion with the vet.  Unfortunately, it looks like we’ll need to call him today; Buddy has a cyst on his foot that is getting bigger and obviously causing him some pain.  Can’t this guy get a break?

We started Round 2 of Obedience School last week.  We completed Home Obedience I already, but I felt we needed to re-do the class!   My mild-mannered Buddy was barking, ignoring me, and generally not paying any attention to anything I wanted him to do.  Do they have doggie Ritalin??  We worked on “sit” last night, and with treats in my hand, he is golden.  He’s starting to “get” the “down,” but I’m not sure he’ll ever master “stay.”

I have dreams of Buddy being a therapy dog, especially as a tripawd.  He has such a gentle soul!  Guess I have some work to do!

So I’ve been looking for ways to fund Buddy’s surgery because it’s going to be a stretch for us financially.  The vet has already been more than generous, charging us a lower amount for the two surgeries and charging us only every third visit for bandage changes — and then, only for the supplies, not an office call.  We’ll find a way, and Buddy will get the care he needs, but it’s got me a little stressed out.

I read about some scholarship funds, which are terrific.  I had no idea such funds existed — if we don’t qualify, at least I know they are there so I can refer other folks who may!  Joe works with homeless people, many of whom have dogs they don’t want to give up, and these resources will come in handy.

We applied for Care Credit, which (we think)  is an interest-free credit card for medical expenses, including veterinary care.  I’ve also been in touch with a few organizations that may have funding available for us.  And I created a page for people to donate.  Feels strange to me, as I know there are much more important things to give our money to — people who are homeless, kids who go hungry, and other social service agencies that serve the poor.  But then I figured, what the heck.  So many people I know have been moved by Buddy’s story.  The link is here:  http://www.giveforward.com/buddyssurgeryfund

We’re also selling items on ebay and books on Amazon and half.com.  And tightening our belts.  As I said, he’ll get the care he needs.  If anyone else has creative ides, please let me know!

For the past few days Buddy has been chewing his paw. Now, normally he leaves his injured paw alone, so this is odd behavior. Yesterday we noticed a large bump forming between two of his toes, and this morning it was larger and redder.
I called the vet this am, and he said it’s further evidence of Buddy’s body trying to fight the foreign object and infection in his body.
Prescription: Twice-daily foot soaks in epsom salts, try to pop the boil-like bump, and call Monday morning. Yuck.
As always, Buddy’s a trooper. He reluctantly let me soak his foot twice today, and he’s currently watching the kids play outside as I type. What a good boy.

I’m already trying to plan for the surgery, so I posted on my Facebook that I want to buy an elevated feeding dish, pet stairs and a dog crate.  A FB friend posted that she will give me an elevated feeding dish, and my friend in MN is going to send her dog crate down to IA with her family in a few weeks. How cool is that?!?

I also posted on Craigslist that I am looking to purchase these items (as well as the Ruff Wear harness and lifejacket) for my dog who will have surgery.  A stranger e-mailed me that she has pet steps she will give me for free!  I’m picking them up today.

And, of course, there are people here who have offered their “hellos” and support.

What a nice bunch of folks dog lovers are, eh?

We adopted Buddy, a yellow lab, through the Humane Society in Waterloo, Iowa.  We’d been looking for a 2nd dog, as our dog Max, is 14 (he has since been diagnosed with liver cancer), and he fits into our home just right!

Buddy’d come into rescue with his front right paw the size of a pancake, we were told.  He had a puncture wound on the bottom of his paw and was missing part of the pad.  The wound site was almost closed, and we only needed to wrap it to keep dirt and such out.  When I took him to our local vet for the first check-up home, they suggested surgery to remove all the scar tissue.  He ended up needing two surgeries.  The after-care was overwhelming at times, but he was a trooper, as were the kids (10 and 11), who helped soak his foot, change the dressings, take him out on a leash, and keep him quiet (he wasn’t supposed to move much, so he could heal.)

The wound has never healed, and we recently went to a specialist for a 2nd opinion.  She, too, said this wasn’t looking good.  It’s a fistula — a drainage tract with a foreign object somewhere in Buddy’s foot or leg.  She can inject dye into the tract to see if she can find the object (she said this has worked 2 out of 20 times in her 16 years of experience), then operate to remove it.  If the dye does not identify the object, she can do an exploratory surgery to find the object, but the fistula often returns.  The next step is amputation.

I spoke with our vet yesterday, and he recommended amputation.  Buddy has been through enough — dealing with months of pain and trying to heal, and who knows how long he had this injury before he came into rescue??  He has suggested that we do a non-scapular amputation, so I’m reading up on that.

He is currently on an antibiotic, as the site is infected.  He is also on a pain med PRN.  He wears a cute little boot when we go out, but overall he is stoic and doesn’t let it bother him — he’s a typical lab and great family dog.

I suppose I’ll use this blog to write about our journey.  And if folks want to read and comment, that’s cool.