Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue, Inc.

During his exam, we discovered that he has fleas and horrible infections in his ears and one of his eyes. Dr. Landry says that he does not think that he is truly deaf because at least one of his ear drums is completely intact still. He also shows signs of partial hearing at least. The other ear is so infected that he can't tell much at this stage. His eye infection is pretty severe. His third eye lid is very swollen from the conjunctivitis and he can hardly open that eye.

We took x-rays which revealed that both of his back legs had indeed been broken and were poorly repaired. The one that is causing him the most pain has absolutely no socket and he cannot use it. There is no way to repair the leg and the only way to eliminate his pain would be through amputation. His other back leg has some arthritis, but Dr. Landry feels confident that he will be able to get around just fine on the remaining three legs. He also has horrible teeth. They are completely rotting and it is very painful for him to eat. He needs a dental as soon as possible.

We were sent home from the vet Monday night with an arsenal of meds to try and keep him comfortable before we can get him in for surgery. He was moaning in pain despite the morphine the first night, but he has since improved dramatically thanks to the medication and pain pills. We have to put ointment in his eye and clean his ears daily, which he doesn't especially like, but we have already seen much improvement in his spirits and energy level. He is getting around much better now on his own or with a little help from his foster parents, Chelsey and Ty.

We spoke to Marc at Deaf Dane Rescue and, after learning of our discoveries in regards to Sky, we decided it would be best for him to remain in our care for the rest of his road to recovery because he was in no shape to travel.

We have decided to rename him TJ to symbolize the start of his new life and we will be setting up surgery as soon as we can. TJ is the happiest guy you will ever meet and absolutely adores attention! His tail is wagging constantly and it is truly a miracle that he still loves people after all he has been through.

He is being such a trooper. He takes 6 pills twice a day, has his ears cleaned once a day, and ointment put in his eye 4 times a day.

Left:

Scar from a previous surgery

Below:

X-rays of TJ's hips

12/30/05

TJ underwent his first surgery yesterday at TLC. He had a dental and we were very happy to hear that he only had to have one extraction. Considering what his teeth looked like, that was truly a miracle. Dr. Landry did discover that he has a pretty bad gum disease and his gums were very swollen and irritated. He is on antibiotics which should help clear that up, but it is very painful for him right now. The cleaning went well and he should be feeling much better soon! He will need to get his sutures removed in 10-14 days.

Teeth Before (right)

Teeth After (Left)

01-04-06

TJ went to the vet today for a follow-up visit to recheck his eyes, ears, and legs.

His eye infection has cleared up, but his eye still droops as a result of facial nerve paralysis from the trauma of when he fell out of the truck.

His ear infection is also completely healed and they both look great. Unfortunately, we did determine that TJ is completely deaf. Even though his ear drums are completely intact and look normal, his hearing has not improved as we had hoped it would when the infection cleared up. This means that his lack of hearing is also closely related to his past trauma.

Dr. Landry has been closely monitoring his response to the pain medication for his legs. We have seen remarkable improvement since administering the pain meds, however, the muscles in his right leg have atrophied even further since his last visit. His left leg continues to get stronger which means that he is not using the right leg at all and it is just a dead weight at this point that is causing him pain.

We have decided that the best thing we can do for TJ at this point is to amputate his leg. His surgery has been scheduled for Tuesday January 17th.

01-17-06

TJ went in for surgery today and his leg was successfully amputated. Our very own board member, Chelsey Zimmerman, was able to scrub in and assist with the surgery and the rest of the board was also present to observe.

To prep TJ's leg for surgery, it was taped up while they shaved and scrubbed the area where they would be making the incision. The surgery took 2 hours total and they used a laser to cauterize as they went to prevent excess bleeding. They were careful to cut through muscle without damaging major vessels and tied off the vessels as they found them, so it was a very meticulous procedure.

Dr. Landry and Dr. Space, who was also there for the surgery, did an amazing job closing up the incision. TJ came through surgery well, but took a while to wake up from surgery. Dr. Landry used constant rate infusion to manage pain and cut back on the amount of anesthetic gas used. TJ's pain is being well managed and we are looking forward to a very smooth recovery.

He will spend the night at the hospital and should be allowed to return home tomorrow. Once he returns home, he will be walked with a harness to support his weight until he adjusts to walking on three legs. He should be fully recovered within 4-5 weeks!

01-18-06

Dr. Landry was at the hospital very late with TJ last night. He continues to amaze us with his sincere devotion and remarkable care of our Danes.

TJ was in a lot of pain this morning, so Dr. Landry put him back on fentanyl. He was trying to roll around quite a bit in his cage, causing some hemorrhaging at the incision site, so Dr. Landry also gave him some Ace Promazine to keep him calm and quiet.

He continues to be on IV antibiotics and Dr. Landry is keeping him as comfortable as possible to prevent bloat, which is certainly a high risk after a procedure like this one. We want TJ to be able to start eating on his own and taking oral antibiotics before he returns home, so we have decided it would be best for him to spend another night at the hospital.

TJ can't walk at all on his front feet or back feet at this time. He was towel walked outside by Dr. Landry and Onya today and they basically had to drag him along the entire trip. It is going to take a while for TJ to get his coordination back and he is going to require very special care and patience when he returns home to his foster home.

He has a long way to go, but he is very brave and we can see the desire to get better and start walking again in his eyes!

1-19-06

TJ had a rough night last night. He was thrashing around and trying to get up and he kept bumping his incision site, which caused quite a bit of hemorrhaging. Dr. Landry believes that he was in a state of dysphoria as a result of all of the medication he is on and was so worried about him that he spent the night at the hospital by his side.

This morning TJ is doing much better! He is back to his obnoxious self and barking for attention. He is also now eating on his own and happily scarfed down a bowl of canned food. The bleeding has slowed down significantly.This is definitely a step in the right direction and we are very excited about the improvement.

Dr. Landry plans to keep him at the hospital until he is able to walk a little better on his own and the bleeding has completely stopped. He is in very good hands and Dr. Landry will make sure he gets everything he needs until it is safe for him to return to his foster home.

1-20-06 10:25 am

Today is a good day! TJ has made a miraculous recovery and he is up walking around on his own!!! He doesn't even need towel walking and is holding his entire weight without a problem. TJ is also eating like a race horse and taking oral meds. He is oozing a little bit from his incision, but nothing to be concerned with. His scrotum is very swollen as a result of him struggling to get up the last couple days, so we will be keeping an eye on that and icing it to reduce the swelling. The bruising around the incision site is starting to look better and all in all he is an entirely different dog today. He is ready to take on the world! TJ will be coming home this afternoon.

1-20-06 6:42 pm

Chelsey and Lindsay went to pick up TJ from TLC this afternoon and were truly amazed as they watched TJ trot his way toward them to say hello. His tail was wagging so hard it practically knocked him off balance, but it was clear that he was one happy dog. Dr. Landry was also very proud of his patient as he showed him off. TJ is able to maneuver amazingly well on his own and only struggles a little bit with stairs. He still leans with his entire weight like the old TJ and just wants to be loved and petted. He slimed us with kisses and happily laid down in the back of the car for the trip back home. TJ is in wonderful spirits and we continued to be amazed at his strength and courage!

01-25-06 am

TJ had some complications from surgery. Ever since he got home, he has continued to ooze blood from his incision site, so we took him back to see Dr. Landry last night. After taking a look, he decided that we better open him back to to figure out what was wrong, so he spent the night at the hospital.

This morning TJ underwent another surgery. He was under anesthesia for about 30 minutes and the surgery was successful. Dr. Landry discovered some infection. He had become gangrenous and there was some necrotic tissue in one area as well. He cleaned him all up and put in a drain which he will need to have removed in a couple days.

TJ gets to come home tonight and is feeling much better now!

01-25-06 pm

Unfortunately TJ has had another setback. He started vomiting this morning and later in the afternoon he threw up a piece of a hard, plastic toy. Unfortunately, the vomiting continued even after that occurred, so Dr. Landry decided we better take some x-rays. The x-rays revealed a blockage pattern in his intestines so we believe he has something else lodged in there as well. TJ is going to have to stay the night. They have administered some ACE to keep him calm and fluids and they will see if there is any improvement or movement by morning. More than likely, TJ will have to go under again for another emergency surgery. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers!

01-26-06 am

TJ had a really long night last night. Dr. Landry is very much attached to him at this point and spent the night again with him at the hospital to monitor his condition!

He had an e-collar on all night to prevent him from licking at the incision. The scrotum looks pretty normal now and he is healing well from the surgery yesterday morning to remove the infection.

Unfortunately, his GI system is still very much inflamed. Dr. Landry took more x-rays this morning and there is still dilation in the small intestine. TJ continues to vomit and has started to vomit blood, indicating that he is probably starting to suffer from esophagitis. His platelets look okay and he is on some pretty potent antibiotics. He was on fluids through the night as well, but he has gotten worse instead of better and is really not doing well.

Dr. Landry is going to give him some barium. Barium wil l allow them to take x-rays and watch it go through his system so if there is something in there it will show us where it is located. We should know within a couple hours if he is going to have to do surgery to remove the foreign object. Please keep TJ in your thoughts and prayers!!!

01-26-06 pm

Today has been a long day of worrying and hoping for the best. The barium did progress its way completely through TJ's GI track, which was very encouraging and meant he did not require another surgery afterall. Sometimes barium can be very therapeutic for dogs as well, so hopefully it has given him some relief to his discomfort.

On a discouraging note, TJ is starting to show some signs of a Central Nervous System Disorder. He has always tilted his head in one direction which we originally thought may be partially related to his hearing loss and also related to his facial paralysis. Now, we aren't so sure because his eyes have been doing some strange things today as well.

TJ suffered a small seizure in the back yard area of TLC this afternoon when he went outside to potty. He dropped to the ground and his eyes shook from side to side which is indicative of neurological problems. Dr. Landry is hopeful that the seizure was simply a result of all of the stress he has been under. If this is the case, it is possible that this is not something we will have to worry about long term.

At this point, all we can do is send lots of healing thoughts TJ's way and hope for continued improvement. Dr. Landry will more than likely be spending the night at the hospital again with TJ to monitor his condition. He will update us in the morning.

01-27-06

Dr. Landry gave TJ some Valium and he slept fairly peacefully throughout the night.

TJ has a lot of things working against him right now and we are starting to have some pretty serious concerns about quality of life...

He is suffering from Canine Vestibular Disease which more than likely was caused by an inner ear infection in his case, judging by the condition of his ears when he arrived in rescue. The vestibular nerve controls movement and this is part of why TJ is struggling so much to get up and down and walk around. The fact that he only has use of three legs for balance to begin with, obvious makes this condition even more disturbing and he falls often. Vestibular disease is treated with antibiotics and is sometimes able to be resolved and sometimes not. We are doing everything we can, but only time will tell.

His clinical signs are also consistent with trauma and he cont inues to suffer from a head tilt and facial paralysis which make him drool excessively when he eats and drinks and causes him discomfort. This will unfortunately always affect TJ.

The fact that he is deaf is also contributing to his state of complete confusion about what is going on right now. He is barking excessively and pretty frantic in his kennel if he isn't sedated.

Dr. Landry says he just does not look happy right now and he is suffering. If we don't see some very serious improvement over the weekend, he will have to recommend euthanasia because it simply is not right to let him suffer too much longer. Dr. Landry is treating TJ very aggressively with pain meds, antibiotics, and fluid therapy in hopes that this will not be the case, but we may be nearing the end of TJ's journey unless there is a major miracle soon. Dr. Landry thinks of TJ as his own dog right now and this is devastating news for us all.

01/27/06 pm

TJ has definitely improved throughout the day. Lindsay and Hillary visited him this evening and were pleasantly surprised with the alert and happy TJ who greeted them. TJ came walking out to the lobby very well balanced and his tail was going crazy in excitement. His attitude has certainly changed since this morning and there is a glimmer of hope now!

He has lost some weight over the last week, but today he has started to have an appetite. He has not vomited at all since 4:00am two nights ago, which are both really good signs. He is in desperate need of a bath with vomit and urine on him, but he didn't seem to care and was just happy to get some attention. TJ gave Lindsay a big old slimey kiss on the face to say goodbye!

01-30-06

TJ continued to improve over the weekend. Dr. Landry brought TJ to make a surprise appearance at the volunteer meeting on Sunday evening and everyone was thrilled to see him! Unfortunately, TJ did start to vomit, which we believe is probably related to some vet wrap he ate while chewing out his catheter earlier in the day.

TJ went back to TLC last night and will remain there for another day or two until Dr. Landry is confident it is safe for him to come home. We are very encouraged by the fact that he has made a complete turnaround since earlier this week when things were looking really grim. TJ is a trooper, so this minor setback is nothing in his book!

2-01-06

TJ finally returned home to his foster home last night! He was very excited and unfortunately did throw up a little shortly after his arrival. We were a little concerned, but we suspect TJ may have an ulcer and all the excitement probably just got to him. He did hold down his pills and there was no more throwing up throughout the night, luckily.

TJ is on high doses of antibiotics and pain meds as well as Prylosec to keep him from getting an upset stomach. Antibiotics can cause ulcers, but there is obviously no way we can take him off the antibiotics right now. In addition to his many pills, Chelsey is also doing regular Betadine dips on his incision to ensure it does not get infected.

Chelsey works at a vet, so she decided to take him to work with her today so that he can be closely monitored throughout the day. Overall, our boy is doing extremely well and we expect a full recovery!

02-02-06

It is with a very heavy heart that I am writing to let you all know that TJ's journey came to an end today. TJ crossed the bridge with Lindsay, Lori, and Chelsey present, as well as Dr. Landry and Onya. TJ was having a hard time keeping food and water down and was regurgitating. After taking some x-rays, we found out that TJ had a stricture of his esophagus which also caused him to suffer mega-esophagus. Between these issues and his neurological issues and vestibular disease, there was nothing more we could do for him without causing him more pain and stress. The only other option for him would have been to put a scope down his throat and place a balloon in his esophagus to correct the stricture. It was definitely not a sure fix, and we all felt confident that we had done everything for TJ that we could do and he did not deserve to suffer further. We will all miss his spirit and wagging tail. TJ was surrounded by lots of positive energy and we can all take comfort in the fact that he was very loved and cared for while he was with us. Thank you all for your prayers, good thoughts, and help with TJ. He will truly be missed!