The Tail of Sir's Dental....

Today's vet visit was one that we left both feeling happy and wanting to go on a headhunt.

Stinky Sir the ancient Chi got to go in for a dental today. He lost 6 of his 8 teeth, but overall did well. He's home, getting LOTS of extra cuddles and enjoying a dinner of pureed Edgar rice.

If you just want the happy part, stop here.
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We had x-rays done that revealed some really shocking things about Sir, and his history. The last set of x-rays we had done revealed Sir's formerly broken jaw and the missing part of his lower jaw bone. Those were taken with him laying on his back.

This set were taken laying on his side, and we found that he's lost quite a bit more jawbone over the two years since his last set of films. A portion of his remaining jaw may need to be removed if the bone doesn't fill back in a bit.

That wasn't the most ?!?!! worthy part of the film. At some point before he came to live with us Sir suffered a severely fractured skull (the fractures appear on both sides of his head, clustered on the side of his skull with extension to the ocular socket on one side), separation of his spinal column just below his skull and a break in his neck at the C6 and C7 vertebrae, resulting in those vertebrae fusing together. Everything is long since healed, except the separation, and none of it slows him down. We'll have to be careful of his jaw and the spinal separation though... Both could break easily and in a very bad way.

The worst part? Someone had to have done it to him somehow, intentionally or through negligence. The skull fractures are the result of pressure being applied to both sides of the skull. Being hit by a car in a manner that would have created those injures would have killed him. It makes me wish I knew who his previous owners were so I could..... discuss....... the issue with them.

Our vet's comment? "I really don't see how he's alive and thriving... but he's one of your dogs, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

Mr. Sir... you may have had a hard life, but we hope we're making up for it now

Cleo the Fat Pug

 

Been trying to get some pictures of dogs that you generally don't get to see.... And so I would like to introduce Cleo.
Miss Cleo was abandoned at Purcell Animal Welfare, and Purcell called us to come get her and Harry Houndini.
Miss Cleo... is an absolute love, who is still learning that she can ask for attention.
She's also massively obese. She came into the Sanctuary at 33 pounds and has lost 6 pounds so far. We've been careful about cutting back on her food as she has some food anxiety and we don't want her to feel too deprived.
She also has neurological issues that impact her rear end, causing her to have some difficulty walking. It doesn't slow her down much and as she loses weight she's getting more mobile. She will always have trouble walking and some day may need a cart.
And last but not least she has a potential mass. It may be a fatty tumor or it may just be a fat mass due to the massive obesity. Once she's trimmed down a bit more we will evaluate the mass and take any necessary action.