I adopted a beautiful golden boy from a rescue 2 ½ years ago. He will be six this May. This is Xander's story...
He was purchased from a breeder by a family who wanted a dog. They brought him home and loved him but they did not have a fence. As he grew up he was a typical golden boy who wanted to run and play. He loved chasing the wildlife and unfortunately, cars. Before his first birthday he was hit by a car. Because the family did not have a fence, he was hit again by a car. This time he suffered un-repairable damage. He was unable to lift his tail to use the bathroom. He was also randomly dropping excrement. This wonderful puppy was banished to a run under the deck of the house.
The family had his tail amputated so that they would not have to clean him up as much. He was left there many days. Xander did not know what he did wrong. He went from being a loved member of the household to being an outdoor dog. He was just a typical golden who loved life and loved to run as all goldens do. All of this happened in the first 2 years of this beautiful boy’s life.
Shortly after his second birthday he was released to rescue. The rescue spent a lot of money to determine what was causing him to drop poop. They could not find anything. They did discover that he was allergic to corn. If fed anything with corn in it he had horrible diarrhea. Those who have dogs know how bad that can be- now imagine a dog who has no bowel control with diarrhea! He was finally placed in a home and after a month was returned. In November I went to meet this boy. What a cute guy. He walked over to me and sat on my foot. I was sold. He came home and I never knew what I was getting ready to embark on.
For the first month, he had diarrhea. It was all over my carpets, my walls, furniture. We finally visited the vet who decided he had a nervous stomach. Imagine that. The poor boy had been in 4 homes (he was in a foster home) within 3 months. So we got medication and began to work on the nerves. What a sweet lovable boy he turned into. He loves all people and loves to lean against you. He will push his way in for attention and just can’t seem to get enough. He loves his other canine siblings and loves to go to daycare. I had to wipe him after using the bathroom like a child but no big deal. So a bad start in life leads to happy ending, right? Wrong.
Several months ago he started to have more problems. He started a medication which seemed to really help the random droppings since they had been progressively getting worse. Then we went back to the vet again. He was urinating in the house. He could not wait to get outside before going. He always walked and peed, but never inside to the extent that was happening. They did X-rays and found out that he actually severed his spinal cord. Now, after so long there was an explanation for all of his problems. Somehow that was never noticed before. We started him on a urinary incontinence medicine. Shortly after starting it he had a urinary tract infection. He has had 2 infections since December.
In January, a new problem arose. He spent 3 days at the emergency vet with an impacted bowel. The new medicine that seemed to be helping was working too well. After he was released we visited the neurologist. Because his problems seemed to be worsening, my vet thought it was time to seek out the advice of a specialist. The neurologist had little in the way of suggestions. He did not know if it could worsen. Arthritis was a very good possibility earlier in life but that was the only definite with my beautiful Xander. So we went home with little insight except to hope everything was behind us and we would just deal with the current problems.
Unfortunately in March he became impacted again. Two more days at the emergency vet. After he got better, my vet and I had a long conversation about his life expectancy. He will be impacted again. The next option is a very expensive medication. It may or may not work. It is extremely painful to see a vibrant and enthusiastic dog in that much pain. He currently is on a special diet, pumpkin with every meal, and urinary incontinence medicine. I am hopeful that the next medical need he has is old age.
However the truth is that my beautiful, vibrant, enthusiastic, happy go lucky, loves everyone golden retriever who hasn’t had his fifth birthday yet probably will not live to see his sixth birthday. All because his original owner did not have a fence. The medical expenses for this boy reach into the thousands in his short life but remember he is a lucky boy – at least he did not die before his first birthday without the fence!
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