Steeley – June 27th, 2014

Steeley is a 2 1/2 year English Bulldog. In his/her previous life she was known as Lily. Why the sexual confusion? Lily/Steely is possibly a hermaphrodite. Further information on this will be forthcoming after he has been evaluated by our vet. For now we are typing him a male since his features are very masculine… a penis was a big clue.

Background story: Steeley was saved from being PTS (by her breeder) because she was a hermaphrodite. Her family loved her enough to have her undergo exploratory surgery and be neutered. At some point over the last year, her place in the family changed and she was chained outside. For the last 6 months she lived outside constantly, because the owners just weren’t “dog people.” A concerned friend contacted a family member ,who had recently lost their bulldog, about Steely’s living conditions. Even though the family weren’t ready to have a new dog in their lives, they couldn’t leave Lily/Steeley in those living conditions. They took Steeley home and contacted GEBR.

Foster parents (Lance and Hope) along with new foster brother Magnus say Steeley has good behavior and high energy. He will undergo a complete vet evaluation along with heart-worm check and vaccinations.

Update:

After vet evaluation, it has been recommended that we take Steeley to the UGA vet school for further evaluation.  His/her anatomy is very very irregular and past medical and surgical history is sketchy.  His personality is absolutely fantastic.  I’ve had to perform some uncomfortable procedures on Steeley over the last few weeks and he’s never shown a hint of aggression.  He gets along well with the other dogs, though is a bit too exuberant at times, particularly with our more frail house guests. He’s so happy to have a full tummy, a soft place to sleep and no urinary tract infection!!!  Because of his unusual anatomy, he is prone to recurrent Urinary Tract Infections.  Hopefully UGA vet school will be able to help us in this area and make UTI’s a thing of the past.

Update:

Steeley is in a new foster home after being with me for a few weeks.  He is a terrific boy.  We have gone 3 weeks without a bladder infection with a few simple cleaning techniques after potty.  He’s now living with three other dogs and doing very very well.  Foster Mommy Jennifer and Daddy Emory have already taken him on a trip to South Georgia to meet the rest of his foster family.

Update:

Steeley has been a sweetie letting us clean his wrinkles and ears.  He doesn’t even mind a warm bath.  We tried to do his nails the other day, but he got really scared, so we’re going to try a little more each day.  He takes his pills like a pro and hasn’t had a single accident.  Honestly, you couldn’t ask for a better dog.  He loves wrestling with Lilli and playing keep away with Baxter and the Nylabones.  Needless to say, he fits in very well with our little family.  We were mostly worried about Benny our doxie, but he has warmed up to Steeley as well.  (As much as he can warm up to a d-o-g.)  All 4 of them snuggle on the couch every morning.  The first night, we had to put Steeley in his crate as we discussed, but he relaxed the next night and has been sleeping with us ever since.  He doesn’t like to sleep on the bed, but I push the ottoman right next to the bed and he likes to be right next to us.

I think Steeley has put on a few pounds.  He grazes with the food like the other dogs, but when we went to Emory’s parents, the dogs were treated to sausage from the butcher and steak for Christmas dinner.  He’s been doing very well with his bowel movements and everything seems to be very regular.  He really is a wonderful dog.

Update:

Steeley attended our  bulldog meet up in January.  This boy has blossomed!!!!!  He brought his foster sister Lily along, too.  Steeley plays well with others, not a hint of trouble at the meet up.  He looks awesome.  Gone is the skinny boy, he looks just like all the other bullies in the pack.

Update:

Steeley had his evaluation at UGA vet school, last week.  He was the star of the show with his own paparazzi.  Steeley has a condition called hypospadius, sever in his case.  This is a congenital abnormality of the urinary tract and can be seen in hermaphrodism.  We need to do some genetic studies to see if Steeley actually is an hermaphrodite and then proceed accordingly.  If he’s an hermaphrodite, we will need to perform an abdominal ultrasound to see if there is a uterus present.  If there is, he will have the uterus removed and the hypospadius corrected enough to prevent recurrent UTI’s.  He will also need palette surgery. This is estimated to cost at least $2500.00.  If he’s male only, then hypospdius repair and palette surgery at a cost of $1800.00.  We are a small rescue who has been overwhelmed with the number of dogs we have had to take in surrender.  From the beginning we have all felt like we are trying to catch up.  This is a large sum of money, money that frankly do not have.  We have taken in 9 dogs in Jan and Feb. Can you find it in your heart and pocket book to help us raise the money to give Steeley the life he deserves?

Update:

Doing very well from a medical standpoint.  We are doing genetic testing at UC Davis, this takes 3-5 weeks to complete, then off to surgery!!!!

Update:

Steeley looks wonderful in blue.  That’s right, we got the karotyping back from California and Steeley is a bouncing baby boy!!!!  He is scheduled for surgery at the University of Georgia Vet School on July 8th.  We continue to need funds to help defray the cost of his surgery so that we can continue to provide care for our other dogs in rescue.  If you’d like to help with the cost of Steeley’s surgery please donate through one of the many donation widgets throughout the site.  Every little bit helps.

 

 

June 27, 2014: Our precious Steeley (GEBR alum) passed in his sleep early Friday morning.  Steeley came into rescue our very first year and was one of our earliest challenges.  Steeley had severe hypospadius (where the bladder opening isn’t where it’s supposed to be) and quite an undertaking for a fairly new rescue with very limited funds.  But thanks to THE BULLY BALL we were able to treat Steeley’s congenital …malformation to the best of our ability.  Although he suffered from repeated bladder infections because his urethral opening was so very close to his rectum, we were able to move it away a few millimeters to decrease those infections a bit.  Steely was adopted to Larry and Mary nearly 4 years ago.  Mary and Larry faced Steeley’s bladder and bowel challenges and with the help of their vet were actually able to improve his quality of life tremendously.  Mary credits Steeley with saving Larry’s life last year during a heart crisis.  Shortly thereafter, Steeley developed his own heart condition,  an irregular heart beat.  With medical treatment, they were able to stabilize his condition…but couldn’t cure it.
Steeley died peacefuly in his sleep with his momma, his protector and biggest champion,  right beside him.
Please keep Mary, Larry and Heidi(Steely’s fursister) in your thoughts and prayers as they travel through their grief.
Rest in Peace precious boy.