5/7/13: Meet Truman, a 4 year old emergency owner surrender. He has demodex mange that was first documented as wide spread in 2010 and doesn’t seem to have been completely treated. Now, he also has a bacterial and yeast infection on top of the mange. His ears are terribly infected and he appears to have dry eye.
He was transported to Riverside Animal Hospital (Thank GOD for Dr. Ross and staff for their desire to help the bulldogs). We will have more information and photos later.
Update 6/7/13: Truman was moved to his foster home on Saturday but went back to the vet on Monday. He had a bad reaction to the antibiotics he was taking for his ears. Unfortinely this is one of the only antibiotics that we think his ear infection will not be resistant too. He spent two nights at the vet and then went back to his foster home On Wednesday with new meds. Hopefully they will do the trick. He does however now have an upper respiratory infection on top if his horrible ear and skin infections. He is going to visit with Dr Ross on Saturday for an antibiotic shot that should hopefully clear up the upper respiratory infection.
Update 7/3/13: Truman had a consult with Dr Duval at GVS for his ears. It looks like we will need to move forward with total ear ablation surgery. We also discovered that he has two retained testicles. She will attempt neuter during ear surgery if there is enough time. If not he will have to go back another time for neuter. He will also have a visit with the dermatologist prior to his surgery with Dr Duval next week.
Poor guys can not catch a break! Please keep him in your thoughts.
Update 7/10/13: Truman had his consult with Dr Shick the dermatologist. He tested positive for demodectic mange, bacteria and yeast infections. He was scheduled to have ear ablation surgery tomorrow but the doctors want to treat the mange and infections first. He will go back in 3-4 weeks for a check up. If all looks good then he can have my ear surgery at that time. He will get allergy testing done then too.
Update 8/7/13: Truman has his follow up with the dermatologist. He does still have mange but a lot less mites then he had a month ago. We are going to move forward with ear ablation surgery tomorrow as planned and continue to treat the mange.
Update 8/8/13: Truman went in for total ear ablation surgery today. He had total ear ablation on both sides, had his palate shortened and nostrils widened. There was not enough time for neuter and we decided to hold off on the allergy testing for now.
Update 8/9/13: Truman had some swelling on one side of his head and blood dripping from his drainage tube. We took him back to GVS for observation. He is staying at GVS for observation but he is going to be just fine! Just a hematoma; the blood is draining out as it should. Typically they would bandaged his head after ear surgery but she did not since he had palate surgery too (bandage would have been wrapped around his head and could have caused restriction on his throat). If he was bandaged we may not have noticed the hematoma and not have panicked. But he will have 24 hour care and kept comfy at the hospital!
Update 8/12/13: Truman had his drains removed and went back to his foster home. He is will have another check up with the dermatologist in four weeks. We will move forward with neuter when he is cleared for it by the doctors.
Update 9/11/13: Truman had his follow up with Dr Schick today and he tested negative for mange! He will stay in ivermectin for two months. He will also stay on two antibiotics for his skin for one month. He is skin is looking much better but it is not perfect yet!
He also had a consult with Dr Cross. He has arthritis in his left elbow and will begin pain management meds today.
Now he is on his way to Dr Ross’s now so he can be neutered and have allergy testing done tomorrow. Since his testicles have not “dropped” his neuter will be a little different and a little more painful than a regular neuter. But Truman is a TUFF guy and he can handle anything! Please keep him in your thoughts tomorrow.
Update 10/12/13: Truman has been adopted! He has three kids to play with and a new dad that will love him forever. Congrats Truman and Duroncher family!
Update 8/19/14: It really sucks when you adopt a rescue bully into a home that you thought was going to do right by him/her only to find out they had failed him/her. It does not happen often but when it does it is heartbreaking to us. A few months back we found ourselves in this very situation. We received a call from the person that adopted Truman last year. His reason for wanting to return him was that he had become aggressive. But the truth behind his “aggression” was that the adopter let him gain 13 pounds and he was overweight and uncomfortable, he stopped giving him is joint supplements and arthritis pills causing him additional pain, he stopped giving him his eye drops causing discomfort in his eyes, and never bothered to teach him how to live life as a “hard of hearing” dog since he lost most of his hearing after his double total ear ablation surgery. These are all the things he promised he would do for Truman to give him the best life possible.
Of course we welcomed Truman back into our rescue program and placed him in a foster home with Christa and Alan. We knew it would be a difficult journey to get Truman back to the dog he needed to be but that they would be able handle it. We also brought in a behavior specialist to help us transition Truman into his new life. Christa and Alan came up with a strict routine and Truman caught on. Not to say that it has not been a struggle for everyone on some days but Truman has come a long way over the past few months. He is back on all of his medications, he is on a weight loss plan and he loves his foster brother Chase, and his foster parents.
One thing Truman does not like is change! Any change in his routine or scenery sets him back. With that being said we have decided that Truman will never have to experience change again. He will remain a part of GEBR as a permanent foster and he will spend the rest of his days with Christa, Alan and Chase. We are forever grateful to them for opening their hearts and home to Truman and for taking a chance on him.
July 27, 2021 – Truman crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. Please keep his family in your thoughts.
Rest In Peace Truman
SPONSORS:
L Callahan
click photos to enlarge
