Buddy 17-157

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Buddy is a 10-year-old (born 9/13/07) Golden/Lab mix. He is a big guy and full of love! Buddy has a sad story. He was found abandoned in an apartment with a note saying his family moved away. Buddy is also blind and hard of hearing. He has some medical problems, but we now have some answers and he is responding to medications (read updates below for his progress). Buddy will need a physical fence or be on a tie-out because he is blind. Also, if he smells food, he will try and grab it, so we recommend a home with no young children. He is really a nice dog, very sweet and very easy to have around.

At a Glance #17-157

Mixed Breed Born: September 2007
Male 93 lbs

Status: Deceased

Buddy's Sponsors

Buddy's Well-wishers

Marsha M
"So glad you're with the RAGOM family! Hoping you find your forever family soon!"
Cindy G
"You are loved!"
Barb H

Profile

Buddy is a 10-year-old (born 9/13/07) Golden/Lab mix. He is a big guy and full of love! Buddy has a sad story. He was found abandoned in an apartment with a note saying his family moved away. Buddy is also blind and hard of hearing. He has some medical problems, but we now have some answers and he is responding to medications (read updates below for his progress). Buddy will need a physical fence or be on a tie-out because he is blind. Also, if he smells food, he will try and grab it, so we recommend a home with no young children. He is really a nice dog, very sweet and very easy to have around.

Updates

Thursday, October 12, 2017

With a heavy heart, I bring you the news that Buddy has passed away. 

On Friday, we went to the lake. We take our dogs and go weekly. Buddy was there many times. On Saturday morning, when we got up, his back leg was so swollen he could not walk. It was over twice the size of his other leg.

The picture shows how swollen his leg was.
The picture shows how swollen his leg was.

I  called around up north to find a vet to take him to. The closest place open was in Fargo. We decided by the time we got him there and then travel back to our cabin, it was probably best to just head home and have him seen by someone in the city. So that is what we did.

I took him to the emergency vet that we had been to before. They checked his blood and checked him over well. They said they thought he was having a blood clot in his leg. They sent me home with pain medication and to watch for any change. The hope was it would resolve itself. The only other medication they could give would be a blood thinner. That medication would not be a good choice for him with his other blood issues. One bump or stumble could cause him to bleed internally. 

On Monday, he had still not had any improvements, and his leg looked worse; he was in pain. It was decided that it would be best to let him go.

For the past two months, my life has revolved around Buddy. I was able to spend a lot of time with him. I work at home, so he was never alone. 

It doesn't matter how long these sweet souls are in our life--days, weeks, or years. You fall in love with them and want the very best for them.

He was deeply loved and will be missed.

Rest In Peace, my sweet boy.

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Buddy is doing well! He had another bloodwork checkup, and things are still in a holding pattern. We have reduced his medication again and will recheck his blood in a week. As he is slowly taken off of this medication, we need to watch for any signs of a relapse in his condition. When he started this medication (Prednisone), he was on two 20 mg tablets twice a day. Now he is taking 1/2 of a 10 mg tablet every other day. The reason we are going so slow is because we do not want to shock his system. This medication can also hurt the liver if taken for a long time. 

Buddy had a ultrasound done.  He had a couple of suspicious spots on his liver that could be hyperplasia that is common in older dogs, or lymphoma. They took a sample and sent it out for testing. It came back clean: he does not have lymphoma. We were very happy to get that test result back.

Buddy is a very happy, laid-back guy. We love having him at our home! He is a great houseguest. He is not demanding and really just likes to lay around. He goes outside to take care of his business and then wants to come right back in. 

Buddy has been here for almost 8 weeks. I have still not heard a bark out of him. In that 8 weeks, he has lost a lot of weight. He is down to 93 pounds. That is a total of 24 pounds since the time he came into rescue. He is looking good, and this may be a good weight for him. He is a tall, big-chested boy. Amazing what good food and some exercise can do! 

We will update again soon. 

Monday, September 18, 2017

Buddy had a great weekend! He spent it at the cabin. He enjoyed the nice weather and a long walk. He did great keeping up with the other dogs. He told me that next time we should not walk so far. Silly boy.

We celebrated Buddy's 10th birthday this week (9/13). Happy birthday, Buddy!

We would like to thank all the nice folks that posted a paw print on Buddy's page. He needs to get blood work weekly right now, and the cost can add up quickly. Thank you so much, Marsha, Cindy, and Barb!

Buddy has a recheck tonight (Monday). We will update again when we get his results.

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Buddy is doing great in his foster home. He gets along so well with the other dogs here. He is so laid-back and easy to have around. I still have not heard a bark out of him; he has been here for 7 weeks.

This past weekend, we went to Goldzilla. Such a great event, and Buddy spent almost all day there. We arrived very early in the morning (6:00 am)  to set up.  He did a lot of waking around and met lots of new people.  He was tired after that long day. He went home and crashed for the rest of the day.

Buddy's blood work continues to stay at a normal level. He is down to one half of a tablet of his Prednisone for twice a day. He will get rechecked on Monday. If everything looks good, we will reduce his amount again. Hopefully, he will be off this medication soon. This medication comes with some side effects. Dogs can become very thirsty; they need to urinate more often and they can do a lot of panting. Buddy has all of these side effects. He needs to go outside more frequently.  

He is totally house trained and has never had a accident in the house. He does not give any signal that he needs to go out. We let him out on a schedule and he does fine with that.  I do need to regulate his water intake, or he would drink forever if I let him. He will drink the bowl dry every time I fill it. I give him a glass of water at a time several times a day. That seams to be working well for him. 

Thanks for checking back to see how Buddy is doing! We hope he will be available for adoption soon. He would love to have his very own forever family.  

Thursday, September 7, 2017

Buddy is doing well! He is slowly backing off his medications, and his blood work is looking good. This will take some time, but we are getting closer.

He has started have interest in toys and bones.

When Buddy first came in, he weighed 117 pounds. At the vet yesterday, his weight was 96 pounds! He has some curves coming back to his body and is looking much healthier.

We are starting to think about what would be a good home for Buddy. He will fit into almost any situation. He is good on a tie-out and would like a yard. He would also fit in great as an apartment dog. He is a very quiet, low-energy dog.

Buddy is blind, and the smell of food gets him interested in what he is smelling. If he smells food or a treat, he will grab for it. Because he cannot see, he may grab a finger. For this reason, we do not want him to have small children in his home. He does well with kids and likes kids. Children old enough to know how to manage food and dogs would be good. When I give Buddy food or a treat, I set it down in front of him.

He is really a nice dog, very sweet and very easy to have around.

Buddy will be at Goldzilla this Sunday. If you would like to meet Buddy or any other fosters, come out and join us!

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Buddy is doing well! He spent last week with us at the lake. He had a good time. All the dogs were tired Sunday night after their week of vacation.

He is starting to respond to his medications, and his blood work is showing some improvements! He no longer has blood in his urine. We will continue to monitor his blood, and if things continue to improve, we will slowly start weaning him off.

I have slowly started letting him explore more of the house. He can maneuver around the main level pretty well now. We keep the basement stairs gated off so he will not fall down the steps. When he goes outside to take care of his business, there are four steps he needs to go down. He has learned to feel with his front paw to find the edge of the step before he starts down. He is a smart boy!

His weight is also getting into a normal range. He is down to 100 pounds. He has lost 17 pounds so far. He is looking better and getting his waste back.

Buddy does not play with toys or chew on bones. I keep offering them to him, but he has not been interested. Sunday he decided he would give a ball a try! He only played with it for a minute. Maybe he will learn to like it.

I will update again soon.

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Big Buddy 17-157 has been at our house for a week now. He is very sweet and big. He was 117 pounds when he came into the humane society. He is down to 105! A work in progress. He is a very quite dog, I have not heard him bark yet. The only noise I hear from him is snoring. He is also blind and hard of hearing.

Buddy has a sad story. He was found abandoned in an apartment with a note saying his family moved away. When he came in, he had blood in his urine and his blood platelets were low. We started treating his symptoms. At first, his platelets dropped more. They added more medicine, and finally on Friday, his blood work started looking more normal! He has a lot of pills to take each day. He will stay on the medication for a while, and then we will start backing off on it and see if he can keep everything in the normal range.

It appears he may have immune-mediated hemolytic anemia or immune-mediated hemolytic thrombocytopenia. It means his immune system destroys its own red blood cells. It is treatable! He is still having some blood in his urine, so he may need more testing to figure that out. I will update again soon as I work to get this boy healthy!