Sunday, July 6, 2008

Cagney part 2

So, this is the way cagney has to eat everyday. And then he has to sit for 15 minutes so the food stays down. He has no muscle tone in his esophagus so food won't stay in if he doesn't hang out in his little high chair and let it settle in his tummy. He weighs 60 pounds now and is a miracle dog of love.

Xxm

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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cute puppy, glad he has a human that adapts for him.

:)

July 6, 2008 at 7:03 PM
Connie said...

that is beutiful, puppy love is worth every bit of it

July 6, 2008 at 8:55 PM
KCmustang said...

awe...what a handsome poochy boy... i can't believe he will stay in high chair...miracle indeed! i love shepards...such loyal bundles of love!

good to see your day got better!

July 6, 2008 at 9:08 PM
Girl on a road said...

So here's the deal about the dog...I adopted him from a shelter, and his health issues were either not known (VERY hard to believe, since he threw up EVERY TIME he ate...I mean - you can't imagine how much barfing was going on....I would be on my hands and knees, scrubbing the floor....and he would be 5 feet away, puking some more) or just not disclosed.

Vets are taught that this is a very rare condition (called mega-esophagus), and that they probably won't ever see it in their practices - but if they do, the dog won't live long anyway, so recommend euthanasia.

Our vet totally followed this line of thinking. He did what he learned in school.

The thing with this condition is that the food just never makes it to the belly....it gets swallowed and then sits in the open-tube-like esophagus (because it's horizontal when you're a dog) until whenever....so he wasn't vomiting (i.e., no wretching or warning)....he was regurging. Totally different.

After spending a period of days (like 4 - a long weekend) crying a lot and agonizing over the decision, it seemed to me that it would be a long, cruel death if I couldn't find a way to get him nourished....so I accepted euthanasia as a possibility, but one I would consider only after I had done research.

I "googled" megaesophagus and found a support group on Yahoo of all places. There is a TON of info out there....with evidence pointing towards dogs living long healthy and relatively normal lives with elevated feedings with various textures and frequencies. So I sent away for directions for the high chair.

Life improved for all of us once we knew what the problem was and started managing it.

The main lesson about our "adaptation" is this:

We get what we get in life. It was HUGELY metaphorical for me to NOT give up on myself....just because I "got" something that, given a choice, I probably would not have picked.

So, in the same way....it turned out that the dog has a condition that I probably wouldn't have chosen.

So....yeah, he's lucky to have humans that have adapted to him....but honestly, I feel lucky to have had this experience. He has gotten to live a pretty damn good life....and, so have I. It's like symbiosis that way.

July 6, 2008 at 9:27 PM
Anonymous said...

Love the story, glad it worked out for everyone involved. I have a little story of my own about my tomcat.

I was living in Ohio going to grad school and living outside of town on a farm. I would drive home late from the studio at night in the dark and I would often see glowing eyes that I would slow down for to allow them to cross (deer, skunk, raccoon, wild cats) and I saw a set of eyes as I was driving down the street. It was a warm fall day and I slowed down knowing the animal would move when I got close enough, but it didn't and I slammed on my breaks and stopped. It was a little lion looking kitten, longhaired tan and stripped, with big feet and a head that looked as though it was not made for the animal wearing it. He didn't even try to run away, so I thought, this must be fait and I took him home.

My girl cat was very territorial, but he made all her advances into a game, and so I called him Eros, because in the end I hoped, and now know they would get one well with one another even if their beginning was difficult. Like Psyche and Eros, though that story is a bit different.


:)

July 6, 2008 at 10:33 PM
KCmustang said...

A M, i am sure Cagney recognized a guardian angel when he saw one! There are no coincidences... both my dogs have been adopted (and came with undisclosed health issues) but I have had great lessons of love and acceptance even during the trying times. Thank god for the internet... I have a golden and had a shepard mix who was the sweetest best dog couldn't imagine my life without him. Thanks for sharing.... i just love the picture in the chair, adaptation!

July 6, 2008 at 11:11 PM
megster said...

these are wonderful stories, so much given and received..my friend was also faced with the prospect of having to put down a pup who was born with a cleft palate...funny enough the answer for him was also found on the web...and with a bit of clever management and lotsa patience he and his owner are madly happy with each other...

July 7, 2008 at 2:58 AM

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