This is the story about a dog who went from only days left to live to living his best days. Yavapai Humane Trappers Animal Search and Rescue (YHT) was contacted by a concerned dog lover, Bailee Dorris, asking if we knew of a rescue down near Tucson that could help a dog whose eyes were swollen shut and who was imbedded with cactuses that had appeared on her mother’s property in their desert community.
That morning, YHT reached out to a couple of rescues and contacted PACC to track down help. By that afternoon, we were told that PACC had picked up the dog and everything was fine. The following morning Bailee’s mother called and informed us that the dog was still there and hiding behind cars and trailers and discarded items in this largely rural area. We sadly learned that Animal Control picked up a different dog.
So YHT reached out to a couple more rescues who were not able to respond. With the usual, just get-er-done attitude, our trappers felt that they needed to go and go now so they dropped everything without even taking any change of clothes, and off they went in the Princess Warrior Van! By the time he was located, Titan was lethargic and having seizures. They got him in the van and had to travel 23 miles to the nearest emergency vet clinic and along the way they sang to him the whole time to try and keep his spirits up. They had no idea if he was going to be gone by the time they got to the vet and even when the vets saw him, they questioned trying.
At the vets, with a closer look, Titan was so swollen they couldn’t even check his teeth because his mouth was stiff; his eyes would not open and he was yellow from jaundice. He had thousands upon thousands of cactus quills in him that were pus filled and he was scarred and infected. One of the first tests showed he was positive for a tick-borne illness which later we found out had reached a very chronic stage. His seizing was from dangerously low sodium and his swelling was the result of all the cactus quills and the late stage tick-borne illness. This caused an inability to digest protein creating fluid that was pooling into other parts of his body.
YHT stayed in Tucson at the Emergency Vet for 2 days to stabilize him and then brought him home to Prescott where he stayed another 8 days in round-the-clock intensive care at Prescott Animal Hospital (PAH). His release from the hospital was guarded but joyous and his new foster Judy Beery was ready to take on the task.
When Judy picked Titan up at PAH, he was so pathetic looking. He was skin and bones, still very jaundiced, his left eye was still mostly swollen shut, his muzzle was still very swollen, and he was full of scars. Titan went home with three different antibiotics, anti inflammatories and nutritional support medications. He was given a special digestive diet canned food since his system still was not stable.
As Judy shares “I am a firm believer in hug therapy. I had my guest bathroom all set up for him to recuperate in. The first several days, I would sit in there with him and have a cold wash rag over his eyes and muzzle to give him some relief. I did this three times a day. He was so docile and accepting of it, he just laid his head on my lap. As docile as he was, he was a real pistol when it came time to give him all of his meds. Some of them were chewable, but he would not touch them. He would spit out the tiniest pill that was hidden in food. He would not eat it if it was mixed with other food, or wrapped in a meatball of ground turkey.
Finally, after many days of frustration to get his meds in him, I had to pulverize everything to a fine powder and mix it with cheese in the can ( spray cheese). One thing this boy still did not do, as he was slowly improving, was wag his tail. His swelling went down tremendously in his face, his jaundice was clearing up wonderfully, but he would not wag that tail!
His visit to the vets the following week showed he was slowly improving with his progressing blood values. His weight gain was coming along in baby steps as well. But PAH was pleased with the progress he was showing, and everyone there loved seeing him again and fussed over him. Slowly Judy was allowed to supplement his diet with other food such as boiled chicken livers, ground turkey, and chicken. She diligently blended it with oatmeal, rice, scrambled egg and cottage cheese.
One night, while they were in the backyard, Judy saw a little bit of movement with his tail. That was a good start! About three days later, he gave a good long wag! That was an emotional moment for Judy and I am sure a big Thank You from him. She observed that he still doesn’t wag when you talk sweetly to him, but he does do wagging when he sees fit. A playful side is starting to emerge from him as well. He likes to romp with a stuffed animal while he’s outside. She can see an improvement with his weight and his spine is not so prominent. He continues to be closely monitored by PAH too.
His progress continues to improve and he now has a huge fan club on YHT and his kind financial sponsor, Two Paps Wellness Fund’s facebook pages; there are so many people who are rooting for his success and cheering with every positive step. He is a miracle child indeed and we will continue to share his progress with his fan club.
This is the testament to YHT belief that every life has value, and if the health issues are resolvable, should be given that treatment. Thanks to everyone’s prayers, donations, Bailee and her mother, foster Judy Beery, the generosity and financial support of Two Pups Wellness Fund and YHT team in tandem with the medical teams in Tucson and Prescott Animal Hospital, he is alive today and continues to make progress that amazes us all!!!
