Day 141

It was a sad day. Henry, one of the special needs Dalmatians we have been trying to rehabilitate, needed to be put down this morning. When Henry entered the Dalmatian Rescue program, we didn't know if he was going to make it. He couldn't walk at all because three slipped discs were pinching his spinal cord. Before we could schedule him for surgery, he caught pneumonia and almost died. Henry wouldn't give up though. He was friendly and patient as we took him from specialist to specialist, trying to find the best way to treat his injuries. We even had a full body MRI done to pinpoint the damage to his spine. An excellent orthopedic surgeon was able to successfully repair two of the damaged discs, and in less than a month after his surgery, Henry was walking on his own again. Everyone thought he was making remarkable progress and we were all hopeful that he would be adopted soon.

Yesterday, when the K-9 University trainers were feeding the dogs breakfast, they noticed that Henry wasn't able to get up and wouldn't touch his food. We immediately took him to the vet, but his condition continued to deteriorate. The vet thought Henry had suffered a stroke. There was nothing anyone could do. It was heartbreaking. For almost nine months Henry had beat the odds. He survived pneumonia. His surgical team had done everything possible to help him walk again. I was convinced that he was going to find a great home and get the second change he deserved. It didn't work out that way though. Henry never even got a chance to leave the kennel.

There was a dog fight at obedience class tonight. The dog's owners were able to quickly get their dogs back under control and nobody got hurt, but still it made me nervous. I was glad to see that both Dot and Dash ran away and tried to avoid the fight rather than try to join in like some of the other dogs. Dot and Dash are gentle, well behaved dogs, as long as there are no squirrels nearby. I hope I am always able to keep them out of harms way.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day