Tank was adopted on March 30th, 2009. He was born sometime in 2008, but we don't know for certain when. He was about 5 - 7 months old. My wife Kaysha was browsing Craigslist for a puppy for me for my Birthday. She saw this link for a dog that said "Turner needs a home". My last name is Turner, so it seemed like a sign.
6 months after we adopted him we were dropping Tank off a the vet for surgery.
An abscess on his side had come back 3 times over 6 months. The vet suspected a fox-tail, but they would know for certain in a few hours. After two hours we called the Vet to check in. The office manager told us that the Doctor had to cancel all of her appointments for the rest of the day. Turns out it wasn't a fox-tail. It was a toothpick. Fully intact. What we now believe happened was that when Tank was a stray he may have eaten from restaurant garbage. Somehow he ingested a full size 3 inch long toothpick. A dog's stomach is positioned to the side, close to the rib-cage. We think that when Tank was pinned for chasing the cat, the toothpick poked through the stomach and embedded itself into the muscle tissue. It's a miracle that he didn't bleed internally or damage his stomach. Due to infection, much of the tissue around the toothpick had died. The doctor had to remove all of this dead tissue after removing the toothpick. This is why Tank has a "dent" in his side. After Tank came home from surgery, he became a new dog. He started to eat better, gained weight & muscle in his haunches & started to really become a part of the family. The best thing about Tank is his optimism. He is always excited to do anything. He sneezes a lot. He snores. He loves everyone. He is GREAT with children, and they LOVE him. Tank is your friend too, you just don't know it yet. This page is my way sharing the awesomeness that is "Toothpick" Tank. Jason.
