24/03/2024
Thursday March 21st would have been Jake’s 5th Birthday and it was a pretty emotional day for me. On Friday March 22nd this little boy came through my hospital’s doors needing emergency care.
Benny, a tiny 7lb., one year old Pomeranian, was attacked by a couple large neighbor dogs and had multiple puncture wounds and lacerations. Unfortunately, his owners were not willing to provide him with the medical treatment that he needed. Thankfully, they decided to sign him over to me so I could.
Dr. Karshner did an emergency exam and performed an ultrasound of his abdomen. She found that his intestines had come out of his abdominal cavity, so he needed surgery to put them back where they belong. She did x-rays and thankfully he had no broken bones. While he was under anesthesia, Dr. Karshner also repaired his multiple puncture wounds and lacerations. She saw that his kidney had been bruised from the damage, and some of his muscle had been torn from the fascia that helps keeps it in place so she reattached what she could, as the muscle fibers were pretty shredded.
That evening he was transferred to Pet Emergency Care in Spokane and he spent the night in the intensive care unit. He was very painful, but he did well overnight. Saturday afternoon he was bright and alert, urinating on his own, and started eating along with taking oral medication. At 5:30 they decided he was doing well enough to leave the hospital and be managed in his new home…with me ❤️
Benny is currently doing well and his pain is managed. We did some warm compresses to clean up the drainage from some of the incision sites… Which is completely normal. He has a lot of edema/swelling in his left hand leg and he’s pretty guarded and protective of his right hind leg, but he ate a late breakfast, he is taking all of his medication well, he is standing to urinate on his own and he gives me lots of grateful kisses 🥰
For the next couple of weeks and possibly longer, Benny will be on confined rest. No running, no jumping, no playing, and I am trying to handle him as little as possible, as his abdomen and body needs to heal. He’s on board with this, but he does try to climb into my lap when it’s time to clean him up ❤️
I wasn’t looking for another dog and wasn’t quite sure my heart had been healed enough to take in another little guy, but when Benny walked through those doors I knew I had to help him and give him a chance at a full life. He has a lot of characteristics and mannerisms that remind me of Jake and it brings me to tears, but he makes me smile and I am grateful I get to help another dog get a second chance at life ❤️ Welcome to your best life Benny!
