Lessons for the Vet, and for Life, from Cody - the Lovable Tamaskan Dog
Guest blogger – Cody’s peeps!
Cody’s story begins in the fall of 2007. My Husband and I had just become engaged and we were planning our wedding for August 2008. We had always talked about getting another puppy but with 2 Huskies already we decided to wait until after the wedding. Around mid November I get a call from my husband, he saw an add in the local newspaper for Tamaskan puppies a new wolf-look-alike breed and wanted to go “check them out” and maybe get one from a future litter. I’m sure you can guess what happened next. We took a few days to think it over and we could not stop thinking about this 3 month old puppy named Smokey Joe who we renamed J+J’s Moonshadow Dakota (Cody).
He was a nut when we brought him home, just wanted to play and his appetite was ravenous! We thought he was a little on the skinny side but the vet said not to worry he was a growing puppy and he was a little tough to housebreak but we just figured it was him and the vet again assured us he was fine.
At 10 months old he was due for his check up and first blood test so we could start him on heartworm pills, just routine stuff. I had no concern the next day when the vet called assuming it was going to be the ok to start the pills, my heart sunk as she told me there was something wrong with his kidneys. We brought him back into the vet that day to be retested and to have a sonogram done. The results were the same and the sonogram revealed he had Renal Dysplasia (small kidneys), Polycystic Kidneys, enlarged liver with cysts and 1 enlarged adrenal gland and the prognosis was not good. The vet brought us in the room and my mind was blank as she was trying to explain all these numbers and telling us he would probably only live for another 3 months and that we should put him down. I thought she was crazy. 3 months! Here’s a vibrant, seemingly healthy happy puppy and you want me to do what!? I couldn’t believe my ears and she was just matter of fact, no empathy or sympathy and she offered no help to us.
To top it off my wedding and Honeymoon were exactly in 3 months. So I took my boy home and jumped on the Internet determined to find something and I came across the Dogaware website which led me to the K9Kidney group where I gained a wealth of information overnight. I called the vet the next day asking about subcutaneous fluids and prescription dog food and they said we could come get it but it wouldn’t make a difference. My husband called the vet again to ask more questions and she was very cold and ended the conversation with –and I quote “Don’t plan on a second birthday”.
We decided to take him to a specialist just to definitively rule everything out, they re-did the sonogram and it turned out he only had Renal Dysplasia — there were no cysts and his liver and adrenal glands were both normal. They were even more optimistic and said just keep doing what your doing we’ve seen dogs make it to 5. It was music to our ears!
As time went on I really started to forget about the disease, (well aside from cooking his meals, and giving him his medications and subcutaneous fluids). He was just Cody, never sick or lethargic, always hungry and always super happy! As for the honeymoon we found a great Doggie daycare right by our house that did overnights and they had a wonderful vet that agreed to come every morning and give Codys fluids while we went to Hawaii. I made two weeks worth of food and gave them a copy of his medication schedule. Our other dog Rocky stayed too so he wouldn’t be alone and they even let them sleep in the big room together because the little sleep rooms were only for 1 dog. He did great! They emailed us lots of pictures and when we got back he was as happy and healthy as when we left him.
On June 15, 2009 Cody turned two years old!! Until this day he has never been “sick” - no vomiting or lethargy, he still eats with gusto and can never have enough food. The vet also told us he wouldn’t gain any weight. He was 57 lbs. at diagnosis and he is 75 lbs now, even our new vet is shocked at how much he gained! He looks great and you would never be able to tell there was anything wrong with him. I really feel in my heart that we were meant to have Cody, he has taught us so much. He has to be the happiest most affectionate dog I’ve ever had, even with this disease, getting stuck by needles and a daily cocktail of meds he lives every day to the fullest — his tail never stops wagging!
Just see for yourself.
June 21st, 2009 at 9:43 am
Thank you to our guest blogger. This is such an important reminder that we have to be our pup’s advocate and do our own research, rather than walk away with our tail between our legs.
Good boy Cody! We are proud of you and your caregivers!