Clyde was pulled from an Ohio county animal shelter on 1/5/04. After about 5 or 6 days, we noticed that Clyde's stools were getting consistently darker, but he was acting fine, so we thought maybe it was just the change in diet. We monitored him, but he seemed to act fine & showed no other signs of illness.

On 1/12, he got a bit lethargic, although not too much, and we noticed white 'things' (worms) in his stool. I checked his gums for color, but not having paid much attention to that in the first few days, I didn't have much to compare them to. The looked SLIGHTLY pale, but nothing alarming. I figured we would monitor him a little more closely, and get him in for the worms in a couple of days. He was still bouncing around, eating everything he could sink his teeth into, and generally being his usual sweet self.

Jenny was making her rounds on the morning of the 13th, and he was kind of out of it, and one of them, probably Clyde, had vomited blood during the night. She called me at work, and I made an urgent appointment with our vet, and took the rest of the day off to look after him.  I took both Bonnie & Clyde with me, just in case, and took a recent stool sample of Clyde's for analysis.  Just as we suspected, he had a pretty hefty infestation of roundworms and whipworms.  The Doctor suspected that Bonnie also had them.  She gave me the meds to give to both of them to fight the cough and the worms.  I took them home, and just kept an eye on him.  He had been eating OK until that point, and he started eating less & less, making it more difficult for him to get his medication.  Then when I compared a picture of Clyde taken the day we got him from the shelter, 5 Jan 04, with one I took on 13 Jan, it was obvious his gums were VERY MUCH whiter than they were when we first picked him up from the shelter.

The following morning, he had vomited more blood, twice.  Jenny let me know, so I made sure to stop on the way home that evening & get him some liver to try & get some of his Iron stores back up.  I got home & started cooking up the liver.  I went down to check on them, and by this point, he didn't want to come out of the inside part of the kennel, and his gums were completely white.  I went back in to call our vet, but was referred to another clinic, as they were closed already.   They recommended that I try & get him into MedVet, but I wanted to try at least one more local vet just in case, as Worthington is 37 miles from my home in Utica.  The local Doctor also recommended them, so I called them & they urged me to bring him right away.

By the time I was able to get a crate in the back of my Explorer and get him ready to go, I could tell his strength was waning.  He could barely walk, and collapsed twice while standing. I carried him to the car, and sped off like a madman.  I won't go into the details of the drive, but it involved much honking, speeding, and I think a land speed record!

During the drive, I couldn't see him in the back, but I could occasionally hear him, except for the last 15 minutes or so. I was extremely worried by the time we got there, and by the time we arrived, I was nearly in tears. Luckily, Clyde had an Angel riding with him (don't know how else to explain it all) was still alive & alert when we arrived at the Emergency Hospital. He was starting to really go down hill....I could see it in his eyes.

Once they got Clyde in they immediately started him on an IV, did some blood work & I waited very impatiently in the waiting room.  When the Doctor called me in, she went over the little that they knew: By the time we arrived, he was in shock.  (Clyde would not have survived the night.)  His Packed Red Cells (Hematocrit) was 10.  Normal is at least 30.  Clyde needed a transfusion right away, and I agreed.  I was able to spend a brief moment with him before they transfused him.  He didn't even have the energy to wag his nubbin or give his foster Dad a little kiss goodnight, but I gave him a little smooch between the eyes & drove home at a much safer pace.

The next morning, (1/15) I made arrangements to visit Clyde briefly on my way to work, where they also updated me on his condition.  While I was hoping to hear that I could pick him up on my way home from work that evening, that wasn't the case.  He had vomited more blood about 2 hours after his infusion.  His Hct had gone up to 12, but that was nothing to cheer about.  Clyde still needed a lot more help.  That help would hopefully happen once he was transferred to the Internal Medicine team, who would examine him and update me again.

I finally got a call about 11 am, and they said that there were a lot of possibilities.  They did know that he had tapeworms in addition to the other 2 types, and likely had hookworms as well.  However, they did not feel that the massive infestation was the full cause for his bleeding.  That, is still yet to be determined.  They thought maybe AIHA (AutoImmune Hemolytic Anemia) - the disease that took my One-And-Only, Bramble.  They still think possibly ulcers, or some form of hemorrhagic or ulcerative GI disorder. this evening (1/15/04 approx. 7pm).  They were pretty sure they could rule out AIHA, thank God.

As of now, they are treating Clyde's symptoms, and he is improving.

The Doctor felt that if we could treat the major symptoms, fight his infection, get rid of the parasites & get his blood count back up, that we might be able to forego some of the more expensive testing.  I agreed, as the bill was increasing by the minute, although I know that CLYDE IS WORTH EVERY LAST NICKEL!  His Hct was up to 15, (from 10 just 24 hours before) and he was up & walking around.

Clyde may not need another transfusion, but if he does, our Bosco has kindly volunteered to donate his blood to help his foster brother, provided they are a compatible match.  We took Bosco this evening to get checked, and we will have to play that part by ear until tomorrow.

While we were there, we visited with Clyde for a few minutes, and he gave us lots of kisses and loving looks.  There's no doubt that Clyde knows we saved him, now twice, from certain death.

Unfortunately, in saving this wonderful boy, we are still incurring rising costs every hour, with every test and medication.  As you may or may not know, blood transfusions are very expensive.  Not to mention the fact that the only place for Clyde to get the care he needed and still needs is a 24/7 Emergency / Specialty Clinic facility.

We knew that the first night was probably going to cost at least $750-1500. We got off easy.  The emergency treatment was $841.  HOWEVER....that does not include the fact that Clyde would require 3-5 more days in the hospital, several more blood tests, probably another blood transfusion, other diagnostics, and medication.  By the time I got the most recent estimate, it was going to cost between $3000-3500.

(Try and win our raffle here.)

Clyde really needs your help.  He has the potential to make a complete recovery, but not without proper treatment and medication.  We all think our babies are extra special.  In rescue, we come across lots of very special Boxers.  Occasionally, we come upon one VERY EXCEPTIONAL Boxer, that for whatever reason, touches our hearts in just the right spot.  Clyde is one of the rare types.  He loves everyone he meets, and so far, everyone that meets him falls in love with him.

Please do what you can to assist in Clyde's current vet bills, and ongoing recovery.

Clyde would thank you (and I'm sure he will thank a few of you) personally if he were able.

Thank you and Boxer Hugs from,
Clyde, Bonnie (pictured at left with Clyde), Kevin and Jenny (Clyde's Foster Parents) and
Greater Ohio Boxer Rescue, Inc. (GOBR)

UPDATE:

Clyde received a blood transfusion from his foster brother, Kevin's Bosco, on Friday evening.  The rapid improvement in his condition was dramatic, truly surpassing his vet's expectations.  As a matter of fact, he improved so much that in slightly less that 48 hours, 2 days, Clyde was released from the hospital and is now back at his Foster Families, showing all signs of continuing to strengthen and return to a playful and happy Boxer boy.  Clyde did not ever stop loving throughout his whole ordeal.  His condition at the time of admission to the emergency veterinarian clinic said he should have been dead.  Thank goodness Clyde had a really strong will to live.  It has been said "it was not Clyde's time to die."

UPDATE:

I got Clyde in today for his 1 week post-hospital discharge checkup. Apparently I'm a bit of a worry wart, because once I got him to the office, it looked to me like his gums were a bit more pale than the last couple of days.

I knew that he hadn't vomited any blood, but it's been a bit more difficult to get a good look at his stools myself, because it was always dark when I let him out. (Jen did the middle one, but didn't see either.)

We finally got into the room (the Dr. was running over an hour late), and I told her that I was a bit worried, so she took care of him first (I had the kitties there, too.. ) and I was MUCH relieved to find that his Hct was up to 35! That's a full 1 point increase per day since he's been home. It could still stand to go up another 5-10 points, but considering it was 10 at one point.

He's become the Velcro dog, as well. He doesn't wander out of my sight, in fact, he usually stays within a few feet of me. He did (finally) actually poop in front of me, and LO AND BEHOLD, IT WAS BROWN!

OK, why is that exciting? Because it's been BLACK. In fact it was light brown. YAY LIGHT BROWN POOP! It is still very mushy, but he's on canned I/D, and no dry yet (that may be awhile) so we expect that.

Anyway, I'm much relieved. He's still improving. Oh, he did lose 2 lbs since he got home, but that's because of his diet. He'll go on de-wormer again in 2 weeks, and by then he should be done with the canned. I'm still going to mix water with his dry food, at least for awhile.

He's 52lbs today. He'll easily get to 65-70 once he's all better.