Why
would such a beautiful creature have to suffer so many days of his
short, but loving life?
Tangla’s
Duncan MacLeod was born on September 9, 1996 around 8pm at night.
His breathing was sporadic; therefore my sister and I worked for
nearly an hour giving him mouth to snout to regulate his breathing.
He
spent most of his youth with an eating disorder whereas he would choke
after eating; requiring the Heimlich maneuver to be performed after nearly
every meal. Thank goodness
this 65 lb dog out grew it eventually.
Although
his eyes were clear of entropion, at a year and a half, he suffered from a
corneal edema and was under a specialist’s care.
At
three and a half years old, Duncan developed a severe infection in his
left elbow. While doing the
testing and x-rays, it was discovered he also had elbow dysplasia.
My heart sank. All I
could think of was what next. Sadly,
his hips came back dysplastic as well.
Throughout the next few years, Duncan continued to have several
bouts with the elbow infections, requiring high doses of Cephlexin for
six-week periods to cure the infections.
I
would have never guessed Duncan’s hips were dysplastic; he had the most
beautiful stilted gait. He
took his first AKC point at seven months old and went Best of Breed that
day. He finished his AKC
championship going Best of Breed as well as Best Bred-By Exhibitor.
He also took a Group Third, Bred-By under the respected Paul
Odenkirchen. His
International Championship was earned with Michael Cox on the lead, taking
a Group Third along the way.
But
then at just a lil over six years old, the final blow came to the loving
beauty. The first signs were
swollen ankles and scrotum. At
first, cancer was considered, so we neutered him.
The testicles were fine. So
then we looked further and discovered his kidneys were failing.
We put him on a special food and I knew his time was short.
Unfortunately, the etogesic that he had been given
during times of the elbow infections had ruined his kidneys.
Here
is the biggest surprise though, the morning of February 11, 2003, around 11am, I found my poor
Duncan, as big as a beach ball. I knew immediately what it was.
I would have never guessed this poor baby who had suffered so much
would eventually be taken by bloat. I
had the vet put him out of his misery and he now can romp and play on the
rainbow bridge where he waits for us to meet once again.
Godspeed
my baby, until we meet again.
February
11, 2003
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