When we were first contacted by a Shelter regarding Louie we had no idea what we would find.  We were asked if we could help a boxer who was about four years old, terribly thin, and obviously neglected.  One of our volunteers immediately went to the Shelter to meet Louie and get more information.  She was horrified by what she found.  Louie was obviously NOT four years old…..she estimated that he was at least eight years of age.  His paws were yellowed by urine stains, he had open pressure sores on his hind end, was very shaky on his rear legs, and appeared mentally “shut down”.

Apparently Louie had been seen in the neighborhood roaming the streets for weeks eating out of garbage cans.  Eventually he was hit by a car.  When animal control was contacted, Louie was unable to walk and had to be carried into the animal control kennel where he remained for ONE MONTH with no medical attention.  The photos that were taken by our volunteer clearly showed that he had given up.  His eyes were vacant and he had no boxer wiggles to share.  When encouraged by our volunteer, he did give a small kiss or two to acknowledge their presence. 

We immediately made arrangements for Louie to be transferred to a veterinarian in the area.  Once Louie arrived at the hospital, and received his initial examination, the vet gave us a grim prognosis about his condition.  The doctor diagnosed Louie with a diaphragmatic hernia most likely caused by the impact of the car that hit him; he suggested that the best option (and in his opinion the most cost effective) would be euthanasia since he did not feel Louie could likely be repaired.  Our volunteer was devastated by this news since she had already formed a deep attachment to this poor gentle soul.

The doctor assured us that Louie was not in pain so we decided to get a second opinion from a surgeon at TUFTS who we have worked with on many occasions.  We knew that if Louie could be helped this would be his best chance.  We made a date at TUFTS and kept Louie in the doctor’s care until his appointment.  He was stabilized and given supportive care which included IV fluids, antibiotics, and a radiograph of his chest to make sure there was nothing internally that needed immediate care.  Blood and urine samples were taken and a full workup was done to get baseline information to compare with future testing.

Louie had a brief stay in one of our foster homes, prior to his TUFTS appointment, and he made quite an impression.  Louie responded quickly to being loved, hugged and shown kindness.  The foster mom saw a new sparkle in Louie's eyes, and a wiggle in his butt.  We took that as a good sign.

When we arrived at TUFTS the day of his appointment we reluctantly handed Louie over to the experts.  We were terrified of what we might hear.  We all prayed for better news.  The doctors did a thorough examination and kept him for over 24 hours for extensive tests to make sure nothing was missed.  They repeated the initial tests that were done at the local animal hospital so they could compare the results.  Radiographs were taken of his chest and abdomen, and a full blood-workup, fecal and urinalysis was also done.

The news we received after the doctor’s evaluation made us all sigh with relief.  They determined that what the local veterinarian initially thought was a diaphragmatic hernia was most likely gastric distention of Louie‘s stomach (bloat) which was on the verge of torsion (twisting of stomach).  At this point the news was GREAT.  The doctor’s felt that considering all Louie had been through he was in relatively good health.  The medical issues they found were basically minor considering his age.

He has a slight heart murmur, he is hypothyroid, and he has spondylosis (osteoarthritis) in the lower region of his spine.  He also had quite a bit of blood in his stool which they are hoping is caused by intestinal parasites.  They have placed him on two different medications for parasites and we may need to bring him back to the hospital for additional testing if this issue does not resolve.  He was put on medication to treat his thyroid condition, and kept on antibiotics to help his pressure sores.