Sherlock's a Good Boy!

KarenSoCal

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This is one of my fur kids, Sherlock, who is somewhere around 14-15 years old. This picture was taken yesterday, and is a very special picture.

20210106_152024.jpg

10 years ago, a couple months before we adopted him, Sherlock had had a badly broken jaw. We didn't know how that happened, but it was repaired with a plate and screws and healed when he came home with me and Pete.

Aside from his jaw looking slightly crooked, the only significant difficulty it gave him was the inability to open his mouth very far. It would only open about 1.5 inches...he never could yawn.

So one week before Christmas, he ate his usual dinner and a short while later I looked at him sitting on the floor. Blood was running out of the left side of his mouth! Not just dripping...a steady flow! I couldn't see where exactly it was coming from, but it stopped pretty quickly...or so I thought.

I had to leave the house for a couple hours, and when I returned, the poor little guy had vomited his dinner and a lot of blood out of his stomach. Of course, he did this in 3 different rooms of the house. There are pillows on the floor in several rooms for my dogs to lay on, and he saturated about half of a pillow, along with puddles in the other rooms. A lot of blood.

The next 2 weeks were the holidays. Between the 'eves' and the holiday days and the vet's very busy schedule, we had 2 vet visits, x-rays, and lab work done. His red blood counts were extremely low, and his white cell count was extremely high. These results led to a preliminary diagnosis: severe infection caused by rejection of the plate and screws in his jaw. Sherlock was bleeding a small amount intermittently every couple days, but we still didn't know precisely what was bleeding. He was exhausted, weak, and lethargic. There were 2 nights I wondered if he was going to make it to morning. I was referred to a vet an hour away who specializes ($$$) in dental and oral surgery.

Early yesterday morning I was awakened by a call from the specialist's office...could I bring him in at 9:00? And don't feed him in case he needs sedation to be examined. YES!

Due to COVID, I had to wait in the car, but after the exam the vet called me. She said the plate and screws had to come out, and she thought some teeth needed to go. She would x-ray his teeth under anesthesia. And there was a cancellation...did I want her to operate that afternoon?! YES!!

So I left there at 10:30 AM, did a couple errands, and went home. And waited. And waited. And waited.

I had been assured that I would be called after surgery, and that he would be coming home that day. So I waited.

After a couple calls to update me, I picked up my boy at midnight! My 14 or 15 year old pup had been in surgery for 6 solid hours, had the plate and screws out, and had 21 teeth removed! It took so long because of his mouth not opening...she had a very small area to work in.

This morning he ate, drank lots of water, peed, pooped..he's almost normal, and seems to have very little pain despite a mouthful of stitches. He's even wagging his tail and begging for treats! With all those rotten teeth gone, he's going to feel like a brand new dog!

About this vet and her office...she and the staff are wonderful! I was called twice today by the office manager to check on Sherlock's recovery, and will be called daily for the next couple days. When I'm called, the concern is real. She's not calling just because she has to...she is genuine. And I was told that for the rest of his life, if he ever needs to come back for anything related to this surgery, there will never be another charge!

Now, why is that picture so special? Here's the rest of it...taken at the vet's office...

20210106_152243.jpg
 

Krista S

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I’m so sorry Sherlock and your family had to go through that. It must have been really scary for everyone. I’m glad he made it out of that and is bouncing back so quickly. That’s incredible! He’s so cute and so very lucky to have a loving and caring human like you on his side.
 

Emmawilly

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Nov 1, 2020
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161
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Plymouth
This is one of my fur kids, Sherlock, who is somewhere around 14-15 years old. This picture was taken yesterday, and is a very special picture.

View attachment 314841

10 years ago, a couple months before we adopted him, Sherlock had had a badly broken jaw. We didn't know how that happened, but it was repaired with a plate and screws and healed when he came home with me and Pete.

Aside from his jaw looking slightly crooked, the only significant difficulty it gave him was the inability to open his mouth very far. It would only open about 1.5 inches...he never could yawn.

So one week before Christmas, he ate his usual dinner and a short while later I looked at him sitting on the floor. Blood was running out of the left side of his mouth! Not just dripping...a steady flow! I couldn't see where exactly it was coming from, but it stopped pretty quickly...or so I thought.

I had to leave the house for a couple hours, and when I returned, the poor little guy had vomited his dinner and a lot of blood out of his stomach. Of course, he did this in 3 different rooms of the house. There are pillows on the floor in several rooms for my dogs to lay on, and he saturated about half of a pillow, along with puddles in the other rooms. A lot of blood.

The next 2 weeks were the holidays. Between the 'eves' and the holiday days and the vet's very busy schedule, we had 2 vet visits, x-rays, and lab work done. His red blood counts were extremely low, and his white cell count was extremely high. These results led to a preliminary diagnosis: severe infection caused by rejection of the plate and screws in his jaw. Sherlock was bleeding a small amount intermittently every couple days, but we still didn't know precisely what was bleeding. He was exhausted, weak, and lethargic. There were 2 nights I wondered if he was going to make it to morning. I was referred to a vet an hour away who specializes ($$$) in dental and oral surgery.

Early yesterday morning I was awakened by a call from the specialist's office...could I bring him in at 9:00? And don't feed him in case he needs sedation to be examined. YES!

Due to COVID, I had to wait in the car, but after the exam the vet called me. She said the plate and screws had to come out, and she thought some teeth needed to go. She would x-ray his teeth under anesthesia. And there was a cancellation...did I want her to operate that afternoon?! YES!!

So I left there at 10:30 AM, did a couple errands, and went home. And waited. And waited. And waited.

I had been assured that I would be called after surgery, and that he would be coming home that day. So I waited.

After a couple calls to update me, I picked up my boy at midnight! My 14 or 15 year old pup had been in surgery for 6 solid hours, had the plate and screws out, and had 21 teeth removed! It took so long because of his mouth not opening...she had a very small area to work in.

This morning he ate, drank lots of water, peed, pooped..he's almost normal, and seems to have very little pain despite a mouthful of stitches. He's even wagging his tail and begging for treats! With all those rotten teeth gone, he's going to feel like a brand new dog!

About this vet and her office...she and the staff are wonderful! I was called twice today by the office manager to check on Sherlock's recovery, and will be called daily for the next couple days. When I'm called, the concern is real. She's not calling just because she has to...she is genuine. And I was told that for the rest of his life, if he ever needs to come back for anything related to this surgery, there will never be another charge!

Now, why is that picture so special? Here's the rest of it...taken at the vet's office...

View attachment 314842
What a great story. Traumatic to go through but lovely to hear the end result. Here's wishing dear little Sherlock a continued recovery, he is a darling in that picture.
 

Maggie3fan

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PacificNorthWest
This is one of my fur kids, Sherlock, who is somewhere around 14-15 years old. This picture was taken yesterday, and is a very special picture.

View attachment 314841

10 years ago, a couple months before we adopted him, Sherlock had had a badly broken jaw. We didn't know how that happened, but it was repaired with a plate and screws and healed when he came home with me and Pete.

Aside from his jaw looking slightly crooked, the only significant difficulty it gave him was the inability to open his mouth very far. It would only open about 1.5 inches...he never could yawn.

So one week before Christmas, he ate his usual dinner and a short while later I looked at him sitting on the floor. Blood was running out of the left side of his mouth! Not just dripping...a steady flow! I couldn't see where exactly it was coming from, but it stopped pretty quickly...or so I thought.

I had to leave the house for a couple hours, and when I returned, the poor little guy had vomited his dinner and a lot of blood out of his stomach. Of course, he did this in 3 different rooms of the house. There are pillows on the floor in several rooms for my dogs to lay on, and he saturated about half of a pillow, along with puddles in the other rooms. A lot of blood.

The next 2 weeks were the holidays. Between the 'eves' and the holiday days and the vet's very busy schedule, we had 2 vet visits, x-rays, and lab work done. His red blood counts were extremely low, and his white cell count was extremely high. These results led to a preliminary diagnosis: severe infection caused by rejection of the plate and screws in his jaw. Sherlock was bleeding a small amount intermittently every couple days, but we still didn't know precisely what was bleeding. He was exhausted, weak, and lethargic. There were 2 nights I wondered if he was going to make it to morning. I was referred to a vet an hour away who specializes ($$$) in dental and oral surgery.

Early yesterday morning I was awakened by a call from the specialist's office...could I bring him in at 9:00? And don't feed him in case he needs sedation to be examined. YES!

Due to COVID, I had to wait in the car, but after the exam the vet called me. She said the plate and screws had to come out, and she thought some teeth needed to go. She would x-ray his teeth under anesthesia. And there was a cancellation...did I want her to operate that afternoon?! YES!!

So I left there at 10:30 AM, did a couple errands, and went home. And waited. And waited. And waited.

I had been assured that I would be called after surgery, and that he would be coming home that day. So I waited.

After a couple calls to update me, I picked up my boy at midnight! My 14 or 15 year old pup had been in surgery for 6 solid hours, had the plate and screws out, and had 21 teeth removed! It took so long because of his mouth not opening...she had a very small area to work in.

This morning he ate, drank lots of water, peed, pooped..he's almost normal, and seems to have very little pain despite a mouthful of stitches. He's even wagging his tail and begging for treats! With all those rotten teeth gone, he's going to feel like a brand new dog!

About this vet and her office...she and the staff are wonderful! I was called twice today by the office manager to check on Sherlock's recovery, and will be called daily for the next couple days. When I'm called, the concern is real. She's not calling just because she has to...she is genuine. And I was told that for the rest of his life, if he ever needs to come back for anything related to this surgery, there will never be another charge!

Now, why is that picture so special? Here's the rest of it...taken at the vet's office...

View attachment 314842
I read thru that whole story with dread. But oh boy! I am so glad what a story!!!
 

KarenSoCal

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Thanks everyone for the good wishes for Sherlock.

He's doing great! He's eating normally except for nothing too hard or crunchy til he has his followup appt next week. His energy is good, and he has a bounce in his step that hasn't been there for a long time. I had no idea his teeth were in such poor condition! I just always attributed any mouth problem to be the hardware in there.

He's a happy boy again, and hopefully he'll be around for several more years.
 

KarenSoCal

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I have an update on my dear Sherlock, and thought this thread is a good place to put it...I'm finally able to write it.

From the end of May til the beginning of July this year, I and one of my other dogs, Bishop, were on a 6 week adventure. We drove to PA and MD and visited family and friends, some of whom are getting into their 90's, and some I haven't seen in 33 years. Bishop and I tent camped coming back to CA...we had a wonderful and rewarding trip and lots of fun together along the way.
20230629_182931.jpg

While gone, I had a housesitter who lived in my house to care for the pets at home: 2 dogs, Blanca and Sherlock, 2 cats, 1 blue tongue skink, and 1 Burmese Star tortoise. A few times a week I had contact with John the housesitter, who assured me all was well with my pets. And I trust John...he has house-sat for me once before. But still I worried, after all, Sherlock is 16 or 17 years old, and 1 of the cats is around 17-18 years.

I was arriving home on the 4th of July at 6 PM, happy (kinda) to be home and delighted that I had made it with all my pets well after such a long time. I greeted John and called the other pets to come see me. I greeted each one in turn, both cats and Blanca. I realized Sherlock hadn't come, but his hearing has been fading for a while now, so I went to get him.

I found him in his bed, laying on his side, in the process of dying. I lifted him up onto my bed, held him close and he died about 20 minutes later. I think he was too far gone to realize that I had returned. At least he would have known that he hadn't been abandoned.

John and I are both still in total shock. Sherlock had behaved normally that day, eating and going out just a couple hours prior. One hour earlier he had been sitting up in his bed and looked fine.

I miss him so much. I keep suffering a lot of guilt...I was gone too long; if I hadn't made that last rest stop; if I had been here I would have seen that something was wrong; he never knew I came back to him...I know in my head that the guilt isn't justified, but my heart doesn't know that yet. I feel that I let him down when he needed me most.

And now, any time I think of my beautiful adventure with Bishop, I get gut punched with the image of Sherlock gasping for air, and John and me burying him in the desert next to John's old dog Lady. I am glad I escaped making THE DECISION, but the timing was horrible.

I can't stop crying.

RIP, my good boy!

20220505_200615.jpg
 

Yvonne G

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Ah, dang it! I'm so sorry to read this. You always hope they'll live forever, and it really gets you when that isn't what happens. What a cute picture! I love the ears!!
 

TammyJ

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All your pets have obviously been so very greatly loved. People like us who can love them so much, will always feel terrible when we lose them. And we still keep on loving and caring for them anyway because it's just how we are. Lucky for them.
 

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