Happy Tail: Blue Belton Buck

This blog post is so overdue. Shortly after my last post, my grandmother passed away. She read my blog regularly and enjoyed hearing all the stories about our foster dogs. I didn't feel like writing for a while because I felt like no one was listening anymore without her there reading my posts. Of course, that's not true, but it took the wind out of my blogging sails for a bit. Next thing I knew, six months had gone by and I hadn't finished telling Buck's story. It's a wonderful story, a happy tail to top all happy endings, so I can't move forward without sharing it. So here we go, back on the blogging train. This one's for my Tutu, who made sure I was raised with dogs and supported my rescue efforts 100%.

Post enucleation

Bob & Buck

After determining Buck had lost his sight again and that the inflammation in his eye was not improving, we made the difficult decision to remove the right eye. We all agreed that Buck would be much better off without that irritated eye bothering him constantly. Dr. Burling did a fabulous job and Buck recovered from his enucleation beautifully. It was very quickly clear to us that he felt much more comfortable even just a couple days after the eye removal. We knew we'd made the right choice for Buck, even though it felt a bit defeating. With his head held high, Buck moved forward with life as we'd seen him do so many times already.

In this midst of all this, something amazing happened. We received a perfect adoption application for Buck from a wonderful man named Bob in New Mexico. Bob fell in love with Buck while searching for English Setters on Petfinder. He'd rescued a few other English Setters previously and missed their companionship after they passed. We were unsure about sending Buck so far away at first, but didn't write it off as a dealbreaker. After all, we've got dogs all up the Northeastern United States thanks to transport efforts. What's the difference? 

Livin' the life!

I had a lengthy, heartwarming, and exciting phone conversation with New Mexico Bob. Next thing we knew, he flew up to San Jose to meet Buck in person. They were a perfect match. Not least of all, Bob wasn't put off by Buck's health uncertainties. Bob met Buck before we knew his eye needed to be removed. We wanted to see him through the rest of his eye situation before adopting him out, which Bob understood. I kept him posted throughout Buck's surgery and recovery. He never wavered in his commitment to Buck. I'll never forget Bob's inspiring answer when I asked him if he'd be put off by Buck losing his eye: "Perhaps when I was younger and vainer I might have felt differently, but age has made me a more compassionate man and I want nothing but his comfort and well-being". I could not have scripted a more perfect response. This guy won me over with his patience, compassion, and dedication to a dog he'd barely met.

He's even got 2 Christmas stockings!

He loves his bed

On August 31, we sent Buck off on the road to forever. Bob flew up to San Jose, rented a car, and drove back to New Mexico with Buck alongside him. I didn't cry over Buck. This adoption was so incredibly happy, inspiring, and perfect. With all the obstacles Buck faced and the logistics Bob hurdled to adopt Buck, we felt nothing but joy and gratitude as we watched them pull out of our driveway. We knew Buck found the life he deserved. I get pupdates from New Mexico Bob every so often. Buck lives the life of a king, which is exactly as it should be. He goes to work with Bob every day, rests in orthopaedic beds cushier than any human mattress, naps in front of the fireplace, enjoys brunch at the club overlooking the golf course, goes for leisurely car rides on the weekends, and never leaves his daddy's side. Buck is comfortable, happy, and well-loved.

I can never thank all of Buck's fans enough for their amazing amounts of support and encouragement. Animal Eye Specialists, Dr. Burling, St. Francis APS, and many friends and neighbors rallied together for this old dog. Thank you. He is so very special and he's safe because of all of you. Most of all, thank you to New Mexico Bob for being an incredible human being and of course, to Buck, for growing our hearts just a couple sizes bigger. We love you, Schmuck! Happy forever, old boy.

Happy Tail Photo!

Pupdate on Buck: Complications

Let's start with the good news: Buck had a wonderful photo shoot done with the fantastic Renee Scott a couple weeks ago! Renee did a fabulous job capturing Buck's handsome features and personality, as she always does. Just look at how gorgeous our sweet old man looks! I always have such a hard time waiting to receive Renee's photos after our portrait sessions, but man I was SO excited to get Buck's pictures I almost couldn't stand it! As usual, the photos were well worth the wait. Renee outdid herself!

Now for the bad news: poor Buck is blind again, permanently. Last week, roughly three weeks after his cataract surgery, Buck began bumping into things and getting confused again. His retina in the right eye detached. Within 48 hours, Buck lost all sight. Although we could pursue retinal surgery to have a scleral buckle placed, we have decided to forgo any further surgeries and focus on Buck's comfort level instead. The retinal repair surgery is very complex, more expensive than the cataract surgery, and only carries about a 50% success rate. St. Francis, Drew, Dr. Burling, and I all think it's in Buck's best interest to just put together a management plan at this point. He is very uncomfortable in that right eye, but Dr. Burling isn't sure why. We are trying a few more tactics here for the next week: continuing his intensive eye drop regimen, adding oral prednisone, and hoping the steroid injection Dr. Burling gave him helps relieve the inflammation. If after this week Buck's right eye remains inflamed and painful, we will sit down with Dr. Burling and discuss our options. Yes, there is a chance that Buck's eye will have to be removed. No eye is better than a painful eye! Having said that, we will consider all viable alternatives before taking that route.

We want you all to know that we've got Buck's comfort and happiness at the very top of our priority list. He's technically available for adoption so that we can begin garnering interest and reviewing applications, but we will not let him leave us before we are confident that he's in good shape. Dr. Burling is committed to restoring his comfort, as are we. Although it's devastating after all Buck's been through, vision is no longer a goal. We just want him to feel good. As you can see in the picture to the right, Buck does his best to keep his head held high and enjoy life. Thanks to everyone for your support. Paws crossed for our sweet Buckle!

Blue Belton Buck: A Glimpse into the Future

Wow, a lot has happened since I last posted! Our boy Buck had his eye surgery on June 17. All went very well; Dr. Burling removed the cataract from his right eye and replaced it with an artificial lens. To be honest, the first night was a bit anticlimactic. Buck was so drunk and disoriented from the anesthesia that he didn't really have much of an "I can see" moment. Regardless, we filmed his grand entrance post-surgery to share with everyone. You can hear Dr. Burling describe his immediate post-op vision as "a little funky" in the video. Here it is:

Day 2 was awful. Buck was uncomfortable, his eye was inflamed, and he required more assistance than he did before the surgery. Dr. Burling warned us this would be the case, so we weren't disheartened. Still, seeing him struggle so much was difficult. He barely opened his right eye at all. We went back for his first post-op re-check and Dr. Burling said everything looked fine, so home we went for more rest in hopes of a better Day 3.

Buck's right eye before & after

We didn't really see much improvement until Day 4. Buck's eye stayed open most of the time by this point and he felt much better. We could see how clear and beautiful his eye looked without the cloudy cataract (see the photo to the right for before & after). For the first 10 days after surgery, I gave Buck three different types of eye drops six times every day to reduce inflammation, exercise the pupil, and prevent scar tissue from forming. He's a trooper and doesn't mind the drops at all. Now we are down to three types of drops four times per day, but starting tomorrow we're dropping down to three times per day. Ultimately, Buck will only need one type of drop once per day. We'll get there!

Such a baby!

Last week we noticed some increased cloudiness, so Buck went back to Dr. Burling for a tissue plasminogen injection that dissolved the cobwebby fibers forming in his eye. No biggie! During this visit, Dr. Burling noticed a minor vitreous hemorrhage as well. This means there's a little bit of blood between the retina and the lens. Although this hemorrhage doesn't mean the retina definitely will detach, it's an indicator of heightened risk of detachment. It's something Dr. Burling will continue to re-check, but we can't guarantee that Buck will retain his vision indefinitely. She says that usually three-month post-surgery is the "out of the woods" marker for retinal detachment. So far, so good. Paws crossed for smooth sailing! Today marks two weeks since Buck's surgery and he's doing great. We've hit a couple minor bumps along the road, but overall Dr. Burling says everything looks pretty darn good. Buck had his third re-check yesterday and he'll go back for his fourth next week.

Buck & his Crinkly Cajun Croc!

We've seen a tremendous difference in Buck's quality of life since his surgery. He is happy all the time, gets excited about everything, and gets around with no trouble at all. He jumps up on the couch and cuddles up next to us while we watch TV. He doesn't cry and whimper when we leave the room anymore. He even jumped up into the truck all by himself to go to his check-up! Most exciting of all, Buck PLAYED with a TOY for the very first time since we've had him last night! It was such a cool thing to see. He'd never shown interest in toys before his surgery. Sometimes we could tell he was excited and wanted to play, but he didn't know how to play without being able to see. Well, Auntie Melissa sent me home with some new toys for my crew yesterday. On a whim, I introduced one of the new toys to Buck. Lo and behold, he chomped at it! Before I knew it, he was tossing it around and chewing on it like a champ. So awesome! THIS was truly a tremendous moment. Enjoy the video:

Buck also enjoys going for walks now much more than he did pre-surgery. He's a great loose-leash walker and he lets you know when he's ready to turn around and head home. To see how well he's navigating since his surgery and to get a glimpse of his spectacular leash manners, check out this video (sorry about the noisy wind!). That's all for now. Buck's walking into the next chapter of his life...never looking back!

Pupdate: Moving Forward with Buck's Cataract Surgery

Whew, sorry for all the dead-air time on this blog recently! We've been going 100 miles per hour with rescue around the clock it seems. I know many of you probably already know the latest report on Buck through his Facebook page, but I want to share it here as well.

Uncle Buckle had his ERG at the eye specialist last week. We received both good and bad news from it. The bad news is that the left eye, which houses the older cataract, experienced retinal detachment at some point. This means that there is no hope for Buck to regain sight in that eye, with or without cataract removal surgery. Thus, we will not do the surgery on that eye and will instead manage the inflammation caused by the cataract with prescription drops. Now for the good news: Buck's right eye passed the ERG and is a perfect candidate for cataract surgery! He is scheduled to go under the knife next Tuesday, June 17, and will regain all vision in that eye. Hurray!

I know it's a bummer that we can't salvage the left eye, but hey - one eye is way better than none! Although St. Francis is willing to pay whatever it takes to give Buck the gift of sight, only doing one eye will reduce our bill by a good bit. That's not what we're focused on here, but it's a silver lining for sure.

St. Francis is doing pretty well raising funds to cover Buck's eye care. We've applied for a grant through the Doris Day Foundation. We've received a good amount of private donations from folks via Facebook, adoption events, and the St. Francis website. We've got $500 in GAP funds pledged from the San Jose shelter where Buck came from and the eye specialist is giving us a 30% rescue discount on his procedures. Without the rescue discount, Buck's diagnostics and surgery would cost roughly $5,500. We are still hoping to raise a total of $4,000 to cover follow-up visits and prescriptions. Although only fixing the one eye does reduce the surgery cost, it doesn't knock off quite as much as you might think. We're still paying for the vet's time and expertise, the use of the hospital's highly specialized equipment, a full day hospitalization, and slightly less anesthesia than we'd need for two eyes. The major difference is that we're only paying for one artificial lens implant, which knocks about $500-700 off the bill. So that's the state of Buck's financials for those of you who are curious. He's very fortunate to have St. Francis's and his followers' support. Last time I posted we didn't have a designated sponsorship page set up for Buck yet. We do now! If you'd like to do a one-time donation or a recurring sponsorship, please click this link to visit Buck's page: http://stfrancisanimal.rescuegroups.org/animals/sponsor_this_pet?AnimalID=6895219

In other Buck-related news, he's been doing great overall. He's got some itchy allergies and minor tummy issues going on that we're working to resolve. No biggie - just the normal stuff for an old man! Buck attended several adoption events over the last couple weeks. He's not available yet, but he really enjoys car rides, walks, and outings in general. One of his favorite outings is going to the food trucks at Willow Glen Movable Feast every Friday evening. He wears his fabulous blue "adopt me" vest and catches everybody's eyes. Check out the video below to see how excited Buck gets when he hears his leash and collar jingle! That signals him that he's about to go for an adventure. Thanks for reading our latest update! Stay tuned to read how Buck's surgery goes next Tuesday...can't wait to share pictures and videos of that tremendous life-changing moment!

Pupdate: Buck's Eye Consultation

Dr. Burling checking out Buck's eyes

We just returned from Buck's consultation at Animal Eye Specialists. Dr. Burling and her tech, Julie, are awesome. For those of you just tuning in, Buck has advanced cataracts that completely obstruct his vision. He can't see a thing. Today's consultation basically served as an opportunity for the vet to examine the eyes, see how severe the cataracts are, and evaluate whether Buck is a good candidate for surgery. Cataract surgery is only performed if the eye is healthy and if sight can be restored. For these reasons, diagnostics have to be done before determining the next step.

Buck's exam went pretty well. Dr. Burling said the left cataract is chronic and older than the right one. She saw some scarring in the left eye, meaning that the cataract has shrunken and/or shifted with time and caused further irritation. The right cataract is less dense and a bit newer, which is good. Both eyes are irritated, but the pressure in both is normal so that's a big relief. We have to go back in a couple weeks for additional diagnostics (retina exam, etc.), but as of right now Dr. Burling believes Buck's right eye is prime for surgery. Assuming nothing unexpected is found during the retinal exam, Dr. Burling estimates with 95% certainty that Buck's vision can be restored to the right eye. The left eye is more complicated due to the cataract's age and severity. She's not as confident about the retinal health in the left eye. If the retina isn't in good shape, there's no point in removing the cataract. If the retina is healthy and we remove the left cataract, Buck will regain his vision in that eye barring complications.

So sleepy after his appointment

Obviously there are a lot of variables and "ifs" involved here, but how amazing! I learned so much from this consultation today and I'm super excited by the prognosis for Buck. I'm trying not to get ahead of myself, but I can't help but imagine how incredible it will be to bring him home after surgery when he can SEE again for the first time. Dr. Burling sent us home with special eye drops today to reduce the inflammation in Buck's eyes. We'll see what St. Francis wants to do and proceed from there. If we move forward, diagnostics and surgery could be only two short weeks away. Folks - this is a VERY expensive surgery. I don't want to ask for donations until we get the final go-ahead, but please be ready to share Buck's story. St. Francis is going to need all the support we can get in order to make this happen for Buck. PAWS UP for this step forward...and paws crossed for even more good news. If you haven't already, don't forget to check out Buck's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/bluebeltonbuck 

PS - The mass Dr. Osterman removed from Buck's chin was benign! Hurray!!

Blue Belton Buck: A Setter with Soul to Spare

Drew and I picked up a very special new foster last night from the shelter. Buck is a 9 year

Buck's pitiful shelter intake photo

old, 

purebred, blue belton English Setter. He is blind. Buck's story is really sad: his owners of nine years surrendered him to the shelter as a euthanasia request because he is no longer able to see. Buck is blind due to advanced cataracts in both eyes; had his owners treated the cataracts, he'd still have his sight. Turning him in to die alone in a shelter - and not even having the decency to take him to the family vet for euthanasia if that's what you've decided on - is beyond my comprehension. You don't just discard a living creature like that, right when he needs you the most. I hope nobody's there for these people when they get old. I'm not sorry.

How do you say no to this?

I saw Buck on the "needs rescue" list and I knew I had to meet him. I visited Buck for the first time last Tuesday. It took all of five minutes for me to totally fall in love with him. When we entered the courtyard, Buck seemed pretty spooked as he bumped into walls, fences, chairs, and even knocked over a broom. He didn't respond to whistling or other "come here" noises, so I tried his name. I'm used to dogs not knowing their names at the shelter, but I forgot Buck lived with someone for nine years and of course knew his name. As soon as I said, "Buck!", he stopped stumbling into things, turned around, walked straight up to me, and rested his head on my knee. His expression said, "That's me! Somebody knows me!". I've done a whole lot of rescue, but this is one of the most poignant moments I've experienced so far. My heart just melted. As if that wasn't enough, when I sat down next to Buck a couple minutes later he backed right up into my lap and sat there happily for the rest of our visit.

Of course, St. Francis Animal Protection Society stepped in once again and saved yet another life. Thanks to them, Buck is home with us. Buck got neutered and had a mass removed from his chin yesterday. When he got home with us. Buck met our dogs, explored the backyard, went up and down all the stairs without any major wipeouts (on-leash, for safety), got cleaned up and tucked in for bed. What a day! He did pretty well in the crate overnight. No barking, just a bit of squeaking and stressing. We can work with that. He'd do just fine sleeping on a dog bed outside of the crate, I'm sure, but we have so many stairs that I want to crate him for safety purposes while we're gone until he gets used to them. Ultimately, he'll be able to have free roam with the rest of the pack. He's such a good boy.

Exploring the backyard

Today he's settling in some more. He's totally housebroken - no surprise since he lived with people for almost ten years. He's a little clingy because he can't see where anyone is, so he'll whimper if I walk away and is still afraid to try and follow me. That will improve as he becomes more confident and gets used to this new environment. I don't expect a blind dog to adapt to all the nooks and crannies of a three level townhome overnight. It's definitely not the easiest place to navigate by scent and sound alone. He's doing quite well, all things considered. Check out this video of him conquering the little concrete steps from the garage to the backyard (he's still reaching, but he didn't miss any!):

Plz lady, can I keeps dis rug?

Buck loves the white shag rug in the living room. He's obsessed with rolling on it and rubbing his face all over it. He pretty much thinks it's the best thing we've got. He's content to lie on the rug by my feet while I'm on the couch. We're anxious to get the biopsy results from the mass he had removed yesterday. I'm hoping to hear something by the end of the week. We'll see. We had it taken off because it kept opening up and bleeding. Hopefully it was just a benign old man growth. I'll let you know when we find out.

I called the eye specialist this morning. Buck is going in next Friday, the 16th, for a consultation. The doctor is going to look at his cataracts and see if there's anything we can do for him. He hasn't been blind for long; he lacks developed navigational and coping skills. I'm not too hopeful that removing the cataracts will be able to reverse his blindness at this point, but we'll see what the vet says. I don't know much about eyes, but I'm looking forward to learning a lot. At the very least, we need to know what he's dealing with and if there's anything we can do to help him. His eyes are a bit red right now, but I'm hoping it's just from stress and not irritation. I'm trying to clean his tear stains, but not much luck so far. I've wanted to foster a blind dog for a while now, so I'm happy to help Buck and learn a lot along the way.

It's going to be a while before Buck is available for adoption, but we are happy to have him. He's a wonderful dog: so sweet, gentle, well-behaved, and of course absolutely beautiful. Check out Buck's Facebook page and stay tuned for pupdates as we move forward: https://www.facebook.com/bluebeltonbuck