“ANUBIS” (neutered)

Whispered Tears Of Pride, CGC

          

 

ANUBIS

 

First let me explain his name. Anubis is the half dog, half man statue on the pyramids in Egypt. Anubis is the Egyptian God of Protection.

I will tell you now that this story is not one that you hear everyday, and not one you want to hear everyday. This story will help you understand how much I love my Danes and to what extents I will go for them.

 

Anubis was shipped to me from a breeder in Florida. I cried all the way to the airport, my lifelong dream was coming true. I took Anubis out of his shipping crate shaking and covered in feces, I thought that was the worst of it. Once I got him home and looked him over I started to cry again, but these were not tears of joy anymore. He had infected cuts all over his body and in his ears, half of his toenails were broken and bleeding, he was infested with fleas, he had several internal parasites, internal infections, he only weighed 11 lbs at 11 and a half weeks (he should have weighed at least 30lbs), he was dehydrated, starved, abused, neglected, and the feces caked on him was like concrete - to name a few  problems. He could barely hold himself up to drink, go potty or even function. Since his starvation was so set in he wasn’t able to build up any muscle. I ended up sleeping on the floor next to him for several nights and had to resuscitate him several times during the following few weeks. I worked very hard to, literally, get him on his feet.

 

 

 

I noticed slight hair loss on his head and made a vet appointment for 3 days later. By the day of his appointment he had lost ALL the hair on his head, was covered in itchy bumps and started losing the hair on the inside of his front legs. My vet proclaimed that Anubis had the worst case of localized Demodex he had ever seen. Keep in mind it only took 3 days for him to get that bad. He got that bad so fast because his immune system literally did not exist. Because he was neglected and starved so severely before I got him, his body never got the chance to build an immune system. (Picture to right and below)

He was treated with Mitaban dips. His first treatment made his face swell so badly that it was 3 times the normal size and the swelling started cutting off his airways and I had to resuscitate him once again. We made an emergency run to our vet he was given Cortisone to take down the swelling. By the next morning his face was almost back to  normal size, and he was able to breath on his own. He ended up going threw treatment for over 2 months. He was then diagnosed Demodex free.

 

2 months later I noticed him licking his feet continuously, he was then diagnosed with Demodex once again. In a few days his feet had gone from red to completely covered in blisters. As you can see by the pictures, it looked like someone dunked his feet in boiling water. It was so painful for him that he couldn’t walk, anywhere. I even had to carry him outside and hold him up so he could go potty. I went back to the vet and got Rymadyl for his pain. The Rymadyl ended up taking away enough of his pain so he could at least walk and potty by himself.

 

I decided to take a holistic approach to his Demodex this time. The holistic treatments were very in depth, time consuming and expensive.  One of the treatments was essential oils that had to be rubbed into the feet after his whole body was soaked for 20 minutes. After the oil was absorbed into the feet, I would wrap his feet in gauze then put them in socks over night. I decided to put an Elizabethan Collar on him while his feet were wrapped to reduce the risk of him ‘messing’ with his socks. One day I woke up and found holes in his socks but didn’t think much of it. He started vomiting by 10:30am and moving very gingerly so I called his holistic vet and left a message. The vet finally called me back 5 hours later, he was still vomiting but the vet told me not to worry. His vomiting increased and I called the vet again and left a message. The vet called me back after 8pm and by that time he had vomited over 10 times. The vet told me he was starting to bloat and that I needed to get him Mylanta or take him to the emergency room. I stayed up the whole night giving him Mylanta ever couple hours and massaging his tummy continuously. By the next morning he’d only vomited a couple times, but he was even more immobile. I just kept a close eye on him and kept massaging his tummy threw the day. By night fall he started to get a little energy back. I let him outside and watched every move he made, he finally ended up going potty. (This is where it gets kind of gross) I noticed when he was having a bowel movement that it looked like he was passing an intestine, I was extremely scared. He didn’t look like he was in pain so I didn’t assist him. When he was done going potty he grabbed a tennis ball and started running around like a maniac, talk about confusing. I went into the house got a flashlight, tape measure and a stick. He ended up passing 32 inches of gauze!! The essential oils had caused the vomiting and the gauze caused the bloat. After that I decided to go back to my regular vet. This second case of Demodex took around 5 months to treat.

 

He had to wear absorbent pads and socks every time he went to a public place. The sores on his paws were oozing blood and body fluid constantly. I had to protect his open sores from infection.

I’m going to brag for one second here. Even though Anubis was wearing socks and had paws that looked terrible, he still received his CGC title and passed his Advanced Obedience class.

 

Anubis has been Demodex free since November 2005. I can’t begin to explain how relieving it feels to have a dog that can stand on his own 4 feet, pun intended. I have learned more from this horrible situation than I ever could have from a book.

 

So, I learned about more than just Dane health in this experience. Researching your breeder is essential. 

 

Anubis was neutered, and never bred, in order to help his body focus on it’s health.

 

 

The picture to the right is the first day we had Athos. Even though Anubis was hairless and covered in itchy bumps, Athos still cuddled up to him. Athos came in a great time of need for Anubis. The unconditional love these boys had for each other was just amazing to witness.

I have kept the name of his breeder private for various reasons. Thank you for understanding.

 

Pictured left is Anubis 1 hour after getting him home.

 

Anubis is pictured to the right healed, healthy and ready for anything. If you have read his whole page you know he got his CGC while wearing socks. Right after recovering I went on to train him in Agility, Rally O, many Advanced Obedience courses and to be a Service Dog for people affected with MS.  His call name, ‘Anubis’, and his registered name, ‘Whispered Tears of Pride’, describe him to no end. I have never known a dog that had been threw so much, and still gave me so much back. If I’m ever in a situation that feels hopeless, I look at Anubis and know that I can overcome it.

 

Pictured to the right at 11 months old.

Anubis Now

 IN DECEMBER OF 2006 ANUBIS’S BREEDER WAS SHUT DOWN BY THE AUTHORITIES OF THAT AREA.  (37 dogs were seized)

 

I THANK EVERY ANIMAL AND HUMAN INVOLVED IN STOPPING THIS BREEDER. IN THE END, MANY ANIMALS — PRESENT AND FUTURE— WERE SAVED.

 

I ALSO THANK EVERYONE  WHO HAS SENT ME EMAILS OF EMPATHY. KEEP LOVING YOUR ANIMALS, THEY WILL BE THERE FOR YOU NO MATTER WHAT.