Back From The Dead

About 6 weeks ago my 7 yr old yellow lab, Cooper, came up lame. We were out training on a Thursday and we ran a few marks out to 200 yards with Cooper running hard both directions as usual. The next day he came up lame. I took him to the vet, had xrays done and nothing came up. He he was diagnosed with a probable groin injury or pulled muscle.

A week later he is in grave condition. He can no longer walk and when he stands up his back end would collapse. Back to the vet. This time he has a high fever and an MRI is done. The MRI shows a large "unknown mass" in his abdomen which is pressing against his spine (causing paralysis)and has pushed his colon down against his lower body. His hind legs are starting to swell and he is obviously in a great deal of pain. Unfortunately, the original xrays were focused on his spine and his hips so the mass was missed by mere inches in the xrays.

Emergency surgery is scheduled and I get the call from my vet when he opens him up. The mass is an abscess which has burst and is leaking pus into his body cavity. The abscess was likely caused by a foxtail that he either ingested or huffed up his nose. My vet says he has less than a 50% chance of survival and will need to kept in the hospital for 2 weeks if he survives. Then he asks me the big question... "What do you want to do, Mark?"

My first thought was his quality of life. Will he regain use of his legs if he survives? This is a hard charging dog and a handicapped life of leisure isn't going to go over well for him. Bill (my vet) simply tells me he doesn't have a crystal ball, but that Cooper is in bad shape. I envision him lying on the operating table with his guts laying there and I quickly decide to take the 50% chance. He's been a good dog to me and I owe it to him to give him a shot. Bill and I agree that a few days after the surgery we'll re-evaluate the situation and decide on the next move.

That night he calls me and says that Cooper is standing up in his kennel eating his dinner and wagging his tail. He has a drain tube inserted into his abdomen so he can be flushed and drained daily to keep his insides clean and fight off the infection. He wants me to come in and see him the next day. I go in and he looks pretty bad. He's got 2 grossly swollen hind legs, he has a tube dripping fluids from his abdomen, his stomach is shaved, he has a huge incision that is all stitched up and he's wearing one of those funny Elizabethan Collars!

In spite of all of that, when he sees me he gets up, wags his tail and get's that lab smile that some of you are familiar with. They let me take him out and walk him around to help with the swelling and he's moving pretty well considering what he had gone through less than 24 hrs earlier. It's hard to see him like this, but the alternative was even harder to imagine. I went in every day, sometimes twice a day to check up on him and walk him around.

Fast forward 5 days... Cooper was sent home with me 5 days after his surgery. He was a little stiff, but overall he was in pretty good shape. His drain tube had been removed and a week later his sutures were removed. We kept him on meds (antibiotics) for another 2 weeks and he was given a clean bill of health last Monday. He's playing with my other 2 labs and seems to be in good spirits. He's acting like a puppy again.

So, less than 6 weeks after his surgery, he was back at my side and duck hunting with me yesterday. He picked up a few birds and acted like his usual self. The only sign that he's been through so much trauma is the fact that his belly is still bald! Other than that, he acts normal and healthy.

Sorry for the long post. I just needed top share this with you guys. I've held off posting anything until I had a handle on his future. As it turns out, it looks like he has a new lease on life.

Here's Cooper The Miracle Dog on yesterday duck hunt...