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Meet Bowie - A Very Special SND Dobe!
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by Kim Somjen
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I never thought I would be the type of girl that would
fall in love in a few seconds. In my defense, I am sure
love doesn’t often come at the end of a rabies pole in
a body almost 40 pounds underweight, shivering and
barely recognizable as a Doberman. While it may not
have been love at first sight, I can recall the exact
moment I realized this stray dog was mine. It was days
before anyone could get near him, but one day as I
leaned over to water him he sniffed my hand and wagged
his stump of a tail, then leaned on me. Despite being a
college student with
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nowhere to keep a dog, with a family with neither the space nor the desire
for another dog, I knew Bowie would come home with me.It was a few days before
I even realized that there was something
drastically wrong with Bowie; his large perineal hernia would
require invasive surgery. Three surgeries later, it was clear that
Bowie would need surgical implants if we hoped to offer any lasting
success with the next surgery. Bowie was examined and scheduled for
surgery at the Tufts Vet School, where through the help of Special
Needs Dobermans, Bowie would receive two mesh implants in hopes to
recreate the disintegrated muscles. The surgery itself was much
more complicated than expected, and only one implant was possible
due to the complicated nature of placement. Bowie’s hernias were
much worse than originally thought, and he would need a second
surgery to complete the reconstruction. A few days post-surgery
Bowie was allowed to come home, as in typical Dober-fashion he was
unhappy away from home and was not eating unless Mommy was there.
Home only a day or two, I began to notice that Bowie was unable to
urinate normally when outside, and was dribbling urine all over the house.
After a weeks worth of emergency room visits that involved catheterizing Bowie
to drain his overextended bladder he was diagnosed with an atonic bladder; he
would need to be readmitted for placement of a permanent catheter in hopes that
keeping his bladder empty would allow it to regain muscle tone. While in the
hospital, Bowie was placed on a variety of medications to help him fully empty
his bladder, and after a week he was allowed to come home. For the next month,
we visited the vet school every few days for checkups. At home I would
catheterize him each night to drain his bladder and monitor how much urine
remained after he attempted to urinate. Slowly but surely, Bowie began to
regain normal control of his bladder, and his sense of humor returned.
Things were going well, until one day Bowie collapsed and was unable to regain
control of his limbs. After being rushed to the vet school and seen by the
neurologist, Bowie was scheduled for a MRI to determine what was causing his
neurological problems. His neck pain was continuous and hind end weakness
apparent, and his MRI soon showed why. The diagnosis was not Wobblers as we
had suspected but instead a bulging intervertebral disc compressing his spinal
cord. He was put on high doses of antioxidants, confined to his crate, and put
on anti-inflammatory drugs to bring down the swelling. As long as no further
injury occurred, surgery was not necessary at this point to repair the damage.
Three months after the surgery, many sleepless nights, a few frantic phone
calls to Steve, a handful of sobbing fits, and a rather large bill later,
Bowie is lying on the ground as I write this, gnawing on his bone. While he is
not 100%, he is a fighter and is getting better every single day. Thanks to the
help of so many people and most of all SND, we have been able to work through
this and still maintain his quality of life. His acupuncture treatments are
working well, and while he is still afraid of slippery surfaces and loses his
balance occasionally, he is getting stronger each day. His attitude through all
of this still remained true to the breed – no matter how much I can imagine he
hurt, he was always wiggling his rear, sprawled out on the bed and begging for
a tummy rub. The truth is, no matter how much I love him, my dog owes his life
to the kindness of others. It has been a long hard road that is not finished
yet, but we will take it in stride. Wherever this takes us, rest assured there
will be a second-hand Doberman leaning on me every step of the way.
Editor's Note: Congratulations to Bowie, who earned his CGC in May.
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