As of early Friday evening, NBRAN had raised all but $174 of the money needed to cover Dexter’s surgery. All donations over $2,500 earmarked for Dex’s surgery will be kept in a Guardian Angel’s account for future medical procedures for the dogs.
And, as of 7:00 AM Saturday, the goal had been met!
Here are the updates in case you are interested. Sorry I didn’t post these sooner, I was away from my blog all day on Friday.
From Dexter’s Mom…
I am sitting here overwhelmed with such gratitude for all you have donated, and the wonderful messages keeping Dexter close in your hearts. He came through the surgery well. I got a call from Dr. Sadanaga earlier this afternoon telling me the procedure went smoothly and he was in recovery. I spoke to his nurse a few hours ago and she said he was sleeping very comfortably-with the help of “”some very nice medications.” They will need him to drink and eat soft food before they will allow him to come home. There is a possibility he will be able to tomorrow night if all goes well. Dr. Sadanaga is a gem..he has done about 1,500 of these procedures and is using a combination of 2 procedures together that he has found reduces the incidence of aspiration pneumonia-which is the greatest risk with this surgery. He told us he has it down to a 2-3% risk vs. the 15-20% with the former way of doing the surgery. He had to remove his vocal cords, but Dex isn’t much of a barker anyway…he’s an actions speak louder than barks kind of guy. 🙂 He is expected to be able to have a great quality of life and enjoy his walks and romps with no problem. We have had to leash walk him in the yard and carry him up the steps, as he was so stressed by any activity. Dex loves life and is a curious guy so it has been heartbreaking to see him so limited in his activity these past few days…he has learned to give kisses and we know he would give a big one to all of you if he were able to do so. As you lay your head down to sleep tonight please send prayers up for him and know you have done a truly wonderful thing today for one of God’s most precious creatures…
Without NBRAN, he never would have had a chance. We are so proud to be a part of such a fantastic and compassionate group of people, and to have been chosen to help Dex heal his body and soul. With our heartfelt thanks to you all, from Beth, Tom , Tyler and Brittany siblings Molly and Rousseau Triolo.
I will keep you posted with updates of his progress.
*** Dexter’s Morning Update***
He had a comfortable night and just went out to do his business…he is breathing great, no sounds when he slept, and they will be taking him off his IV meds and starting him on oral meds and introducing soft food later this a.m. after Dr. Sadanaga evaluates him.
Friday a.m. update:
Just spoke to Dexter’s nurse. He had a comfortable night and just went out to do his business…she said he is breathing great, no sounds when he slept, and they will be taking him off his IV meds and starting him on oral meds and introducing soft food later this a.m. after Dr. Sadanaga evaluates hi…m. She made my day when she told me he isn’t half as nervous and anxious as they expected from our account of how he usually responds…this is his 3rd overnight hospital stay since we’ve had him and he usually is stressed out of his mind…I asked her to give him a big hug from all of his friends out there rooting for him and helping his cause. I should hear something around noon and will post an update as soon as I can. Again, your generosity and well wishes are overwhelming and Dex thanks everyone from the bottom of his heart. 🙂
Friday night.
We got him home and he went right to the water bowl and drank what seemed like a gallon. He is kind of zonked out from all the meds, but he ate a little wet food. I had to roll it in a small ball and leave it on the floor and walk away for him to eat it. That’s what we had to do the last time he came home from the teeth extractions…all 10!!! His activity is very restricted so we have him in his crate and he is resting. He is on a lot of meds so we got all those in him for tonight. He came to me and let me comfort him, which helped me as much if not more than him. All in all he is doing much better than I expected so fingers crossed. Molly and Rousseau are sensing something is not right so they are giving him his space..we are having a slumber party in the family room so it is easier for him to be in his big crate and close to the yard..he is on steroids and has to go ot the bathroom frequently. We told him about all of the good wishes and support that you have shown and he is very, very grateful. His incision is big, but looks good..we are putting cold compresses on to help with the swelling and in a few days they want us to do warm compresses a few times a day. His neck is shaved so we’ll have to get him a spiffy bandana for the holidays. Hoping we all have a restful night and that Dex has some sweet dreams about running around and breathing easy real soon.
If you were one of the folks that chipped a dollar or two in, thanks. If you didn’t, that’s fine, too. I know I hate being guilted into charitable donations.
This isn’t something I’d normally post about, but NBRAN and ABR, too, have both been overwhelmed with dogs of late and they need all the help they could get. Dexter would’ve gotten his surgery anyway, because the people at NBRAN are like that. But having donations specifically earmarked for Dexter means there’s still money available in that other coffer to help the rest of the dogs. How many dogs are we talking about? The day before Thanksgiving, NBRAN had 50 dogs waiting for foster homes.
Remember, most breeds have rescue groups of their own. There are also myriad all-breed and even all species rescue groups. Not to mention all the local shelters and SPCAs. There are lots of critters out there in need, which makes all of the support that flooded in for Dexter even more meaningful.