POPS (as we named him), a 10+ year old cattle dog was picked up as a stray in Illinois and taken to a high-kill shelter. Homeward Bound Rescue located in Illinois contacted Top Dog Foundation to see if we might be able to save him from being euthanized. He was transported to Minnesota by volunteers and into one of our foster homes.
At the shelter he had been given a medical checkup and was listed to be in good health. Upon our examination he had a separated lower jaw and eating was extremely painful. It is not clear whether this has been an issue since birth or due to some past trauma, only that his jaw has been this way for quite some time. Radiographs revealed the details of the separation and surgery was performed to re-cut the lower jaw so that the cartilage and skin would start a healing process and then the jaw was wired into position. During surgery it was noted that several of his teeth had abscess infection and had to be removed. Due to the length and complexity of the surgery, some teeth had to be left for a second procedure 10 weeks later to remove the wires and the pin protruding through his jaw and to remove the remaining dead and rotted teeth.
Despite the pain Pops has been in for what appears to be years, he is incredibly sweet and loving. He cannot get enough attention and will politely but emphatically let you know when he wants you to love him.
Unfortunately, late one September night Pops had a severe seizure. It was too much even for this amazing guy. His foster mom immediately rushed him to the emergency vet, where his blood work showed he was terribly anemic. An ultrasound later showed his spleen was enlarged and bleeding internally. With much heartache and many tears, we made the difficult decision to say goodbye to Pops; he left us while cuddling in the loving arms of his foster mom. While Pops wasn’t with us very long he will always be special – his goofy smile and awkwardly adorable tail-nub waggle always made us smile.