KYE

From his ODH mom:

KYE was released to a Shelter because his owner had too many un-neutered male dogs that were fighting with each other – KYE (at 9 years) was the oldest, had a large infected wound on his hind leg, and therefore the least desirable to keep.

When he arrived at the Shelter he weighed 93#.  He was very high energy in his kennel, and very quickly started loosing weight.  He was otherwise happy and healthy, so he was neutered and put up for adoption.  But no one came to pick KYE, and over the next 3 months he continued to fret and jump and bounce around in his kennel. Staff worked with him on obedience and manners, but he continued to lose weight even though his meals were also increased and he was monitored closely.  Eventually his weight loss became critical. Diagnostics including x-rays and an ultrasound were done, but nothing definitive was found to explain why KYE was wasting away – only a small amount of fluid in the sac around the heart that would need further assessment.

Old Dog Haven found a Final Refuge Home for KYE.  He is a very smart dog that tries very hard to please.  But he was also very stressed – he would constantly make a clicking/chomping sound with his teeth – like a nervous tick.   He is a Velcro-dog, and with his high energy, started out being very pushy and bossy with the other Final Refuge dogs in his new home.

KYE immediately went in for a cardiac evaluation.  He did have slight age-related heart valve disease, and a very tiny amount of fluid in the sac around the heart.  But no explanation as to the cause was found (though cancer hiding somewhere is a high probability) and nothing to explain his significant weight loss.

After 3 weeks in Final Refuge Care with lots of personal attention and walkies 3 times a day, KYE completely stopped his constant teeth clicking/chomping.  We continued obedience routines daily, and he became a remarkably calm (though still Velcro) dog.   KYE was much more relaxed in his ODH home, and he knew he was now part of a family that will stick with him no matter what.

Three weeks to the day, KYE was off to the Emergency Clinic.  He had suddenly developed a significant increase in the fluid around his heart, and also fluid in his abdomen – his heart could no longer pump effectively against the pressure around it.  Cancer in his heart muscle was the most probably cause.  Drainage of the fluid would have given ME maybe 2 more weeks with him, but KYE would have been miserable the entire time.  His quality time with us was way more important than us getting more time with him, so the decision was made to let him go.  The Technician brought him a cupcake with icing – he inhaled it wrapper and all 

I stroked his head and told him “we love our KYE” and he peacefully drifted away.