Gather around…..pull up a chair…..have a seat….we have a story to tell!

 

We would like to introduce SEPR Cobain.

 

Unlike some of the other dogs in our program, Cobain had a family of his own once upon a time, in a small Midwest town.  His first family lived across the street from the shelter, he was left outside for long hours during the day and he would frequently let himself out to run over and try to play with the shelter dogs.  This was his routine until he was given to another family, and then another family after that.  Finally after some time had passed, the shelter had gotten a phone call from a landlord stating that a tenant had left a dog in a kennel for over 48 hours with no food, water, or anywhere to potty.  Of course they weren’t going to let him stay like that, so Cobain became a resident of the shelter he used to visit.

 

Cobain sat in this shelter for almost an entire year,  all he saw was his kennel run.  During his long stay at the shelter, Cobain began to grow a little reactive to dogs, which in turn raised his stress levels.  Being a small town shelter with limited resources, there was only so much they could do to help him. Finally after 11 months, a foster spot opened up and Cobain walked out of the shelter with the promise never to return.

 

Once he got settled in, he got a thorough check up by our favorite vet Dr. Tom.  We realized Cobain had a torn ACL in his back left leg, so not only was he in the shelter for a year he also had been sitting  in pain for a long time.  We scheduled surgery right away, and repaired his bum knee.  Cobain has recovered nicely, and is back to 100% like nothing even happened.

 

Because of his urgent surgery, and the recovery that followed, Cobain had to take things a little slower than usual.  Introductions to canine residents, visits to public places, pack walks, everything had to take a back seat.  Once he was fully recovered, he could start partaking in some of the more fun things like pack walks, although, canine introductions were still taken very slowly.  But once Cobain had plenty of time to decompress from the stress of the shelter, and settle in to a good routine, he made a smooth integration with the resident dogs.

 

But it seems this kid just can’t catch a break.  After he was fully recovered from his ACL surgery, Cobain began to experience significant GI symptoms.  We began working with our vet, who was also consulting with specialists at IDEXX.  We ran multiple tests, looking for Addison’s disease, checking hormone levels, looking for culture growth.  Cobain tried many different treatments, prescription food allergy dog food, immune suppressants, heavy steroids, high dose probiotics, but he wasn’t responding to any of them.  So Cobain had to endure one more surgery to take biopsies of his GI system.  The results shows that Cobain does have significant inflammation which is due to IBD (irritable bowel disease), but he doesn’t respond to the typical medication used to treat IBD.  After another consult, a plan was made, a food switch to a dehydrated preservative free dog food and a different medication that’s not typically used to treat IBS.  The food switch has done wonders, the medication will take a little time yet to be able to fully see if he is responding.

 

Don’t worry, Cobain hasn’t let anything slow him down, not ACL surgery, not IBD, he is always happy no matter what he is going through.  He doesn’t hold any grudges, he loves every person he meets.  He is very attached to his people, and would love nothing more than to be by your side.  He’s just a laid back young kid that wants be a part of a family again.

 

Be sure to check back for updates, his story is ever evolving, but somewhere there is a happily ever after waiting for him.

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SPECIAL RECOGNITION TO COBAIN'S FOSTER FAMILY FOR THEIR TIME AND DONATIONS: 

Mike