HAPPY ENDINGS: DECKER AND STORM

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Hello,

I am emailing you to update you on one of your past rescues. And to let you know how thrilled we are to have adopted Decker (aka Darrel - LA Boxer Rescue #5759) and to thank you for him.

I'll give you a bit of background first. We already had two dogs when we were graced with Decker. We had a 3 year old female pug, DeJa and a two year old white, natural female boxer, Storm. We got Storm for DeJa because she was lonely and we had just moved to the country, to a small acreage (3 acres) and thought it would be nice to have a big dog around. Little did we know how Storm would change our lives. She is the sweetest, kindest dog in the world. I'm sure many people say that, and I'm sure it's true, I'm just a bit jaded.

Storm was one of seven puppies. However, four were still born. Storm was the last puppy when we went to get her. The lady told me on the phone she was black and white. She should have said she was white and a little black, but the stigma of the white boxers scares too many people off. Needless to say I was a bit surprised to see her, but fell in love instantly. She looks exactly like her mom, except that Storm still has her ears and tail - and always will. I knew I would be hooked on boxers as soon as I entered the breeder's house and this rather large black and white male came up to me and gave me the once over as if checking if I was worthy to be his puppy's new mom. After staring at me for at least half an hour, he gave me the biggest boxer hug, standing taller than my chest. With that, I scooped up my new baby and we were off. She was very withdrawn and quiet, a result of being in her mother's womb with the four dead puppies and possibly not having any interaction at all with the live ones. It took forever for her to trust us and show affection.

Storm and DeJa instantly became friends. For a while, and still sometimes, DeJa thinks she is Storm's mom. It's very endearing and hilarious. Storm grew surprisingly slow. For the first year of her life, she looked very emaciated. At 1 1/2 years, she only weighed 35lbs. She had constant problems such as eye infections, ear infections, a cracked dew claw - we had to have them removed as a result, and one underlying problem that would just not go away. If she drank more than 1/4 cup of water at a time, she would vomit - explained her low weight. As we all know, boxers love their water and she would cry for more, but we could only give her as much as she needed, not as much as she wanted. Broke our hearts. She was at the vets practically every other week for some reason or another and underwent every test imaginable trying to figure out this mystery. To no avail. We have a wonderful, very accomplished vet, but he was stumped. We resided to the fact that this was just the way she was, possibly a genetic problem from her mom's difficult pregnancy, and we would just make sure that we were doing everything we could for her and enjoy her for as long as she would be with us.

Storm is my baby. We are so close that it shocks me that she is a dog. She listens to me when I need someone to talk to and is always there with a hug that melts my heart whenever I need one or whenever she needs one. So, it broke my heart to have to leave her and DeJa in a kennel over night last July when me and my husband got married, but there was no other choice and it was and is a very wonderful reputable kennel - and she was with DeJa. As soon as we woke up the day after our wedding we went and retrieved our girls. They were so happy to see us. Storm had stressed a bit though and had developed a rash on her face and an eye infection. We cleaned her up and treated it as best we could, but we had to take her to the vet the next day for some antibiotics. The vet examined her and concluded that this was probably just another infection that Storm is so prone to and he prescribed some antibiotics. Her tummy was making some strange noises, but she had not been eating as she should have been, because of all the strange people at the house and such with the wedding, we guessed. Not her normal routine.

Well, upon arriving at home from the vet, Storm started hiding under tables and dressers, making the most horrid howling noises, foaming at the mouth and her stomach started to bloat. I phoned the vet back immediately and although they had already closed for the day was able to reach our vet still there and was told to bring her back ASAP. At this point, she couldn't even walk on her own, so I carried her to the car and raced her to the vet. They were waiting outside and I carried her in. They took x-rays right away and couldn't see any obstructions. So, they put a tube down her throat in an effort to release some air, as she was panting a lot and they thought it could just be some gas build up. They couldn't get the tube more than 1/3 of a foot down her throat.

Now, Storm is very in tune with me and I with her, so she would not let me out of her sight and she kept showing me her tummy. With all the ailments she has had, I have done a bunch of research on boxers and had read about stomach torsion and I know it can kill a dog in as little as 45 minutes. So, when the vet said it was a possibility, even though it was not visible on the x-rays and he was unsure, I was terrified. I know it usually happens if the dog had eaten or drank a lot and then played or ran, but she hadn't eaten in a day and a half. But looking at her on the table and holding her in my arms while I watched the life slipping away from her, I told him that if he even thought it was a possibility, cut her open. No more wasting time. I figured, she was dying and something was wrong, stomach torsion or not, they had to get in there. I kissed her goodbye and they gave her anesthetic and proceeded with the surgery. They told me when they opened her up her stomach was blue, but as soon as they turned it back around, it turned pink. Amazingly, she recovered.

When we got her home, we noticed she was able to drink as much water as she wanted and wasn't vomiting. Her problem all along had been a slightly twisted stomach and when she was away from us at the kennel, separation anxiety had caused it to turn completely. Unbelievable. Still Storm didn't gain much weight staying at a steady 35 - 38lbs and still having occasional problems, but that was fine. She seemed a lot healthier and happier and we were so blessed to still have her.

Which brings us to the newest chapter in our story. (Boy, I really had not intended to send such a long email, but once you get started....)