Truman's Story

Email Page to Friend

Member Login

Hits:

Truman's Story

Truman is a classic example of the mills poor breeding. He has many behavioral and health issues. Truman just had costly surgery to remove stones/thickening of his bladder wall. The cost for the surgery was $1,100.00. If you would like to help with the cost for Truman's sugery bill and continuing health costs, click on the link that says "Truman Donations." This will bring you to Paypal with Truman's name. The amount is $5.00, but you can increase that by adding to the quantity, if you would like.
Or you may send a check to:
Papillon 911 Rescue & Adoption, Inc.
2335 Little John Trail
Marietta, GA 30067.

If we reach our needs for Truman's health costs, the excess donations will go to another of our Papillons in need. Thank You!

Truman Donations

Truman

Life can be a gamble for all of us, but Truman keeps being dealt some pretty bad cards in his game of life. His first set of bad cards was being born and kept in a puppy mill. Truman was kept in the millers possession and used as a "breeder" for Papillons, even though he is definitely a Papillon Mix. The next bad set of cards was being bounced through some foster homes, because he had some attitude and biting issues. He settled in this foster home around his third birthday. His third year has been a roller coaster ride. He has spent his third year learning and progressing. He has learned to live in a home. He learned his potty training quickly. He learned to get along with other dogs. Upon arrival, he seemed to have no idea what appropriate dog behavior and language was and had to be taught. He learned to trust humans to a point. He is not pushy, but wants visitors to pet him and scratch his ears, and he loves sit on the sofa with his foster Mom. He learned basic commands. It has been most fascinating to see Truman's progression. He watched the other dogs and taught himself to sit, lay, come, crate, and "nap time."

However, his third year has had some very low points, too. He progresses well, then backslides terribly for no apparent reason. The bad attitude and biting seemed to come out of nowhere and escalate to an unmanageable place. Then, just as suddenly, the good Truman would emerge again willing to work the his foster mother. The cycling continued until a sort of cycle began to appear. We shuffled the deck of cards for Truman and he was dealt a complete physical. This may be considered the best cards he has been dealt, for there are some answers. Truman's full physical showed a list of medical problems that started in his years in the puppy mill. Truman's unpredictable attitude can be attributed to some of these findings, and others just show the horrible conditions he lived through prior to being rescued by Papillon 911. His physical examination found:

1. Truman has scaring on his lungs from previous pneumonia left untreated.

2. The area I call his "deformed skull" is from extremely poor nutrition as a puppy. Because his muscles either never developed due to poor nutrition or they developed and then they were used to keep the rest of him alive during his puppy mill life. His skull's sunken areas will never fill in now.

3. Truman has a moderately-sized area of calcification on his left kidney from recurrent kidney infections, that were left untreated. This type of kidney calcification requires lifetime antibiotic treatment.

4. His heart could be slightly enlarged.

5. He has 10 or more bladder stones. After surgical removal and analysis of these stones, Truman will require a lifetime special diet, which will be based on the type of stones removed.

Truman's surgery for the removal of the bladder stones was arranged, but true to Truman's unlucky-in-cards life, things did not go as expected. Truman's attitude started to escalate prior to surgery. In the time between diagnosis and surgery his bladder stones traveled out of his bladder and into his urethra. Now that we know these stones had dropped, he was probably passing some of them. Because of their new location, the surgery was more extensive and invasive. During surgery the surgeon had to remove about a third of his bladder's internal lining due to excessive scaring and thickening. This scarring and thickening is an indicator of recurrent stones he has had most of his life, and he painfully tries to pass. This additional procedure will make his recover time longer and more uncomfortable.

Throughout Truman's life, he does all he can to be good. He tries so hard, but does not understand how his body keeps making him feel. I can see his unpredictable attitude is related to his cyclical physical pain. The good news is that Truman is a survivor. He has been through so much in his almost 4 years of life. Truman is a good boy and will continue to be one, he just needs his next deal to be the winning hand -- he needs four Aces. The 1st Ace is to be pain free; the 2nd Ace is to receive a bounty of love and patience; the 3rd Ace is to learn to live without pain and in harmony with people; and the 4th Ace is to have a long and wonderful life in a forever home that appreciates all he has endured.

By Truman's Foster Mom, 10-15-06 (Updates to follow.)

Update 11-24-06:
Truman is getting better each day. It is a little over 1 month since his bladder stones were surgically removed. He is feeling so much better. He is playing again and stalks his foster brother, Domino, for ownership of all the Merlin Balls. He is sitting on the sofa again to have his tummy rubbed. Something new for Truman is that he is letting my face touch his face, and he is thinking about maybe a Papillon Kiss or two. I know that will be in the future, but he is thinking about it. Truman has what it takes to be a great dog: intelligence, drive, energy, and a capacity to forget the past and move on with his life. Each day his past seems to melt away, drop by drop.

Update 1-26-07:

Truman had a followup vet appointment, and things are not looking good for him. Truman's urinalysis shows bacteria in his urine again, indicating the calcified areas in his kidneys are shedding bacteria. So he's back on antibiotics for 2 weeks, then an other urinalysis. During his vet visit the vet tech was carrying him back to his crate and the vet said he had never seen what happened next. Truman "sort of peed" on the tech's leg and all he was doing was spraying what looked like "sand" mixed with a small amount of liquid. The "sand" particles are crystals. This condition is not comfortable for him to pass, much less the stones, which he has passed before. He has had some behavior issues in the last few weeks, which I recognized as crystals or stones forming again. We are hoping he is not forming calcium oxalate stones again. Next week we X-ray again to find out if stones are developing. Truman just had surgery in mid October 2006 for the removal of 10 or more bladder stones, and he really does not want another surgery. He has been on a home-cooked highly-restrictive diet since his diagnosis, and we are hoping that the crystals only are forming. The whole idea of his restrictive diet is to keep urine at the correct pH. Concentrated urine is what precipitate the crystals and stones out of solution. He is forced a lot of fluids (very soupy meals) already to keep the concentration at a minimum. He needs to empty his bladder often to keep the urine concentration to a minimum. Truman also had his first professional grooming while at the vet's office. He looks and feels so good now that he is clean and fluffed. Truman has had a special person contact me to offer to have him groomed a few times, since he fights so badly when I try to brush or groom him. Truman wants to say a special Thank You to his "secret grooming fairy." All Truman wants in life is to be loved and safe. He has everything anyone would want in a faithful companion dog, and would excel in agility. Truman's life today is a tragedy that did not need to happen. If his medical issues had been treated while in the puppy mill, he would not be in the medically compromised condition he is in at the young age of 4 years old. I do believe his past life in the puppy mill has made all of his medical and behavioral issues exponentially worse today. Please keep Truman in your thoughts, and if you can help contribute to his on-going medical treatment, he would be eternally grateful.

Update 4-28-07:
Truman is loving life. He has been bladder stone free for about 6 months now. We have adjusted his diet and his medication and have found the correct doses and adjustments. He is so much happier now that his pain is gone. Things are looking up for Truman. Thanks everyone for helping this so deserving young boy. His special diet is easy to manage and his medicine costs about $20 a month. Now he needs his own special family that can appreciate how far he has come and how much farther he can go.

Update 5-12-07:
He is great with Come, Sit, Lay, Paw, Crate (housing or travel), he loves to zoom in the yard. He does not play fetch he plays "It is mine -- now try to get it from me." I think that has to do with Domino, because Domino believes he is the only one allowed to play with humans and makes it very difficult for the others to play. Truman loves to be petted and have tummy rubs, when he is not busy doing other things. He would do well with another medium- to small-sized dog. He does know he is bigger than the other dogs here, and uses his size to bump them out of the way. He loves to give kitty rubs on your legs so he can be the closest. He and Domino still don't like each other, so there are periodic skirmishes, with Domino still in the alpha position. Truman would need to have a docile sibling or one that will put him in his place immediately. He has an alpha tendency, but not overbearing about it, with an established firm alpha. He really needs to find his forever home, I know there is the right home out there somewhere that has the time and energy to let him fully blossom and put his energy to good use. Do any of you agility folks know someone looking for an agility dog? He would be perfect and happy doing it.

Truman's listing

Truman (aka Rudy)-Oct. 2005 Truman-Jan. 2007