Mr. Lincoln

This week starts with the best adoption story ever. Mr. Lincoln has been adopted!

It was July 5th when I got a call from a man with a Bulldog who was dying … and it was a slow, miserable death. His Bulldog had stopped urinating, just a drip every here and there. The normally big, fat puppy was now skin and bones. The dog couldn’t walk ~ all he could do was stay curled up in a ball.

I reached out to my friend Deb who lives in the same town as the owner. Deb was walking out the door to go fishing with her family, but she said she’d pick up the dog first, take him to her home and we would meet in the evening.

The second Deb had him, she called me and said he was like a dead dog walking. She bathed him, started him on antibiotics and hand fed him chicken. Mr. Lincoln survived the trip to the vet clinic, but barely.

After getting his medical records, we learned Mr. Lincoln had made a number of trips to a vet clinic previously. He was given a handful of antibiotics each time and the vet’s note was always the same: “Recommend surgery or euthanasia.” Mr. Lincoln had been suffering for more than 30 days.

Mr. Lincoln had developed sepsis after suffering for a month with a blocked urethra. His bladder had rotted in one location, which had to be removed, and a bladder resection performed. The entire length of the urethra was torn and shredded due to previous trauma of jabbing a catheter in him to help him urinate. Mr. Lincoln’s penis had been broken.

Mr. Lincoln had a permanent perineal urethrostomy so he could urinate normally. His white cell count took over a month to get back to normal and he had severe anemia. I could write a book on Mr. Lincoln and all his medical problems.

Every day, the update started with, “Mr. Lincoln lived through the night!” Then it became, “Mr. Lincoln is not out of the woods yet, but…”

It was weeks and weeks of baby steps. There were a lot of prayers of “Please don’t let him die ~ he’s just a baby.”

It was weeks of going home with Dr. Larsen at night and then back to the vet clinic for the day.

It was numerous IVs to flush his kidneys.

It was a milestone when he could stand up and walk a few steps.

Then it became Mr. Lincoln barking at me, and then standing up and wiggling all over. Then he was running through the vet clinic. It was like watching a miracle unfold right before your eyes.

Now, here is Mr. Lincoln on adoption day with Mary, Cort and their two Bulldogs, Charlie and Buttercup. Mary was the loudest voice in Mr. Lincoln’s cheering section. Mary and Cort recently had to say goodbye to alumna Iris Jane. She had her own medical problems and was loved beyond measure. Unfortunately, Iris Jane passed before she got to meet Mr. Lincoln, but we know she would have loved him.

Dr. Larsen shed some tears when Mr. Lincoln left the vet clinic for his new life with Mary and Cort, and Mr. Lincoln shed some too. He knew she helped to save his life.

It was a happy, yet sad July 4th for me when I joined rescue.

I’ve been losing weight and have been sick for weeks. I’ve been dribbling pee and not eating. The vet thinks I may have some kind of bladder stone. My dad knew I needed immediate care, but he’s going through a divorce and he just couldn’t afford the surgery to fix my problem. So he did the next best thing—he called rescue.

This week will be my Independence Day from whatever that is making me sick. I have already talked to Dr. Larsen and she is standing by for surgery as soon as I get to the vet clinic.

The nice man taking care of me tonight got me to eat a little rotisserie chicken and he gave me an IV to get more fluids in me. He and Dr. Larsen sure talked a lot about me.

I have already met some other Bulldogs and I think we became quick friends. Give me a few days to get fixed up and I will check back and let you know more about me. Right now, I just want to rest up and get ready for my surgery and be set free from all the discomfort.

I will check back in a few days and let you know how everything went. Say a little prayer for me and my dad for us to get through all this.

7/6/21 Update: It has been a very long first full day in rescue for Mr. Lincoln.

He made an early morning trip to the clinic where he was X-rayed, had his blood drawn, had his bladder catheterized and had a needle stuck in it for a urine sample to do cultures on. He is only 20 months old and now weighs only 30 pounds. His body temperature was only 99 degrees.

In spite of some IV fluids last night, he was still so dehydrated today that he received another 200 ml before surgery. His blood drawn was the darkest black we had ever seen.

This afternoon was all about surgery. His bladder was first. It was huge and extremely hard and thick. It should be soft and very pliable. The change is because it has been so full for so long the walls had to thicken to keep it from rupturing.

Despite the thickening, there was a small rupture that had partially healed, but the tissue was in very bad condition. Dr. Larsen removed a quarter-sized section. The bladder was filled with blood, blood clots, puss and bits of crystalized material. The bladder looked more like a small pumpkin than a bladder. One kidney was very large and inflamed. We are afraid the bladder is so hard, it may never function properly.

Next on the surgery schedule was his neuter, which was very routine.

Next was to repair damage done to his urethra. The portion of the urethra which runs close to the tail had been shredded, most likely from stones he passed. The urethra had to be dissected and rerouted. Instead of urine passing through the penis, it will now exit from a hole made between his legs. This sounds strange, but Dr. Larsen has had to do a few of these. Dogs normally adjust well and act like nothing has changed in their plumbing.

Here is where things stand tonight: he is resting comfortably after a long and tough day. We hope Dr. Larsen was able to find and bypass all the shredded urethra. We hope the kidneys and bladder function going forward, but this is a big question mark. The lab results due back tomorrow will give us a better idea of his pre-op kidney function.

Since he has not been eating because he felt so bad and has lost so much weight, we hope his appetite will improve and his digestive system will work properly. He will be on a special diet to aid kidney and intestinal function.

We hope the relocated urethra will work properly and the several incisions will heal properly. As you can see from the pictures, he has several long incisions.

Please keep your fingers crossed and say a few special prayers for this young boy. We will keep everyone updated. We appreciate all our wonderful friends who have been donating for his continued care.

7/8/21 Update: Lincoln is still very toxic from his kidney failure and is very weak. He did have some gruel and drink a little this morning. The staff is still running fluids to keep his kidneys flushed. They think he is a little better, but it is hard to tell. He is far from out of the woods. He actually looks better in his photos, if that tells you anything.

Dr. Larsen believes he was just 1-2 days away from an agonizing death before coming to rescue. She will take him home with her over the weekend to make sure she can keep an eye on him.

C’mon, Lincoln… We need you to keep fighting. You deserve to finally experience HEALTH and happiness! We want to give that to you. We ALL want to give that to you.

7/10/21 Update: His collar came and he’s still pouting about it, but he should be able to do more with this one.

Mr. Lincoln was being a bit rowdy for his fluids today! He hasn’t lost that loving feeling, if you know what I mean.

No vomit and appetite has improved. We’re giving fluids twice a day and pushing oral fluids, as well.

He’s still extremely pale, so he is pretty anemic. He is taking vitamins and iron to build him back up.

It takes a minimum of 15 days for the bone marrow to kick out more red blood cell count. His kidney values will be rechecked this coming week. We need some prayers.

7/13/21 Update: Lincoln is improving each day! It has been a week since his surgery. This morning, he went out on his own and had his best bowel movement.

But the best news is that he actually strained in his abdomen and was able to get some urine to come out all by himself. Before today, the staff had to press on his belly to get it to come out.

Each day it is the small steps that make us smile. You can tell he is more energetic and he’s eating and drinking more. The staff have cut back on the IVs and pain medication and that is helping him his appetite.

Thursday is his next big test day. We all pray he passes. The staff also will weigh him that day and let us know exactly how much weight he has gained.

7/15/21 Update: Today has been a good day for Mr. Lincoln. Though he looks like he has gained more weight, he has gained just over a pound in the past week. We think he probably lost a little in the days following surgery. His color and coat look so much better.

He had a blood draw today to check on his kidney function and the results will be back Friday. We are not expecting much improvement this early, but anything will be a cause for celebration.

He now has a very firm stool and he does a great job emptying his bladder almost completely on his own.

And finally, he had the staples from his bladder surgery removed and the stitches from his neuter removed. He still has some stitches from the area where his urethra was relocated.

His energy level is truly amazing. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, inquiries and donations.

7/23/21 Update: I know it sounds strange, but I have never been so excited to see a boy pee. You might have to enlarge the video, but when he squats, pee comes out in a good stream from his new pee-pee hole. It takes him a couple of tries to void his bladder, but he does.

Oh, and he has gained another pound in the past week and his color looks amazing. He is about ready to leave the vet clinic!