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German Shorthaired Pointer : : Female : : Baby : : Medium
Learn more about the German Shorthaired Pointer.
More about BucketGood with Dogs, Good with Cats Special Needs: Meet Bucket – a special girl needing a special family. Bucket is one of 11 pups born to Rhiley, a pregnant German Shorthaired Pointer, who came to us in late August. Born on September 3 all eleven pups seemed to be thriving and did very well for the first few weeks of life. In early October, we noticed that one female pup was not growing as fast as the others and seemed to be thinner than all the other pups. We monitored her closely to make sure she was being fed from her mom and we added extra bottle feedings to her days. By week six she was getting worse and was having difficulty breathing. After several tests and visits, it was discovered that she suffered from a Mega-Esophagus. What this means is that her esophagus does not have the muscle to move food down into the stomach. What we had missed while ensuring she was getting several feedings each day was that it would later come back up 20 to 30 minutes later, never reaching her stomach and being cleaned up by her mom. Because she would be in a horizontal position the food just laid in the esophagus, compressing her lung capacity making it hard to breathe until it came out. Bucket was starving to death. Since there are no surgeries to correct this situation and only a 30% chance she will outgrow it there was discussion of euthanizing her. Bucket has stolen our hearts but with foster homes filled to capacity with other long-term special needs dogs our choices were limited. Our plan was to bring her home before any final decisions were to be made; to give her a few days to experience a full belly without compromised breathing. For the first time in her life, not be starving. Our vets showed us how we could accomplish feeding her and what needed to be done. All it takes is time and gravity. We prop her up in a bucket and feed her canned dog food mixed with water. After each meal she sits in the bucket for about 20 to 30 minutes to allow the food to reach her stomach. That was all it took. She began putting on weight and acting like any other puppy. Now do not think that Bucket is any delicate flower. At 10lbs, this girl takes on all the other dogs in her foster home – Shelties, Labs, Bernese Mountain dog. Everyone is subject to her stalking, jumping and tug of war games. She is learning to walk on a leash (except on rainy days – does not like to get her feet wet), is well on her way to being completely housetrained and would be an ideal addition to an active family with another dog looking for a playmate. Being a puppy, she is getting three meals a day so a requirement for her new family is that they have the time to do her feedings, which take about a half hour each (feeding and bucket sitting). As she gets older her meals could be cut down to twice a day. We have even found a Yahoo group for other families whose dogs have ME (mega esophagus) which offers lots of support and advice. Bucket is a purebred Pointer though she will probably be smaller than your typical pointers. There are vets who have told us that since there is potential for aspirated pneumonia (from inhaling food that has not reached the stomach) Bucket’s chance of living a full length of life is limited. We don’t agree. We have been doing these feedings going on two months now with no issues. No regurgitation, no ill effects. Because we have been doing these feedings with her from a very young age it’s all she knows and is routine to her. We know in our hearts there is a family out there for her. She has brought us so much joy and so many laughs we just know there is someone special out there for her. For further information on ME: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/megaesophagus/ If you would like further information about Bucket of feel you could offer her a forever home, please send an email to Delpuprescue@aol.com. Thank you, DPR and Bucket Other Pictures of Bucket (click to see larger version):
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