Pancho’s Painful Mouth
Such a sweet boy who has endured years of pain and, somehow, still
loves and trusts people.
A message was sent to President Pam about a sweet senior dachshund
in Puerto Rico with a huge scar across his little 10 pound body that
had long since healed.
The picture showed a little red dachshund with beautiful eyes, ribs
showing and a blur of a tail wagging behind him.
Of course, the answer was yes, when can you get him here?
He was named Pancho and transportation was set up. Pancho arrived
early one morning a few days ago and off he went to Dr. Bruce’s Animal Hospital.
He got a warm blanket and a soft bed and given some time to settle
in after his trip. Shortly after arriving, the staff noticed blood on
his bed and blanket and Dr. Bruce was alerted.
After examination, two things were noted: He has a raging heart
murmur and some of the nastiest teeth we have seen in a long time.
X-rays were taken and they showed that he needed to see a
cardiologist and that his teeth were so rotten that the rot started
decaying the jaw bone.
They were so rotten that they were bleeding. With this information,
Pam knew that he needed the expertise that LeadER Animal Specialty
Hospital could offer.
He was scooped up and off they went.
Pancho was seen by Dr. Phillips who put together a plan for this
sweet old man. Step one was consult with surgeon Dr. Marin so she
could figure out whether some of his jaw would need to be removed.
Poor Pancho’s mouth is so painful that she couldn’t get a good feel
of whether the jaw bone is broken or if it can be saved. She decided
to give him some more pain meds and get Dr. Schroeder to do an
echocardiogram to evaluate how bad his heart is.
Once we have that info, Dr. Marin will work with that and place him
under anesthesia, using recommendations from the cardiologist, to
evaluate the state of his teeth and jaw.
We are hopeful that he does not need a mandibulectomy (removal of
part of the lower jaw) and that the team can clean and save a few of
his teeth.
We cannot imagine how long this little guy has been in this shape
and it hurts our hearts to think of the pain he has endured.
But we are so grateful that he is with us, with our amazing
community and to our friends in Puerto Rico that work so hard to find
safe places for so many homeless dogs that are roaming the streets there.
Will your join our team to help cover Pancho’s care so we can be
ready to help the next sweet senior Doxie in need?
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