Sponsor Me - Meet Kris
 |
Kris is a young male who came to Hope's Haven in December of 2007. He was named Kris in
honor of the season. He appears to be a mix of Xolo and possibly Italian Greyhound.
Kris had been rescued by a very kind lady who read an ad placed by his owners. They were going to euthanize Kris, because he had tumor-like growths in his ears. They did not want to treat the dog. When she took him to her vet, he told her that it would cost approximately $3,000.00 to perform surgery on Kris. He was in severe pain as the growths had been left for so long. The veterinarian recommended euthanizing Kris. Instead, she contacted Hope's Haven and asked if there was any chance that he could come into rescue and receive the treatment necessary to save his life and give him a chance to find a loving family. |
| Kris not only had the growths in his ears, but his hair was very patchy and he was underweight. The lady who rescued him said he had been left out in the yard and had been covered with fleas. Most of his teeth are missing, and his tongue hangs out of the side of his mouth. This does not appear to bother Kris, but does give him a bit of a unique look. |
 |
 |
Kris was taken to specialists to see what could be done. The growths are caused by long-term untreated ear infections. The surgeon at the animal treatment center said surgery could be performed to remove the growths, but Kris would be deaf for the rest of his life. She recommended we speak to the dermatologist and see if they thought there were any other options before we did the surgery. |
| The dermatologist took skin scrapings and samples from Kris' ears. One ear was completely blocked by the growth. Kris was put on steroids and antibiotics while the samples were sent out to the University of Florida. The dermatologist said she was hopeful that treatment with antibiotics and steriods would shrink the growths in at least one ear and possibly both. |
|
|
Kris began a very long-term treatment of high doses of prednisone and antibiotics. His
ears had to be cleaned and two types of medication had to be injected into the ears on a
daily basis. His skin scrapings came back positive for numerous types of bacteria. He
was put on a medicated shampoo and had to be bathed twice a week. He was taken to his
regular vet to have blood tests taken for heartworm and to prepare to be neutered. The
bloodwork came back heartworm positive.
Kris was neutered and continued his trips to the specialist. The growths in both ears began to diminish and his hair was growing back. The specialist said that Kris could be treated for the heartworm disease between some of his ear treatments. Kris had some severe reactions to the heartworm treatment. The specialist had lowered his steroid dose, as the ear growths were improving. However, he developed a very bad cough and spiked an extremely high fever after his heartworm treatment. He had to have his steroid dose increased again to help with his reactions. It took a few weeks to get Kris over the hump and feeling better again. Kris is now doing much better. Both of his ears are open and one is completely cleared up! He is doing well in his foster home and enjoys being a pet and getting lots of attention. He has been an absolute trooper throughout his long months of treatment. He has never growled and has been extremely patient even when he had to have syringes and swabs stuck down in his ears, which were so painful for such a long time. We are so happy he did not have to have the surgery which would have left him deaf and had other potential side effects. However, his non-surgical treatments have been almost as costly as the surgical option and he has had a number of trips to his regular vet to check his bloodwork since his reaction to his heartworm treatment. Kris now has the opportunity to live out his life happy and healthy once he finishes up all of his ear treatments and is found to be heartworm free. He loves all the attention he gets from people and being a loved member of a family. |
Kris sends his thanks!
Kris' Sponsors:
Jeffrey and Linda Amedee
Jeanmarie Ragan
Jayel Silverman
Patricia Taylor