CHARLOTTE, NC......We have been contacted a lot recently by other Rescues that have taken in or found sweet dogs that were just too much for them to handle based on the injuries. Several of the cases, we thought were going to be quite extensive but turned out not to be. Once we did the medical, we returned them to the Rescue so they could foster and place the animal.
Such is not the case with Dear Benny. This sweet two-year-old Wire-Haired Terrier Mix is a 12-pound bundle of pure joy that was picked up by Volunteers after trying to catch him for quite a while. He was taken to a Vet where it was discovered he had a broken jar in about six places, and his hip joint was damaged, and he needed surgery. We agreed to take him and immediately had our Surgeons consulting on what needed to be fixed first. This poor pup had a hole in the roof of his mouth that was loaded with food and was terribly infected. How he was able to eat with his jaw moving all over the place, just goes to show how hungry he was. He was sedated, and his mouth was thoroughly cleaned out and x-rayed. We knew we had to put a feeding tube in, so the surgeons opted to get him stable and then let him eat to his heart's content for one day. The next day sweet Benny was scheduled for surgery to repair his hip and leg and to place a feeding tube. Benny did well with the FHO surgery, but he needed another Specialist to do his jaw and teeth surgery because there was nothing stable in his mouth for our Surgeon to plate.
Once Benny had recovered well enough from his first procedure; he was taken to a Dental Specialists for more surgery. This past week, Benny has been nothing but delightful to work with. Everyone loves him to pieces. There is a first for everything at Noah's Arks Rescue. We have done a lot of dental surgery but have never had molds made that were then anchored to the teeth to support the jaw. It just goes to show you how broken his mouth and jaw were. The Surgeons believe that if he had been hit by a car, he would not be here today because of his size. It looks like Benny has been kicked lots of time over a period because some wounds are older than others. Sweet Benny has a very long recovery. His feeding tube can be removed once he can eat by mouth all of the calories he needs to survive. After each feeding, there are strict procedures that have to be done to make sure his mouth is clean and all food has been rinsed and brushed away.
It was hard to show you in a picture all the places in Benny's mouth that were broken or fractured. The Surgeon taped off a dog skeleton to show the areas that were broken which I have posted. Sweet Benny is a testament to a dog wanting to be here. If my mouth and jaw were broken as many times as Benny's was, I would have rolled over and died. The pain he felt had to have been horrible. This beautiful sweet pup will make someone the best member of the Family. He loves everyone and doesn't even act like he has suffered unimaginable pain.
Bennie has had so much Surgery and Critical Care that his bills are through the roof, and we are not even close to being done. PLEASE, Donate toward his Medical Costs. No other Rescue could have taken on this sweet dog and guaranteed he would get whatever he needed to Survive and Thrive. We did, and we have so many more animals that also need our help. Please, DONATE so we can keep saving animals and showing them the unconditional LOVE they deserve.
