Sweet Caleb is not doing well with his new device. Our dear boy is having issues with the device working because his stricture is so far down his esophagus. The end of the tubing keeps kinking and wanting to come back up. Each time that happens, he has to have it repositioned and stitched back in place. Last night, his tubing got kinked and caused him to gag on it. The Specialists had to pull the device because it was no longer functioning properly. If we can't break up the stricture, then Caleb can't eat becasue he regurgitates his food back up. Eventually, Caleb will aspirate and end up with aspiration pneumonia. We are doing everything possible to keep this from happening by feeding him in a Bailey Chair in an upright position. As of now, none of this is working.
We now have an even bigger problem. Caleb has always had a little bit of kennel aggression since the day we rescued him. We have all learned to give him his space and to allow him to get out and run off his excess energy. If you leave him alone, he will settle down. The problem is that he attacked one of his Physicians yesterday while in ICU. It took three people get him off of her. He has become very unpredictable and also bit someone that wanted to pet him. With his medical condition, he has to be handled to get food down. We are having to move Caleb out of ICU and get him back to the hospital where he is familiar with everyone and the surroundings. We are hoping this will settle him where he can be handled again. Caleb is a big boy and is strong as an Ox. He can do a lot of damage to someone if they are not careful.
Caleb has been with a Trainer and has improved greatly since we first rescued him. Our hope was to get him well so he could go back to the Trainer that knows how to deal with this aggression. If we can't resolve his medical issue, none of this will happen because he has to eat to survive.
One of our top priorities for any animal that we rescue is for them to have a good Quality of Life. Dogs need to be dogs that are enjoying Life. Right now, Caleb is suffering, and that breaks all of our hearts. We are hopeful over the next couple of days, our dear boy will settle down and be able to eat food without regurgitating. Please, keep Caleb in your thoughts and prayers. He is in a very bad place that even we might not be able to resolve. We love this dear boy immensely and want nothing more than for him to be safe and happy.
