Saving Private Peter

Meet Peter (a.k.a. Petey). He is a two and a half year old, mixed breed miracle. Our story starts when I met him as a patient at the veterinary clinic I was managing at the time. I had just transferred to that location and heard from others that he was the hospital’s “frequent flyer”. They were right.

Over the next 6 months, I would see Petey come in at least once if not twice a month with a urinary blockage. Petey has a condition that causes his body to create urate crystals that, left untreated, turn into stones causing blockages. This specific crystal is typically found in Dalmatians and sometimes English Bulldogs, Petey is neither.

Unfortunately, Petey’s previous owners were unable to afford the continuous treatment let alone potential surgeries he would need and came to the heartbreaking decision to humanely euthanize him. This was difficult for his owners and the staff who had come to love the sweet goofball. When it came time, his owners signed the necessary paperwork, IV catheters were placed, and the drugs were pulled up, but his doctor just couldn’t bring herself to administer them without one final try.

I happened to know a doctor at a shelter who agreed to do the Cystotomy (surgery to remove bladder stones) if the owner surrendered him and I fostered during his recovery. I informed his owners of the option to do this and they were happy to give him any chance at life that they could.

As soon as I ended my shift that night, I called my girlfriend to let her know that I would, in fact, be bringing another dog home that night (we three others at home). She was already aware of Petey and his condition as I frequently mentioned him when discussing work. Luckily for me, she also works at a vet clinic and understood his condition and needs. I promised that it would just be for two weeks while he recovered and then he would go to the shelter for adoption. Of course, she was skeptical if I would be able to uphold that promise. I wouldn’t.

The next day began Petey’s medical journey. He underwent his first surgery, recovered from the anesthesia well, and came home with me that night.

Over the next two weeks, Petey recovered with flying colors. We bought him his own bed and toys, introduced him to our dogs, and then the time came for him to be ready for adoption. My girlfriend and I tried to convince ourselves of reasons to not have another dog. We didn’t need another one. Did we want to take on his medical responsibilities? People would think we’re crazy with four dogs. I even considered us crazy with four dogs. But Petey just fit in so well with the other three and they had already become best friends it was hard to think of our house without him. Also, did I forget to mention how ridiculously cute he is?

The next morning, I went to the shelter and filled out the paperwork to officially adopt him.

Petey was officially part of the family. We started taking him to our favorite dog park and he met even more friends there! Anyone who met him was so captivated by his fun personality and his excessively long tongue (by the way, no it does not fit in his mouth).

Over the next few months, life continued that way. He was recovered from his surgery, eating his prescription diet, taking his daily medications like he was supposed to, and urinating with no issues. Until he wasn’t.

He started getting urinary blockages almost on a weekly basis and we were having to use urinary catheters at home to relieve his bladder. We quickly realized something in his treatment wasn’t working and started calling veterinary clinics to schedule a new surgery, a perineal urethrostomy (PU).

This surgery consists of reconstruction of the urethra to create a new, bigger opening for him to urinate out of.

We expected Petey to recover the way he did after his first surgery, no complications and up and running again in no time. This was not the case. Within a week, we were back at the vet dropping him off for a second surgery. Still we had hope that this would put him back on track for a healthy life. Again it failed.

At this point, we had to turn to a specialist for help. We were quickly running out of steam and hope for him. We even discussed with his new vet that his options were going to be limited if this next surgery didn’t take and even discussed humane euthanasia. Needless to say, we were physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted, but Petey still had his same positive, uplifting energy which kept all of us going.

Petey underwent his fourth surgery in six months and remained hospitalized over the weekend. His doctor called us daily with updates and everything was looking good. Of course after the two previous surgeries failed, we were very worried and stressed about bringing him home, but so excited when we got the phone call that we could pick up our boy.

At pick up we talked with the technician and went over his discharge instructions. Petey was coming home with a urinary catheter in place that, ideally, we would keep in place for a week while the surgical site was healing. He was back in the cone of shame, on another course of antibiotics and pain medications, and on strict bed rest until further notice.

Petey would continue to have bi-weekly rechecks while he was healing. It was a slow process that consisted of doctor’s visits, tests, and more medications, but after three months he received his official okay from the doctor that he was healed enough to be discharged!

The first thing we did was take him to his favorite dog park and I have never seen him run faster! We like to refer to it as his Freedom Run. He played for hours before we took him home. It has become our weekend ritual to take him and the others out either to a park, river, or anywhere they can have fun. Petey reminds us of how short their time is here and to try to give them the best life they can have.

Petey was given, I think, more than a second chance at life. While he continues to stay on a prescription diet and medications, we have, luckily, not had any complications. We love to take him and the rest of the family on adventures and even created an Instagram account for him!

With all of these doctors who have cared for him and his story, Petey has been gifted the opportunity to travel, go swimming, meet new friends, and share his story to educate the public. He has also changed our lives with this experience and love to support others in their causes.

We will always support the rescue of animals, especially those with special needs. They, more than anyone, need support and voices to speak on their behalf. They may require time, patience, and money, but they are the most worth it.

It has almost been a year since we adopted Petey and our family grew. I have since started working with the shelter that gave him his first chance. Yes, we are the crazy people with four dogs. And we would do it all again.