Dog has been wandering around our friend's home for about a week. With these temperatures lately, I'm surprised he's lasted. Anytime anyone has tried to get near him, he runs away, but he was not going to last long and was pretty malnourished. We got a trap from the local animal hospital, and my wife put a bowl of warm ham in the trap.

This afternoon, we check the trap, and sure enough, he's caught.

We took him home, fed him, gave him some good, clean water, and made sure he was warm. He slept for several hours.

Now, however, he's panting and breathing in short, irregular breaths. He has a blue tint to his gums, too, so to be safe, we're taking him to a 24-hour animal hospital at the moment.

Has anyone else ever had issues like that with a dog, and did you ever find out what it was?


By the way, his name is Ivan.

Lots of respect for you otrap. I love dogs more than people. Let me know if his medical expenses get too great; I would be happy to donate in order to save his life.

sleeper;1374230 wrote:Lots of respect for you otrap. I love dogs more than people. Let me know if his medical expenses get too great; I would be happy to donate in order to save his life.

Thanks, sleeper.

I hope isadore is lurking. The lady from the local animal hospital said he looks to be a Staffordshire Terrier.

I volunteered at the Berea Animal Rescue for 4 years, you're doing the right thing. Hopefully the vet doesn't charge you.

sleeper;1374230 wrote:Lots of respect for you otrap. I love dogs more than people. Let me know if his medical expenses get too great; I would be happy to donate in order to save his life.

Donate on your iPad?

Commander of Awesome;1374239 wrote:I volunteered at the Berea Animal Rescue for 4 years, you're doing the right thing. Hopefully the vet doesn't charge you.

Thank you. This is reassuring.

A fun little side-note. This dog farts like once a minute, and his ass is the worst-smelling thing in the world. Again, though, I'm not surprised, since he's pretty much been forraging for whatever he can find for awhile. Hardly a healthy or steady diet, so I can imagine his digestive system is upset.

O-Trap;1374226 wrote:By the way, his name is Ivan.

How did you find this out?

Sonofanump;1374247 wrote:How did you find this out?

We named him.

Good call on taking the dog to the vet. Blue gums are a sign of a disease called Syanosis (sp?) I believe it was. We had the same problem with one of our dogs, but it ended up being nothing, but that was something the vet warned us it could be, and that's a serious issue. Don't remember exactly what it is. Something about the dog not having enough blood or something if I remember correctly.

GoChiefs;1374252 wrote:Good call on taking the dog to the vet. Blue gums are a sign of a disease called Syanosis (sp?) I believe it was. We had the same problem with one of our dogs, but it ended up being nothing, but that was something the vet warned us it could be, and that's a serious issue. Don't remember exactly what it is. Something about the dog not having enough blood or something if I remember correctly.

As I read, I think it's a lack of oxygen in the blood. Thanks for the affirmation, though. I'm more and more glad we took him.

O-Trap;1374250 wrote:We named him.

6 years ago I rescued a coon dog under the same kind of circumstances. I named him Stains which my wife thought was a good idea until I stood on the porch and yelled "Come Stains! Come Stains!"
She changed his name pretty quick after that. Still have him and sometimes I think to myself "who rescued who?" LOL! Good for you O-Trap, Good Luck

Mr Miyagi;1374278 wrote:6 years ago I rescued a coon dog under the same kind of circumstances. I named him Stains which my wife thought was a good idea until I stood on the porch and yelled "Come Stains! Come Stains!"
She changed his name pretty quick after that. Still have him and sometimes I think to myself "who rescued who?" LOL! Good for you O-Trap, Good Luck

If only I could rep you again. If I could I would.

I have to get off my phone and get to my PC to give Reps...to Sleeper even Ahhh FML. It will happen though. You can take that to the Bank.

Got back from the hospital. Nothing life threatening. They said that because he's a pit with several large scars, he was possibly at least briefly involved in a dog fighting ring, so they did a pretty thorough uninvasive check for internal injuries, particularly hernias and broken bones.

Either way, they did seem to think he was in pain, which accounted for the irregular breathing and panting, even though he didn't seem to have any tender spots, so they gave him some pain meds. He's about 49 pounds now, but they say he should gain about 10 pounds when he gets back to a healthy diet.

Just glad he's okay.

Now if we can just keep him from farting so much. I swear to already having called him 'Ivan the Terrible'.

They did charge us for the care and the meds. $130, but in my opinion, it was totally worth it, and I was happy to pay it.

We're taking him to a clinic tomorrow, since tonight they just checked to make sure he wasn't seriously sick or injured. Hoping for the best.

I seriously might keep this dog. We already have 3, but he's just a great dog.

O-Trap;1374287 wrote:Got back from the hospital. Nothing life threatening. They said that because he's a pit with several large scars, he was possibly at least briefly involved in a dog fighting ring, so they did a pretty thorough uninvasive check for internal injuries, particularly hernias and broken bones.

Either way, they did seem to think he was in pain, which accounted for the irregular breathing and panting, even though he didn't seem to have any tender spots, so they gave him some pain meds. He's about 49 pounds now, but they say he should gain about 10 pounds when he gets back to a healthy diet.

Just glad he's okay.

Now if we can just keep him from farting so much. I swear to already having called him 'Ivan the Terrible'.

They did charge us for the care and the meds. $130, but in my opinion, it was totally worth it, and I was happy to pay it.

We're taking him to a clinic tomorrow, since tonight they just checked to make sure he wasn't seriously sick or injured. Hoping for the best.

I seriously might keep this dog. We already have 3, but he's just a great dog.

Would Rep again if I could. Take care of that dog. I already told Sleeper I'd match what he'd pay...Seriously. My Mutt was a pound puppy almost 15 years ago and she doesn't have that much time left, and she was abused before I got her.. Something about dogs with tough life's that kill me...WTF!!!

O-Trap;1374287 wrote:Got back from the hospital. Nothing life threatening. They said that because he's a pit with several large scars, he was possibly at least briefly involved in a dog fighting ring, so they did a pretty thorough uninvasive check for internal injuries, particularly hernias and broken bones.

Either way, they did seem to think he was in pain, which accounted for the irregular breathing and panting, even though he didn't seem to have any tender spots, so they gave him some pain meds. He's about 49 pounds now, but they say he should gain about 10 pounds when he gets back to a healthy diet.

Just glad he's okay.

Now if we can just keep him from farting so much. I swear to already having called him 'Ivan the Terrible'.

They did charge us for the care and the meds. $130, but in my opinion, it was totally worth it, and I was happy to pay it.

We're taking him to a clinic tomorrow, since tonight they just checked to make sure he wasn't seriously sick or injured. Hoping for the best.

I seriously might keep this dog. We already have 3, but he's just a great dog.

Would Rep again if I could. Take care of that dog. I already told Sleeper I'd match what he'd pay...Seriously. My Mutt was a pound puppy almost 15 years ago and she doesn't have that much time left, and she was abused before I got her... Something about dogs with tough life's that kill me...WTF!!!

Keep the dog it will be the best decision you ever make.

sportschampps, we're giving it serious consideration.

Baldy, get your account right!

O-Trap;1374287 wrote:Got back from the hospital. Nothing life threatening. They said that because he's a pit with several large scars, he was possibly at least briefly involved in a dog fighting ring, so they did a pretty thorough uninvasive check for internal injuries, particularly hernias and broken bones.

Either way, they did seem to think he was in pain, which accounted for the irregular breathing and panting, even though he didn't seem to have any tender spots, so they gave him some pain meds. He's about 49 pounds now, but they say he should gain about 10 pounds when he gets back to a healthy diet.

Just glad he's okay.

Now if we can just keep him from farting so much. I swear to already having called him 'Ivan the Terrible'.

They did charge us for the care and the meds. $130, but in my opinion, it was totally worth it, and I was happy to pay it.

We're taking him to a clinic tomorrow, since tonight they just checked to make sure he wasn't seriously sick or injured. Hoping for the best.

I seriously might keep this dog. We already have 3, but he's just a great dog.

Would Rep again if I could. Take care of that dog. I already told Sleeper I'd match what he'd pay...Seriously. My Mutt was a pound puppy almost 15 years ago and she doesn't have that much time left, and she was abused before I got her... Something about dogs with tough life's that kill me...WTF!!!

Going to be a beautiful dog when it is full grown.

Good for you.

Well done ! Keep the dog.

All the reps I can give to you for this. Kudos for being a good person.

Nice job, O-Trap. On a similar note, our office has "adopted" a cat that, as a kitten, a customer found on the side of the road with his paws duct taped to the bottom of a box. It's funny, but rescuing a helpless or abused animal makes you feel good about yourself. Again, well done.

Saw your pictures on FB and meant to comment. Huge, huge kudos for helping that little guy. He is adorable and I am sure he is so happy to be out of the cold and with people who care. My dog was a rescue and he has been the biggest joy in my life the last six years.

The first "reps" I have ever given on this site were for this topic. Great job O-Trap!

We adopted our dog a year and a half ago. He is an amazing pup and it kills me to think that he was close to being put down.