Bentley's Mega-Esophagus Medical Bills
Donation protected
Hi. Can you help my Mom with my medical bills?
My name is Bentley. My name was originally Bobby, but my Mom thought Bentley suited me much better and I like it -- see how my face is bent? J This is my story.
I have been told that some nice people found me wandering in their neighborhood three years ago. I don't remember much before that, but I don't think I had a great life. My tail was broken at some point and when my Mom calls me, she sometimes finds me cowering in a corner. Those nice people couldn't find my humans so they kept me. However, one year ago they had to move and couldn't take me with them, so I ended up at the Oregon Humane Society (OHS). That made me so sad.
The doctors at OHS knew they had to help me as they had never seen such bad dental disease -- ever. They estimated I was eight years old and from the looks of it, none of my owners had ever bothered to take care of my teeth. When they removed some teeth, my jaw broke due to bad bone decay. I know that sounds terrible, but I'm told it happens. Because of that, after my first surgery I had to have more surgeries than what was originally expected -- 5 in total! During this time, OHS asked my Mom to foster me as she's been a volunteer for 10 years and had two other "senior" wiener dogs at home. My foster period was only supposed to last 2 weeks, but it turned into 20 weeks.
Before my 4th surgery, my Mom had to drop me at OHS the day before so I could spend the night. I was SO scared and sad! I thought she wasn't going to keep me and I was going to lose the best family I had ever been with. Well, when she picked me up the next day I was so traumatized, I slept on my Mom's head for three nights! It wasn't my Mom's original intention to adopt me. She didn't want three dogs; however after that night, she decided that I needed to officially join her family.
Every day I think how lucky I am to have finally hit the family jackpot. My Mom is the best ever and makes me feel so loved. Plus my "brother-from-another-mother" and my "sister-from-another-mister" are so fun to hang out with. They have accepted me as though I have always been here. Sometimes Little Mom (my Mom's daughter) comes over and she's great too. She brings her dog to visit and I REALLY like that!
But now I have a big problem. Since January I had been vomiting a little bit so Mom changed my food. That seemed to help, so she wasn't too worried. She had to go out of the country so Little Mom and her dog came to stay with us. On the 2nd night my tummy hurt so I vomited many times. By the next morning I felt really bad and wouldn't eat. Little Mom took me to the doctor only to discover I had inhaled some of my vomit, which gave me pneumonia in both lungs. My doctor was very concerned so sent me and Little Mom to the dog hospital.
I ended up spending 5 days in the hospital. I had to be in an oxygen chamber for several days, have a needle in me that kept me hydrated, and had to be given a bunch of medicine. I felt AWFUL! My Mom came back from her trip as soon as she could. It was pretty scary -- I heard the doctor tell my Mom that I almost died.
I have since recovered from the pneumonia, but I have another problem now that they think developed from all the vomiting. The hospital put a tube down into my tummy while I was asleep and did all sorts of tests to determine what was wrong with me while I was there. My condition is called "mega-esophagus" which is a fancy word for "I can't swallow normally". My Mom has to hold me vertically while she feeds me (and only soft food). Then she has to keep me vertical for 20-30 minutes so the food can drop into my tummy via gravity. If she doesn't do that, the food just comes right back up. I also overheard the doctor tell my Mom that most humans aren't willing to deal with this problem, but my Mom is the BEST and doesn't mind. She even bought me this doggy pack thing so she can carry me around after she feeds me. Other than the funny way I eat, I have a totally normal life.
My Mom had to pay a HUGE hospital bill because of what happened with me getting pneumonia and all. She could use some help with the burden of that bill. But my Mom is not very comfortable asking for help, so I am asking on her behalf. She has done so much for me and I love my new life -- can you please
My name is Bentley. My name was originally Bobby, but my Mom thought Bentley suited me much better and I like it -- see how my face is bent? J This is my story.
I have been told that some nice people found me wandering in their neighborhood three years ago. I don't remember much before that, but I don't think I had a great life. My tail was broken at some point and when my Mom calls me, she sometimes finds me cowering in a corner. Those nice people couldn't find my humans so they kept me. However, one year ago they had to move and couldn't take me with them, so I ended up at the Oregon Humane Society (OHS). That made me so sad.
The doctors at OHS knew they had to help me as they had never seen such bad dental disease -- ever. They estimated I was eight years old and from the looks of it, none of my owners had ever bothered to take care of my teeth. When they removed some teeth, my jaw broke due to bad bone decay. I know that sounds terrible, but I'm told it happens. Because of that, after my first surgery I had to have more surgeries than what was originally expected -- 5 in total! During this time, OHS asked my Mom to foster me as she's been a volunteer for 10 years and had two other "senior" wiener dogs at home. My foster period was only supposed to last 2 weeks, but it turned into 20 weeks.
Before my 4th surgery, my Mom had to drop me at OHS the day before so I could spend the night. I was SO scared and sad! I thought she wasn't going to keep me and I was going to lose the best family I had ever been with. Well, when she picked me up the next day I was so traumatized, I slept on my Mom's head for three nights! It wasn't my Mom's original intention to adopt me. She didn't want three dogs; however after that night, she decided that I needed to officially join her family.
Every day I think how lucky I am to have finally hit the family jackpot. My Mom is the best ever and makes me feel so loved. Plus my "brother-from-another-mother" and my "sister-from-another-mister" are so fun to hang out with. They have accepted me as though I have always been here. Sometimes Little Mom (my Mom's daughter) comes over and she's great too. She brings her dog to visit and I REALLY like that!
But now I have a big problem. Since January I had been vomiting a little bit so Mom changed my food. That seemed to help, so she wasn't too worried. She had to go out of the country so Little Mom and her dog came to stay with us. On the 2nd night my tummy hurt so I vomited many times. By the next morning I felt really bad and wouldn't eat. Little Mom took me to the doctor only to discover I had inhaled some of my vomit, which gave me pneumonia in both lungs. My doctor was very concerned so sent me and Little Mom to the dog hospital.
I ended up spending 5 days in the hospital. I had to be in an oxygen chamber for several days, have a needle in me that kept me hydrated, and had to be given a bunch of medicine. I felt AWFUL! My Mom came back from her trip as soon as she could. It was pretty scary -- I heard the doctor tell my Mom that I almost died.
I have since recovered from the pneumonia, but I have another problem now that they think developed from all the vomiting. The hospital put a tube down into my tummy while I was asleep and did all sorts of tests to determine what was wrong with me while I was there. My condition is called "mega-esophagus" which is a fancy word for "I can't swallow normally". My Mom has to hold me vertically while she feeds me (and only soft food). Then she has to keep me vertical for 20-30 minutes so the food can drop into my tummy via gravity. If she doesn't do that, the food just comes right back up. I also overheard the doctor tell my Mom that most humans aren't willing to deal with this problem, but my Mom is the BEST and doesn't mind. She even bought me this doggy pack thing so she can carry me around after she feeds me. Other than the funny way I eat, I have a totally normal life.
My Mom had to pay a HUGE hospital bill because of what happened with me getting pneumonia and all. She could use some help with the burden of that bill. But my Mom is not very comfortable asking for help, so I am asking on her behalf. She has done so much for me and I love my new life -- can you please
Organizer
Debbie Lair
Organizer
Portland, OR
