Saving Ranger

Our beloved dog, Ranger loves hiking & adventures. He has always had a little anxiety in long car rides however.  We look forward to long family walks together, camping, fishing and bug hunting w/ our son, Richard.


Back story when we first adopted Ranger about a year ago, we thought it was weird how quiet he was. Rarely barked, found it hard to eat kibble, got dehydrated quick, but was still a genuinely happy dog. When we took him to the veterinarian he was diagnosed with kennel cough. The vet also assesed that he may have been hit by a car prior to us adopting him. Ultimately affecting one of his hind legs & a scar on his chest.

Now after he has been hiking mountains, gone backpacking with my son & I, loves kayaking & swimming.


We were driving back from a family getaway at Shenandoah National Park, when heavy panting began. Not just his usual car anxiety, this was different. I kept attempting to give him water for he sounded dehydrated. As we drove home his anxiety quickly rose, driving deeper pants and loud gasps for air. This was not normal, we were scared we were losing our best friend.

We quickly drove him to an emergency veterinarian. The vet suggested exrays to determine whether it was upper respiratory or something like cancer or heart trauma. After the scans to deduct what was happening inside, they brought up two things. One of which nonrelevant to his current health but truly devastating. The vet told us he was shot several times with a BB gun. I can not imagine who would shoot such a kind soul, It's truly revolting.

Second being the reason we took him in for. The vet said it was clear that his heart was fine and cancer was out of the question. But our poor Ranger, has an elongated soft palate. Needing expensive surgery as soon as possible in order for his recovery. They suggested keeping Ranger indoors with air conditioning. Putting his hiking and adventuring to a halt. Even short walks outside could be fatal.