Save Renly the Great Dane

Meghan here, head trainer and dog lover at Dogs By The Dozen. Some of you may have had the pleasure of meeting my eldest living Great Dane, Renly James, CGCA- a brindlequin 6yo 150lb smoosh of love and bork. If you've met Renly, it was out in a tourist location on a pack walk, probably losing your mind about how long it takes to walk 10 feet down the sidewalk because of the number of people who swarm Renly to ask what he is, ask to pet him, or take pictures with him. Or you may have seen him on an off leash pack hike, supervising all the training pups and pulling me up big hills with his backpack. Renly has climbed Cascade Mountain in the Adirondacks of NY. He has helped to set an example for every dog who has come through our home for training. He greets every person he meets with a bork, and "head hug" and a Great Dane Lean. He is still young, healthy, and active.

On Tuesday November 5th, Renly went to visit our local vet due to some weakness in his hind end. He is 6yo, almost 7yo. He is a big dog. We hoped to receive a diagnosis we could treat with chiropractic care, hyrdotherapy, acupuncture.. and we were prepared to do anything to make him comfortable as he ages. Blood work and check up came back very good at Renly's regular vet, Salem Valley Veterinary Clinic in Salem, CT. Xrays were discouraged, as his vet believed our best chance for accurately diagnosing what was going on in Renly's spine was to have an MRI performed by a Neurologist. The bill for Renly's bloodwork and exam on Tuesday was $282.50

Due to his age and otherwise healthy outlook, we agreed to the MRI with the neurology specialists at Pieper-Olson Veterinary Hospital. We had an evaluation with the neurologist and it was determined based on exam and bloodwork that he was in good health for anesthesia and an MRI. The MRI was scheduled for 5am on Nov. 6th. I woke up at 3am to drive him in for his appointment rather than leave him overnight in a stressful environment. He was in good spirits and walked in to Pieper under his own power and ability at 4am to be prepped for his MRI. I paid the minimum estimated balance of $3,707.26 and was told I would receive a call when he was out of his MRI, and that I could pick him up between 1pm and 4pm. 1pm came and went without a call. I called in to check on him, and was told the doctors were unavailable and would get back to me when they could. I received the update call at 3:30pm and was told the results of the MRI were very good, no surgery would be needed, and that I could take him home with a prescription for anti-inflammatory steroids which would solve the back pain and that was all he would need to be better. I asked about pain medicine, chiropractic, or therapy, and the Doctor said it wasn't necessary, the disc issue was minor and the anti-inflammatory medicine should be plenty to have him back to normal in a few weeks. At pick up, Renly was brought out to me in a very foggy, very wobbly daze. He fell on the floor in the lobby, was panting heavily. I asked the tech if he should be going home in this condition, that this was concerning to me that he was much worse than he had been when I admitted him, and now he was being discharged in worse condition. She stated that this was all very normal for a large dog who had been anesthetized for the duration he had been, and that it may take up to 48 hours for the effects to wear off. I took him, home, where he had to be helped to get in and out of the car, held up to use the bathroom, and was very uncomfortable. He was having involuntary muscle spasms of the head, neck, and stomach. He began vomiting and was uninterested in any treats with hidden medicine. Calls were made, advice was to monitor and that nausea was normal for dogs coming out of anesthesia. Messages were left for the neurologist who performed the MRI. Nothing was returned. I called Bolton ER Vet for more advice at 1am, and they said they didn't have an ultrasound tech in for the week. ER Vet at Pieper said the wait to be seen was 4-6 hours, in addition to the 1hr drive it would take to get there. Trust was already lost at this point, so I went back to the place I felt had the most care for Renly- Salem Valley Vet, and sat outside their doors until they opened. They saw him right away, gave fluids and anti nausea meds intravenously, re-ran bloodwork to compare to Tuesday. They called Ocean State, the next closest ER with the necessary equipment, stabilized Renly for the ride there, and sent us right away. The bill for this care was $465.46. Renly was able to walk with me supporting his harness, from Salem Valley, to our car. He held his head up for some of the ride, and the vomiting had stopped.

Ocean State took Renly from the back of my car on a stretcher, now unresponsive, after the 1hr drive. I had hoped he had just finally found enough relief to get some rest on the ride. That wasn't the case. After an hour of triage, Renly was still not stable enough to be moved from the ICU to imaging for an x-ray. Blood pressure was unreadable. Many guesses of worst case scenario (DCM, Pneumonia, Heart Failure, Neurological Issues, Kidney Failure) were all thrown around. Doctors suggested euthanasia as the prognosis of recovering from these scenarios only to face the original spinal issues (that may or may not have worsened during this trauma) was not good. I disagreed, and we waited. He stabilized enough for xray, which determined no heart issues, but lungs filled with fluid. Aspiration Pneumonia. At some point, which is currently undeterminable, Renly inhaled fluid (vomit? blood?) into his lungs. It had apparently progressed very quickly. I believe it is important to note that Renly had a trachea tube in during his MRI. Damage to the trachea, or ulcers of the stomach were not able to be seen without using a scope, and that wasnt deemed necessary at Ocean State.

I was able to see Renly at about 2pm on Thursday in the ICU, after 3 hours of stabilizing. He was, and still is, covered in tubes, with IV lines in almost every leg. He was given a 50/50 chance of surviving the night. I kissed him good night, I sang him his song, he placed his paw on my arm and opened his eyes. I told him, if he wanted to fight, we would fight with all we had. I paid the low end of the estimate which at that time was $6,035.00.

11/8/24 Ocean State has sent us multiple updates, photos, and called today to say he has surprised them by making a significant improvement through the night. He is not on supplemental oxygen anymore, he has been walking, with assistance, but is still vomiting black, which we found out is coming from a hernia near his stomach, which was identified by Pieper in an xray before his MRI. I was not made aware of xrays, or their findings, done by Pieper. I am told it is normal procedure to xray before MRI, but am still not understanding why I wasn't told about the hernia found on the xray, and it's increase of potential to cause aspiration. His prognosis is better, but he hasn't eaten or defecated. He may require surgeries to repair the herniated area or to relieve the gas blockages in his intestines that are not moving. A CT Scan or exploratory surgery are next on the list but cannot be done until he is more stable in recovery from the pneumonia. Both with likely be very expensive. We can visit tonight, and bring him foods and items from home. We hope he will eat for us.

We have surpassed the deposit I made at Ocean State, and they are ready to receive another payment to continue his care. I hate to ask, I really do, as I am an independent and private person, as many of you know. But I promised Renly, if he was fighting, we would do everything we could. I am posting as many items of mine as I can for sale, have applied for Care Credit and used everything they allotted me, and used all of our savings. Some people may think this is crazy for a dog, but I know Renly wasn't ready to go, and I can't let him die because of a human's error. If any one has read this far, I appreciate you. If you've read this far, and have a dollar or two to offer to support Renly in his fight, you are a super human that I owe my sincerest gratitude to.

I will keep everyone updated as I can. Thank you dog lovers, and friends, and family.