The Story of BB the Great Dane

  BB’s still giving kisses, 18 wks old, in the hospital at Univeristy of Missouri. 

We got pics!! Our little BB is doing better, with his infection localized on the medial side of the suture line. They don’t have results yet from the culture they took, but when they do, BB will get an antibiotic that is most effective on that particular kind of bacteria. Poor BB got a cootie.  

Poor BB also got no meat on his sore bones. Mom and I will fill some ziplock bags with am, afternoon, and pm portions for him. I’ll be doubling his colostrum, probiotics, and digestive enzymes to get him through this infection. He will also have a case of canned food all to himself, and a bottle of Dyne supplement for extra calories and vitamins. Hopefully that will give him some strength to get well faster.

They floated the idea of a regular large breed puppy food they have there, but I really don’t want to do that. The last thing he needs is to develop a growth disorder in his other legs. I’m so very careful about foods for Great Danes. The Innova is a good food, and he’ll do well with it. It’s the same thing his brother eats, so it’s not like I’m giving BB a lower quality food.

His vet student in the pic with him is also a Dane lady! No co-incidence there. BB’s won her over too, the little people whisperer. He’s in such good hands, and loving ones. You can tell from the pic, BB likes her too!

BB’s going to need some heavy duty PT, of course. They want to keep him an extra 3 weeks for it. His hamstrings and Achilles tendon is very tight. I imagine it is from holding his leg up for weeks. They were the only muscles used in that leg, really. I’m hoping as the other muscles get stronger, the hamstrings will stretch.

An extra 3 weeks of hospital boarding comes with an extra price tag. Don’t know if we could swing that much more. We have a heated pool here, though there isn’t an underwater treadmill. I wonder if he started his pt there, and they showed us how…if we worked with a physical therapist there, maybe we might come up with ways to do what he needs at home.

I’m not a squeamish person, though I hate to hear puppies cry. I can make a human scream like a girl and not be disturbed by it if I’m helping them, but making BB cry would give me a bad case of the guilts. I don’t think Mom could do it if he cried. The uglies would fall to me.

But we’d do what we needed to do for him. That’s why God made pain medicine for puppies. Mom might take some with him, just for moral support! Zonk them both, and get-r-done. Okay, I’m starting to get a mental picture, so it’s time to change the subject…

I’m sure BB will be glad to see us Monday. He needs to know we still love him and haven’t abandoned him. Kenai will have to take the ride again. He comes unglued every time he has to come home without his brother. His service dog obedience training has been thoroughly derailed by all this. But I don’t have anyone to leave him with. So Kenai comes.

It’s a long drive, and it hurts. But BB needs the food and his people to keep his spirits up. So we drive. It’s four hours each way, 3 1/2 if traffic is light on the 2 lane roads. I could probably drive it half asleep now. I wonder if Mom goes up once a week, and I go up once a week on a different day, BB might get visits more often without killing us. Have to run that idea past Mom.

Overall BB’s in pretty good shape, but if you’ve been praying for him, please don’t let up just yet. He has a long haul to adulthood, sweet baby. We’ll have him home soon, and I’ll be able to blabber about every little detail. Soon, soon, soon, little boy…