Having a dog in India has been such a blessing. Yet, keeping him healthy and alive, at times
was very challenging. We are so blessed
to have a sister-in-law in Columbus who is a veterinarian. We communicated with her through Facebook
Messenger every time Oreo had an issue and she would give us advice and
recommend proper medications and dosages.
She was a God-send!
Oreo had many minor issues in his three years of life in India. But, over the last four months, he developed
a more severe issue with his bladder. It
seems Dalmatians are prone to bladder stones.
Oreo developed several urinary obstructions over the last several months,
and we were not even sure if he was going to be able to travel to the
States. His first obstruction involved
taking him to the local vet for evaluation.
Tony then had to take Oreo to a roadside shop to get an x-ray. The x-ray was clear because the kind of
stones Dalmatians are prone to are only visible by ultrasound…which is not available
for animals in Siliguri. Fortunately,
Oreo’s obstruction was cleared up with medications.
But, just about four weeks before their scheduled trip back
to the States, Oreo developed another obstruction. This time medication did not help, and Oreo
was facing surgery. Tony took Oreo back
to the local vet, who ordered another roadside x-ray. Again, the x-ray was clear, but the blockage
was severe. So, in order to relieve Oreo’s
bladder, the vet opted to insert a catheter and leave it in for up to three
days. If there was no improvement after
that time, Oreo would have to have surgery.
By the grace of God alone, on day two of wearing a catheter,
Oreo passed two stones that got stuck in the catheter. When the catheter was removed, Oreo was free
from obstruction! Praise God! Again by the grace of God, Oreo remained healthy enough to travel back to the States without any issues.
But less than a week after being home, Oreo developed yet another
obstruction. This time we were able to
take Oreo to our sister-in-law in person for a full analysis of his situation. Oreo is now on prescription food. He had an infection from the catheter he wore
in India for several days. So, he is currently
on an antibiotic as well as a medication to help dissolve the stones in his bladder. We are praying that this will clear up Oreo’s
bladder issues for good.
