We are pleased to welcome the very lovely Casper the Cocker Spaniel into our care. Sadly the home he has been in for nearly 12 years, since he was a 6 week old puppy, are unable to continue caring for him due to ill health so we were happy to offer him a placement in our care. On arrival it was clear he was underweight and he was also drooling which had built up on his ears causing a heavy weight on each one. We shaved his ears to remove the drool cement and cleaned the inflamed skin beneath and, after a bath when we realised how underweight he was at only 11.3kg, we took him straight to our vets for a check up and bloods to make sure there was wasn’t an underlying condition causing it. Thankfully his bloods were clear but his teeth were extremely decayed so he was kept in for a dental and neutering.
During his dental is was soon apparent that the untreated infection from his teeth had entered the bone in his bottom jaw which had fractured just behind his bottom peg teeth. X-rays were taken and Casper was immediately transferred to an orthopaedic specialist at Briar House in Broadstairs where he was admitted for examination and intravenous meds. Unfortunately the infection and Casper’s condition has caused poor bone density in his jaw so the initial hope that we could have his jaw plated is not an option as the bone is not dense enough to hold the pins. Another option is to fit an external brace to hold his jaw steady, but that is an extreme measure and has many complications so our surgeon only wants to use that as a last resort. The best way to stabilise Casper’s jaw so it can heal properly is to use a firm but soft muzzle which is only to be removed for eating and drinking.
After a long consultation, and discussion of all options available, Casper is now back with us and is been kept comfortable with painkillers and antibiotics that we are injecting him with twice a day. He is also being fed 3 times a day on a highly nutritious diet which has been kindly provided by Natural Instinct so that he can put some much needed weight on which in turn will help his healing and bone density.
We will keep you updated on Casper’s progress as he recovers, but if you would like to help him please visit our Amazon WishList where we have added items for Casper, including more muzzles (so we can rotate them and keep him clean and fresh) and food bowls that are particularly designed to keep his ears out of his water and food. For Casper, and all other dogs in our care, our donation details can all be found here.
