Today our equine vet, Dr. Erin Taylor of Blue Mountain Veterinary Hospital in Missoula, came out to do fall vaccinations. In this photo she's about to give blind Bo his wormer. It's a funny thing how horses can suddenly grow an extra 8 to 10 inches of neck when they realize they're about to be wormed. Medically there's no explanation for it, but we've seen it happen enough times to know it's a true equine phenomenon.
Alayne is holding blind Rosie, who has been Bo's pasture mate this year. Sadly, back in the spring we had to euthanize the love of Bo's life, little old Guadalupe, who no longer had any teeth left to eat with. Even with plenty of equine senior grain we couldn't keep weight on her, and we decided to let her go. Bo is now as devoted to Rosie as we was to Guadalupe, so it was a very good match.
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In other veterinary news, our small animal vet, Dr. Brenda Culver, called this morning with the necropsy results on Teddy. The pathology report indicates that he died from a heart attack, with evidence of other blood clots in his kidneys and lungs as well as the fatal blockage in his heart. The pattern suggests he suffered from a "shower" of blood clots that cascaded through his body. The pathologist could not pinpoint where the clotting originated. Brenda said that in humans, this kind of massive heart attack is called a "widowmaker." I asked Brenda if we had managed to get Teddy to the hospital sooner, whether they could have done something to prevent it. She said that given the symptoms he was having -- the labored breathing -- they would have put him on oxygen, started him on IV fluids, and the heart attack still would have occurred. Even if they had known he was beginning to throw off clots -- and there was simply no way to know that, she said -- they couldn't have stopped the clotting process once it was underway. She said, "in short, there just wasn't anything you or we could have done to keep this from happening." Brenda said it's likely his diabetes contributed to it, but we'll never know what triggered the clotting episode.
We are having Teddy's body cremated and will have his ashes back at the ranch in a couple of weeks. At least we know what happened, and this gives us some closure.
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Please keep voting for us every day in The Animal Rescue Site/PetFinder's Shelter Challenge. Thanks to your votes, we came in third nationwide and won $3,000 for the animals in the previous contest. Now we have a shot at No. 1 and the $20,000 grand prize! Enter "Rolling Dog Ranch" and our state postal code, MT for Montana, and it will bring up our listing so you can cast your vote. Please ask your family and friends to vote, too. Thank you!
I love hearing about the horses. I'm so glad Rosie has Bo & Bo has Rosie.
Wow, little Teddy went thru so much for such a little guy. I, too, am glad you got some answers & can know you did all you could possibly do for him. He probably went untreated for so long no matter what you did his body had to have been ravaged. But, what a brave little soul he was to keep on with the good fight until he just couldn't anymore. And, blessings to you & Alayne for giving him all you had for his last days. I'm so glad his ashes will be scattered at RDR. What a sweet thing to do!
Posted by: Colleen & Sweet Kitty Erin | October 12, 2009 at 08:20 PM
Oh... I have been wondering about the horses. Glad to see some horse stories. What about Margaret? Did she have a good summer? Is she still in love with Steve? I am here everyday voting in the challege. God bless you all.
Posted by: gradene | October 02, 2009 at 12:25 PM
Well Teddy died in the arms and care of people who cherished him and cared for him after a long hard life. He learned what love felt like. That is a big deal. And his ashes will be in that warm and safe place. Bless his sweet soul.
Posted by: Angela | October 02, 2009 at 12:09 PM
Yes indeed this is not unlike fatal embolic episodes that a human can suffer. Teddy was probably at high risk for this and you would never have known it would happen. The lengths that you go to with all of these precious animals is just outstanding. What compassion. Continue the good work in memory of Teddy and those that have gone on before him. God bless you.
Posted by: Sandy Shubert | October 02, 2009 at 11:23 AM
I kind of suspected blood clots... I'm so sorry. I'm glad Teddy's ashes will come back to the place where he was so well loved...he deserves that.
It's good to see updates on the horses....I always enjoy them.
Posted by: Debbie | October 02, 2009 at 07:51 AM
Hehe, bet you never knew you had secret giraffes on the ranch ;-), just like the time you mentioned the strongest muscle in a horse is the one from the eye...when you have to get so medicine inside!
Good to have the results for Teddy I hope, to know for sure there was nothing more you could do (after all the amazing work you did with him!).
(Can't you do a list of updates for us, people on the other end of the internet connection?
Roy, MARGARET :-), Cash, Nikki, Blanca I'm very curious about... just a suggestion!)
Posted by: Jessica, NL | October 02, 2009 at 05:33 AM
Thanks for the update on Teddy's necropsy. Sweet Teddy. It was such a perfect name for him.
Posted by: Janet in Cambridge | October 01, 2009 at 10:15 PM
Again, I am sorry and he will be
missed by all of us who read your
blog daily and hope for the best for these guys who never had it fair. The dice was tossed and he had a great 10 weeks and it was time - the good thing was - no one
had to make a decision - it was made and it was done and I am sure he has plenty of pals on the
Ridgefor pals. Bless both of you for what you do for these guys - words are just not enough! I'm pulling for RDR as No 1 in Dec : )
Posted by: Maureen and the 5 pugs | October 01, 2009 at 09:39 PM
I'm happy you will get some closure. Teddy had a wonderful last few weeks!
Posted by: sharon | October 01, 2009 at 06:25 PM
It's nice to see some of your horses. I hope Hawk is doing okay; wasn't it he that had a potassium problem a few months ago? And what happened to Roy the mule? I saw a comment that he had died?? The very first blog post I read was Roy waiting for his friend Scout to come home from the Vet. I cried and cried after reading how he stood by the stall for two days. I never knew equine formed such strong friendships. I've learned so much from reading your blog.
Posted by: Lynn (in Louisiana) | October 01, 2009 at 06:15 PM
I'm so glad you will have a place back at the ranch for little Teddy he has warmed so many hearts in a very special way.I love seeing the pictures of all of your animals and all the information that you give us. I bet all your critters are very much at home with you, just knowing that you love them and that they are your passion! You must go to bed at night with a very warm feeling.
Posted by: Kathy and Harley | October 01, 2009 at 05:27 PM