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JAN 3-08: Little Brocklee gave up his struggle at 10:00 am today. As the dogtor was prepping him for surgery, Brocklee went into respiratory arrest. He didn't deserve this. He'd only had 2 weeks and 4 days of freedom from the mill. It's just not FAIR!!!!!!
Brocklee-Honey - I'm so sorry. I can't believe you're gone. You didn't have enough time to enjoy the Pupperonies and the dried liver treats that you learned were so yummy. You didn't get to have your own family. You didn't get to run around outside in the sunshine and the grass, reading all the pee-mail and leaving your own messages. You didn't get to enjoy years of being loved and spoiled and pampered. All you got was a life in a cage making babies. But I love you, Little Man, and I will never, ever forget you. I won't forget your smell or that sweet look on your face. I pawmise to take good care of Acorn, your sister, and Tatur, your brother. We'll find them good homes, Little Man, something you never got to have.
Will you go say hi to Jordan, Amy, Gilda, Sadie, Louise, Bozi, Thelma, Lokee, Rizz, and all the other kids who have left me? Tell them how much I love them and that I think about them all the time and one of these days we'll all be together again. Be careful around Jordan, though. She'll try to whap you upside your head. Just remember to duck. She doesn't mean any harm. It's just her way.
I'm so sorry. I love you.
Ant Chris
PUPDATE JAN 2-08: Well, little Brocklee is at Dr Dennis's house tonight. Brocklee was having more and more difficulty breathing so I called the emergency clinic in Cedar Rapids because I couldn't get Dr Dennis. They said to bring him right up. On the way up I tried calling Carrie because I knew she has Dr Dennis's home number. She didn't answer until the third time I called - she thought it was going to be Hillary calling again. (I think I got 7 cell phone calls from Hillary and Barak and whoever just today. I'll be glad when the caucus is over tomorrow.)
Carrie finally answered and I asked her to call him for me. He called me about 3 minutes later and said he'd just gotten out of a hot bath because he's been sick but to give him 20 minutes and he'd meet me at his office. I called and cancelled the ER clinic and only had to wait about 10 minutes. This was a little after 8:00.
Dr Dennis took Brocklee immediately in for an x-ray to see what was going on and then got him on oxygen. What we saw on the x-ray stunned him. Brocklee's stomach was about 3 times the size it should have been and his tummy was rock hard and humongous. There was a lot of food in his tummy and a lot of gas trapped in him. Dr Dennis said that he needed surgery immediately. I said I didn't think he'd make it through the night if something wasn't done and he said that was right. His stomach and enlarged heart were compressing his little lungs. At least his lungs looked clear.
Bottom line is our little man had a 90 minute surgery tonight. Dr Dennis called me a little after 10 and said he had no idea why Brocklee's tummy was so huge. His spleen had had a lot of pressure on it and his liver, along with his heart, was also enlarged. (We saw that his heart was enlarged from the x-ray, not the surgery. The x-ray also showed that his trachea really isn't that bad!) Dr Dennis cleaned out Brocklee's tummy and moved a lot of the gas through his intestines. He also said that Brocklee's stomach was folded over and that nothing could move through like it should. He guessed, while we were looking at the x-ray, that either Brocklee's tummy had twisted, like what happens with Great Danes, or that he had a tumor. HIs stomach had basically twisted which is really unusual in small kids.
He said the only thing he can figure out is that this must have happened to Brocklee before and that he probably just lived with it (luckily) and worked through it. He said he obviously has a predispawsition to this kind of thing. I had given Brocklee some hydrocodone syrup - 1 full dose and several hours later 1/2 dose - and that was not a good thing. He said that didn't cause this but did contribute to the problem because the hydrocodone slows down the digestion. I also gave Brocklee an extra meal today at noon, you know, just trying to spoil the little guy. Well, that wasn't the brightest idea I've ever had, either, because the extra food also contributed to all that was already in his tummy. So what I thought I was doing to help him was actually hurting him. : ( Stupid, stupid, STUPID!!
Dr Dennis called me a little after 10 and said Brocklee made it through the surgery although he had lost a lot of blood. He had him on IV fluids. He said that the enlarged stomach had put so much pressure on the arteries/veins that several of them ruptured during the surgery and he had to tie them off. Brocklee was just waking up and was doing good, looking around and stuff, but that he's not out of the woods yet. Dr Dennis was going to wait a little while to make sure Brocklee was coming out of the anesthesia okay and then said he was going to take Brocklee home with him and keep an eye on him tonight. Dr Dennis is really good about this kind of thing - taking the kids home with him. He took Cotton home with him for several weeks, and he also got up several times a night to massage her leg and run it under hot and cold water. His family's really good to the kids, too.
I am so, so wiped out. I sat and held Brocklee most of the day, and when he wasn't in my lap, I had to stay here in the office because every time I got up, he'd get up, too, and that would start the hacking and coughing and gagging all over again. Brocklee wouldn't have made it through the night. That thought makes me cry. He's such a happy, sweet little guy, even when he was in so much pain and Dr Dennis said he had to be in a considerable amount of pain. Let's hope and pray that he makes it through the night.
DEC 16-07: Hi. I'm Brocklee.....what's your name? I used to make babies all the time, and yep, I was quite the ladies man in my day, but now I'm retired, or is that really tired? Maybe a little bit of both. I'm going to be 11 next month on the 24th and I'm looking forward to having a great retirement/birthday pawty.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself. When I checked out of the last place I lived, all the guys were telling me I'm too old to find a family, that no one wants an old guy like me, and that I might as well not even dream about it. But Ant Chris said they are wrong and that someone WILL want me to come live with them. She said, 'Brocklee, you're such a handsome guy that I have no doubt you'll find a family very, very soon.' I sure hope she's right.
Now let me tell you some of the pawsonal stuff. I went to the dogtor yesterday and came home today without 'the boys.' I can live with that. I had 15 toofers pulled cuz they were rotten and now I have none left. I can live with that, too. I have bugs in my ears but we're taking care of that. No biggie. My knees aren't great but they're still working, so I can live with that. I've got dogaracts but I can still see pretty good, so I can live with that, too.
What I might not be able to live with is this cough I've got going on. I've had it for a while but I didn't get any medicine so it's just gotten worse. I'm taking medicine for it so hopefully I'll start breathing better soon but my windpipe is in kinda bad shape. Maybe this is why all the guys said no one would want me. Maybe they know something I don't. Oh, well, I guess that remains to be seen.
I'm going to go take a nap now. Talk to ya later. Thank you.
Brocklee's adoption donation is $225.
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Please be patient with us - we're taking care of a lot of kids - our own and the foster kids - and we have families, homes and full time jobs. We're giving meds to the sick kids, playing with the healthy kids, and loving on all the kids. We're doing their laundry, trying to teach them manners and where to do their business, and cleaning up their accidents. In other words, we're just a little busy but we'll return email inquiries just as fast as we pawssibly can. Thanks!
ADOPTIONS: We don't let the fact that you might live out of state stop any adoption that's meant to be, but you MUST be willing to drive, or fly, all the way to pick up your new family member. We do not ship these kids on airplanes by themselves - we think they'd have a hard time getting through security without their rabies tag setting off the metal detectors. If the kid needs a health certificate because they're flying home, that will be an expense for the new family.
ADOPTION DONATIONS: When you see the adoption donation amounts, we'd like you to know that 90% of the time the donation amount doesn't even come close to covering that kid's dogtor bills. This is definitely not a money-making venture. We're usually so far in the hole but the impawtant thing is to get these kids the medical care they need and help them find the pawfect family. That's our top pawority. (I just can't resist using 'paw' whenever I can!)
POTTY TRAINING: Please note that we NEVER say our kids are 100% potty-trained. How stupid would we be to say something like that? If you're willing to be trained by your new family member, please fill out an application. If you're looking for a totally potty-trained kid, you may as well stop at the toy store on your way home from work and buy a stuffed toy because those are the only reliable ones to NOT potty in your home. There is a period of adjustment, not just for the new family member but for everyone in the house. You must be patient, understanding, and willing to work with your new family member. It can take anywhere from several days to several months. You must be 100% committed to this, it's a lifetime commitment.
HUG AND KISS YOUR KIDLETS LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW.
Please be patient with us - we're taking care of a lot of kids - our own and the foster kids - and we have families, homes and full time jobs. We're giving meds to the sick kids, playing with the healthy kids, and loving on all the kids. We're doing their laundry, trying to teach them manners and where to do their business, and cleaning up their accidents. In other words, we're just a little busy but we'll return email inquiries just as fast as we pawssibly can. Thanks!
ADOPTIONS: We don't let the fact that you might live out of state stop any adoption that's meant to be, but you MUST be willing to drive, or fly, all the way to pick up your new family member. We do not ship these kids on airplanes by themselves - we think they'd have a hard time getting through security without their rabies tag setting off the metal detectors. If the kid needs a health certificate because they're flying home, that will be an expense for the new family.
ADOPTION DONATIONS: When you see the adoption donation amounts, we'd like you to know that 90% of the time the donation amount doesn't even come close to covering that kid's dogtor bills. This is definitely not a money-making venture. We're usually so far in the hole but the impawtant thing is to get these kids the medical care they need and help them find the pawfect family. That's our top pawority. (I just can't resist using 'paw' whenever I can!)
POTTY TRAINING: Please note that we NEVER say our kids are 100% potty-trained. How stupid would we be to say something like that? If you're willing to be trained by your new family member, please fill out an application. If you're looking for a totally potty-trained kid, you may as well stop at the toy store on your way home from work and buy a stuffed toy because those are the only reliable ones to NOT potty in your home. There is a period of adjustment, not just for the new family member but for everyone in the house. You must be patient, understanding, and willing to work with your new family member. It can take anywhere from several days to several months. You must be 100% committed to this, it's a lifetime commitment.
Hug and kiss your kids like there's no tomorrow.
Adopted
Characteristics
Health
House-trained
Good in a home with
