Fritz	Garden watch	Just relaxing

Fritz when he came into CCDR		Fritz Now!

Little did we know! 

My foster mom made the appointment for a complete check up and to find out why my breath was so bad and what was causing a horrible smell and brown matter in my mouth. She also wanted to know why my tongue kept falling out of my mouth when I ate. I was NOT letting her look in my mouth no matter how much she tried to convince me and clamped my jaws down tight.  

We went to the vet for my check up and to see whether I could handle a dental. Even the complaints poured in about my bad breath from the vet and the techs too. I clamped harder and shocked them at my strength. The vet said "I don't want to force him to open because I don't want to crack his jaw. That's when the vet said, we'll just give him a shot to make him relax. 

It was found that I had a tumor under my tongue which was why my tongue would hang out when I tried to eat and it didn't look good either. I also had a lot of tartar on my teeth and infection in my gums causing the smell. The vet listened to my heart and found I had a grade 4 heart murmur. I had some blood drawn and the consensus was in. I wasn't a good candidate for a dental or surgery. I wasn't healthy enough to process the anesthesia, plus with the murmur it would be a big risk. The tumor wasn't operable and a dental was too risky.  The vet and my foster mom decided that I'd go on antibiotics for the infection and hope that would help with the smell as well as subside the infection.

I am happy, I love to lay under my covers and I am a really good dog! My foster mom says I'm a really good dog because I don't bark like the others and I just watch the commotion all around me. I love to be where ever everyone is though, so I'll wait and watch everyone if everyone leaves my site I jump down and trot to wherever they are. That part of me is still "good ole dachshund." 

Since I've been in foster care, I've gained a lot of weight and look good!  My coat has gotten shiny and I am happy. I love to eat and love to beg. My foster mom makes sure I don't get my food taken away by another dog because it takes me so long to finish my dinner. I do finish, tongue falling out of my mouth or not! I just love my food.

My foster mom says she'll just give me the antibiotics every other month for my chronic infection and make sure I'm happy and warm. She hopes that the infection and the bleeding in my mouth will subside as a result of the treatment and the tumor will just "stay at bay." She loves me and I love her. I'm a good little guy and am glad my original owner found CCDR. I'm happy, have gained weight and I'm safe. I am lucky because I found that special organization and special someone who really cares and that is my wish for all. --- All my best, Fritz
 
 

UPDATE: June 2003:  Fritz has developed another tumor on the side of his face. He is not a candidate for surgery due to his heart condition, the location or the results of more bloodwork. He is on steroids to reduce the swelling and discomfort and is doing as well as can be expected. He still eats well and has a good attitude but, is sensitive to that area of his mouth. His foster mom continues to makes sure he gets wholesome food by cooking for him and Fritz continues to thrive.

UPDATE: September 2003 - I wish we had good news, but Fritz's cancer has spread to his lymph nodes and now they are enlarged all over his body. Fritz had either bitten the inside of his mouth (the tumor is under his tongue as well as his cheek) or had some sort of trauma happen to the side of his face, we don't know which, causing him great discomfort and obvious pain. His normal spunky self turned very stoic one day so he was immediately taken to the vet. He was given an injection of antibiotic to assist with the regular antibiotic pulse therapy he has to stay on as well as a steroid for the inflammation. Fortunately he felt so much better the next day and returned to his normal, "always want to eat" friendly, loving self. He was back to following his foster mom everywhere or jumping into the laundry basket of clothes for a nap. Fritz is a trooper though and refuses to be left out of anything so, as long as he wishes to keep up the good attitude he has and have a great appetite, we know he is holding his own. We know he cannot be operated on due to his heart condition and truthfully, at his age of 14, we don't wish to have him undergo anything that would ruin his happy attitude or make him uncomfortable, even for a moment. His foster mom just wants him to enjoy the sunshine of Florida, eat his home cooked meals with gusto and nap under the computer desk while she works or in the laundry basket when she's not there. He's a great little guy who adores his "mom" and pays her back in love for all she's done for him since being left behind from his previous owner. Keep up the strength Fritzy! We're all rooting for you!

UPDATE: February 2004
Fritz has had some nasty ups and down lately. The good news is the cortisone treatment (cortisone is not to be taken lightly, but quality of life is more important than quantity and comfort is the only thing to be concerned about when a dog has a chronic problem that is not going to go away) has helped the enormous swelling that was in his jaw.  But, he began developing another swollen area and was having pain and bleeding from his mouth. Alarmed by this he was taken to the vet immediately. Because Fritz has the tumor under his tongue it was feared the cancer was spreading. Fritz is NOT a dog you can open the mouth of easily. He fights with a vengeance that is beyond description and because he has such a severe heart murmur we didn't want to trigger undo stress that would trigger a more serious complication to the heart. Manipulation, observation and his general overall condition made the vet suspect an abscessed tooth even though it was impossible to get his mouth to open wide enough for examination.Going on that suspicion Fritz had blood work taken and we discussed the pros and cons of putting him under anesthesia with his heart condition. The vet felt this was something that needed to done and felt the heart murmur was the lesser of two evils and it was something that we needed to risk.  He was scheduled for the procedure the following day where he'd undergo a sedative and full mouth examination. It was definitely an abscessed tooth that was causing this situation and Fritz was quickly treated by having the abscessed tooth extracted, along with 5 other teeth and given a dental. Fritz was monitored carefully and the vet worked at breakneck speed to bring him out of the anesthesia as quickly as possible. We took the risk because if we didn't, the constant bacteria (even though he was on a program of pulse therapy) would have caused his demise by affecting the heart even more. Fritz proved once again he is tough and a fighter. He came through the extraction, dental and anesthesia like a trooper and in less than 12 hours showed great improvement. He had lost 2 pounds and was dehydrated from his lack of being able to eat and lap water but is on the road to recovery now and becoming his old self, once again. the tumor under his tongue is still large but not growing as rapidly as it had been. The cortisone has helped with this but, as the vet said, it's just a matter of time. We'll go with the thought that we'll have much more time with him than less. :-)

Fritz has been very fortunate to have a buddy who has been extremely generous to his medical fund. Words are hard to express how much it means to know that someone cares enough to help a little guy they don't even know personally. Fritz's age shouldn't be a reason not to do whatever is necessary but so many people feel that putting more money into a dog is a waste and it's easier to put them to sleep. We don't feel that way and it's though the generous donations that CCDR receives that allows us to give these guys the chance at happiness in their golden years that they deserve. Fritz's vet bill was over $400.00 for this last procedure, but look what we got! A little guy who went home and obviously felt so much better that even with a sore mouth and still wobbly from the anesthesia, wagged his tail for dinner. That night he had soaked rice crispys and milk, one of his favorite treats.