Bear has a surgery consultation next month on the 18th.

Bear has a surgery consultation next month on the 18th. It's with the same skilled surgeon who operated on Oreo. I felt very comfortable with her and her team.

They won't be doing same-day surgery like they did with Oreo. Oreo was a special case and everyone was trying to save him. Thankfully, Bear's knees aren't threatening his life. They're just a thing we need to get fixed. The sooner, the better, obviously. I'm glad to have that scheduled.

I don't know what Oreo hears, but...

I don't know what Oreo hears, but he's barking and guarding the door to our room. I tried to shush him because it's like, 4 in the morning, but he's not having it.

He's doing a protect, and that is that. His little scrawny self is a strong boi. Got nothing to worry about. 💪😂❤️

(I carried him back to bed and tucked him in. He got the message. 😂)

We're in for the night.

We're in for the night. Even though he slept for most of the ride he's already asleep again. His body just needs so much rest.

He hasn't eaten anything but his nightly cheese since I picked him up. I can't wait for his vet appointment on Tuesday.

Stopping at Love's for a pee break and a snack.

Stopping at Love's for a pee break and a snack.

He spent the first 45 minutes of the ride alternating between the front and back seats, trying desperately to get in my lap when up front. Then he napped in the front for a while, then napped on his bed in the back.

Here he is co-piloting! ❤️

Homeward bound! ❤️

Homeward bound! ❤️

I saw Oreo this evening.

I saw Oreo this evening. He's not feeling well. While it would be nice to say it was a beautiful, happy reunion, poor buddy just needed his rest. He barked and growled at me briefly, but after sister Carla approved me he relaxed and went back to sleep and I got to pet him.

I can't say for sure whether he remembers me or not, or if he does whether they are fond memories. He was in rough shape the last time I saw him and the last thing I did was abandon him at the place where he gets poked with needles (which he hates). He's been with Aunt Taimi about twice as long as he was with me and she treats him really well. If he doesn't remember me fondly or at all, it's understandable.

Regardless, I will meet him where he is mentally / emotionally and we will go from there. We'll be homeward bound in the morning.

Update from Aunt Taimi:

Blu is on the road to come get her boy so I'll give a quick update on Oreo.  He had a vet visit today and is up to a whopping 44 pounds!  He's still got a long way to go with weight gain,  medical care,  getting all the diagnostics done to figure out how to give this boy his best life but he's come so far! It's a long process of steps forward and stumbles back but he's medically stable enough to make the trip home with Blu now. 

He got a Cytopoint injection to help with the itching,  some nausea meds to help with his belly pain and vomiting, a b12 injection, and some new prebiotic to help with digestion.  He hated the shots but otherwise he's had a very good day.

It's been my honor to take care of this precious boy until he could be reunited with his mom.  His foster sister and I are soaking up all the snuggles we can while he's still here.  We love our sweet Oreo,  we're so excited to see him get home and thrive,  but we sure will miss him too ❤

Thank you all for loving and supporting him.

~Aunt Taimi

This video is from a few days ago...

This video is from a few days ago. The photo is from today. Oreo is yoyo-ing again. His stomach has been loud and rumbly and he's vomited and sleeping a lot. Thankfully his lows are less low than before. He's still getting the enzyme to help him digest, but it could still be a few weeks before it's really noticeable that it's helping.

He's going to the vet again tomorrow. We're going to ask about getting a B12 shot and also the antibiotic that should help his gut in case of infection there.

He has an appointment here on the 9th and we're planning to test him for EPI and get a care plan in place. I'm ready! I've missed him so much! ❤️

Despite how many times he was shot...

Despite how many times he was shot, Oreo is shockingly chill about fireworks. This boy never ceases to amaze me.

New collar, a tag, and a house key.

New collar, a tag, and a house key. We're ready! ❤️

Some light reading for anyone interested...

Some light reading for anyone interested. This describes Oreo - down to the itching skin. 😳 It's so wild to me that his body can be starving despite him being fed.

This was sent to me from the amazing Aunt Taimi. She deserves some serious credit for keeping this kid alive since he was released from AMC. She's figured out the fat content he does best on and everything. I'm going to need her to show me how she's been caring for him before I bring him home. I'm terrified that I'll mess up his progress.

I can only take credit for picking him up. I have no idea what I would have done if he'd been able to come home with me initially like I'd planned. Best case scenario is that the vets here could have figured him out. Worst case is that he reached a low too low to come back from.

I don't think I can properly express how grateful I am to Taimi for the way she's cared for and advocated for Oreo. She has put her time and energy and effort into investigating his symptoms and helping him. I have never had a foster so intense. But I credit her and her years of experience in every one of his health gains.

I guess I am off to search up some EPI groups on here. I am so looking forward to being reunited with Oreo, but I feel like I'm going to need the support. This is 100% new to me and I want to do the very best I can for him.

https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/health/exocrine-pancreatic-insufficiency-in-dogs

Oreo went to the vet today.

Oreo went to the vet today. He got his vaccinations, so now that's done. He still didn't like it. He's just not ok with being poked, poor buddy.

He's up to 41.8 pounds now, so he's gained ~4.5 lbs.

He didn't feel great today when he woke up, so Aunt Taimi was quick with the anti-nausea meds again. He was also doing the "downward dog" type posture which is a sign of pain in the tummy area. She's been keeping a log of his meals and nothing had changed. He has managed to keep his meals down today.

They were unable to test for it today, but he is almost certainly pancreatic insufficient based on everything we've noted and what the vet observed. They gave him an enzyme to start that should (eventually, in like a month) help him have fewer bad days.

Until then, our sweet boy is doing pretty well. The vet trip didn't wipe him out today. He played with Kiwi after he got home. That's a great improvement over having to be carried into the house and tucked into bed.

His lows have also gone from "I might be dying" to "my stomach hurts and I'm not feeling well" so we'll count that as a win, too.

I've gone ahead and ordered him a tag for his collar and am anxious to bring him home. I've missed that sweet boy and am practically counting the days now! ❤️

Aunt Taimi got a wild wake up this morning.

Aunt Taimi got a wild wake up this morning. Oreo and Kiwi were wrestling on the bed!

I hear that our sweet boy has had a good day. I'm glad to hear that. He's currently snoozing and hopefully he and Kiwi will let everyone get some rest tonight. 😂😂😂

I didn't want to bum anyone out yesterday, but...

I didn't want to bum anyone out yesterday, but Oreo had no appetite and ended up vomiting yesterday. Aunt Taimi got fluids in him and he seems better today on that front. At least he seems able to bounce back faster than before.

He's been itching since I found him and we thought that might resolve once he was more nourished, but it seems to be getting worse. Aunt Taimi had to give him Benadryl so he could sleep last night.

He's still doing better overall, but not 100%. I'm sure it will take time and many more vet trips to get him sorted out.

For now, he's resting like a good boy. Just look at that snoozing pup! ❤️

Sweet Oreo played today!

Sweet Oreo played today! Look at him go! ❤️

Oreo is doing well!

Oreo is doing well. He's been barking and wagging and having a good time!

In other related news:

His Girlfriend and 5 puppies have been rescued from the streets, as well! My understanding is that they are going into a rescue in Georgia.

This is an old photo of Oreo and his girl. The up close is Girlfriend alone. She's so precious and has a face I just want to squish! ❤️

This makes a total of 7 dogs saved from one area of Noble Street in Anniston, AL.

My heart is happy. I just wish there was a way for me to let him know that they're ok, too.

So we found out today...

So we found out today that Oreo doesn't like hats - on people. 😂 I don't know what my brain was doing, but when Taimi told me that he didn't like hats I was like "Ok. Good to know. We won't put hats on him." 😂😂😂 Anyway, he growled at one of her guests with a hat, but was fine with her once she took it off, thank goodness.

Oreo is looking pretty great. He's filling in nicely. Aunt Taimi is taking him to the vet next week to see if he can be vaccinated yet. He might also restart doxycycline so we can get on top of his heartworm treatment. I'm pretty excited for him.

Look at this sweet boy. Look how well he's doing! ❤️❤️❤️

Aunt Taimi said that Oreo has been a great dog having a great day. 😊

Aunt Taimi said that Oreo has been a great dog having a great day. 😊

I might hold off on the daily updates unless there is something to tell or a photo to share. With the holidays upon us and him on the mend it's a busy time and things are going well. Consider no news to be good news.

In the meantime I'll be counting down the days until I see him again. If everything goes as planned I'll have him home in about 2 weeks. I have missed him a ton, but I'm so grateful he's been with Aunt Taimi. I truly believe that she and her network saved his life and I will never be able to thank her enough.

❤️❤️❤️

Our sweet Oreo cookie has had another great day.

Our sweet Oreo cookie has had another great day.

From Aunt Taimi:  He's played a little, barked a lot, slept, ate, came around for more cuddles....he's been hanging with the girls all day long and doing amazing.

I hear he only had one coughing fit, so hopefully he'll be over the kennel cough soon.

I am so excited for this precious boy. I bet he feels better than he has in ages. ❤️❤️❤️

Oreo is doing really great today.

Oreo is doing really great today. Still no vomiting, healthy appetite, and he ate his meals and snack today without begging for more food or raiding the trash.

I bet this is the longest he's gone without throwing up since before I picked him up. If he was having vomiting / gut issues as well as having to scavenge for food, then it's no wonder he was so thin. I really don't think he would have lasted much longer on the streets.

Anyway, look at this handsome face. You can just tell he feels so much better. ❤️❤️❤️

Featured is sister Kiwi. She's a playful girl and it looks like she's trying to entice him to play with her and her ball. 😂