The news is very sad, devastating to us all..... Chalupa didn't make it thru surgery. At the very end of the procedure, just after the bladder stone removal was complete he took a turn for the worst :( For 30 minutes the vet tried to revive him, but it was too late. Chalupa's frail body had been thru all it could take during his rough life. All presurgical bloodwork and testing came back okay and there was nothing substantial that would make it dangerous to proceed with surgery, in fact, if we had not, he would probably deterorite from renal failure. We are all very saddened by this tragic ending, but Chalupa is finally at rest: no more suffering, no more pain, no longer abandoned, neglected or abused, no longer a burden or un-wanted, no longer scared or alone..... Chalupa is with Jesus now.

Here are some pics of Chalupa and I driving to the vets office...he sat on my lap the whole trip there. Little did I know, this would be the last time I saw him.

(Thank you to all our supporters.)

Chalupa's most critical need at this specific point in time is for immediate surgery to remove a very large cluster of painful bladder stones. As it is already, Chalupa is painful to the touch and is starting to have difficulty urinating. If the stones are not surgically removed and just one tries to pass through his penis, it will create a blockage and then emergency surgery (at a much higher cost) must be performed. We have made sure to find a vet that is willing to give us the best price possible while being both qualified & experienced to ensure proper use of the donated funds. Yesterday Chalupa started to have more difficulty urinating so we opted to have the procedure done immediately. Chalupa is at the vet right now undergoing surgery as we speak, please keep him in your prayers.

http://www.fundable.com/groupactions/groupaction.2008-09-17.4971150644/groupaction_view

Well... Mr. Chalupa's blood work came back.... it's okay, but not great. Sodium levels are low, potassium levels are high - this may indicate either Cushings disease or Addison's disease. He is heart worm negative and the tick sereology came back wonderfully! No tick-borne diseases at all! Yippeeeee!!!! Further x-rays were taken and no major skeletal/bone structure issues were discovered although there appear to be minor subluxations in his spine. The urine analysis came back okay, although urine had to be removed from Chalupa with a catheter. At this point we are okay to proceed with the bladder stone removal surgery, but we are trying to negotiate a price with the vet Chalupa is currently being treated at. This afternoon we got a fax estimate of about $1500, the treatment/procedures we have already authorized. Within the next day or so we will be setting up a "fundable." Good news: the vet staff said that he has an appetite of a bulldog.....lol :) The resident vet cat approached Chalupa when he was eating and he was very protective of his food, although with humans there are no issues at all. We are able to put our hand in his food bowl and remove the food without issue once while he is eating, with other animals though, this seems NOT to be the case. You may be a weak old Chi, but when it comes to your food, boy, you don't play!

SIDENOTE: Adopt-A-Bull Rescue funds WILL NOT be used in Chalupa's recovery, obviously, he's not a bulldog. Erica will personally hold separate fundraisers for Mr. Chalupa so that rescue funds will be solely used for the purposes that are in line with Adopt-A-Bull's mission: to help, rehabilitate and re-home ENGLISH BULLDOGS in need of assistance. Anyone that wishes to make a donation via pal towards Chalupa's recovery should specify him by name.

Late last night Adopt-A-Bull received the e-mail copied below and for some reason my heart absolutely melted. I thought about this poor baby all night. Now, I know what you're thinking... we are an English Bulldog Rescue, we have our hands full dealing with what's on our plate already, but something about this poor baby got to me. Just looking at his old face brought tears to my eyes. And although it's solely the English Bulldog breed that has captured my heart, something about this dog touched me. Here's what the email said:

"Old Chihuahua Needs Help: Attention to all rescues and possible adopters. If anyone has room to take this little guy please call _at the _ shelter. She needs an immediate adopter or rescue. If anyone is willing to give this little guy a chance, please, please call _. Here are some additional photos of this little guy. If any rescue is willing to take him in. I would be willing to transport him."

When I woke up this morning my first thoughts were for Mr. Chalupa. I called the shelter to make sure he was still there and sure enough, he was! I asked if he got along with others and the shelter staff didn't know. They said he does not walk around, he has respiratory problems and they have had him in a cat kennel since he was admitted to their facility. I got ready for my day and headed out the door. The shelter just happened to be on the way to my destination so I thought I might as well stop by and meet him in person. Upon arrival to the county shelter, I was brought to the cat room and the door to his cage was opened..... he just lay still...... butt to the door...... until he was turned around and physically removed from the kennel. Once on the floor, he fell to his butt immediately and did not stand up.

Only then did I begin to realize what they meant when they told me he doesn't walk..... forget about walking, he can barely remain standing on all four legs! Besides being very overweight, it was apparent that there were some (perhaps major) underlying issues with this dog. Each time I would physically pick him up and place him in a standing position on the floor, he would fall right back to him rump. Once he fell completely down and even rolled to the side, his front two legs unable to support the rest of him. I wanted to really see if he could walk at all so I coaxed him forward with a fake treat in my hand...... he took two steps, fell again, and gasped for breath. Honestly, are you friggin' kidding me dude?!?!? Two steps and your winded? Oh gosh - this boy had some issues!!!

While at the shelter conducting my eval of this boy, I learned that he was picked up as a stray on September 4th. No one claimed him, no one from the public was interested in adoption him, and the e-mail sent out to the rescue groups the night before was his "final plea" written by a shelter volunteer. Since his intake, Mr. Chalupa remained confined to a cat kennel, not examined by a vet, as this county shelter does not have a vet on staff at their location. I knew that if I left him over the weekend, he may not make it.... he was that bad and I was so scared for him. I didn't know what was wrong with him... did he have internal injures? Was he just fat & old? Was he in pain? Why wasn't he walking? I wanted some answers, I wanted to help, I couldn't stand looking at his cute face all sad. Adopt-A-Bull's primary local vet was closed today, so I called another vet about 45 minutes north we just started working with.... they had an open appointment in about an hour. I grabbed some newspaper from the shelter and less than 5 minutes after placing the vet call, Mr. Chalupa was riding with me and we were on our way to the vet.

The exam started outside, the vet wanted to see him walk.

There I was coaxing him with the treat again.... he began to show interest! We got him up for about 5 seconds and then he was right back down again. Inside his body temp was really low, only about 98 degrees. Besides being absolutely filthy and having infected ears, he showed some discomfort as the vet pressed on his tummy. Approximately 9-10 years old, the vet made his best guess as to his age. (At least he was neutered... YEA!!!!!) Someone at some point in his life had made a good decision :) His teeth were absolutely horrible and were in desperate need of a very past due cleaning and perhaps some extractions of the rotten ones. I requested for an x-ray to be taken. I just wanted to make sure there weren't any obstructions internally, broken bones, or anything obvious an x-ray would indicate. After all, I was so perplexed by his lack of activity... ie: walking and/or standing up. I waited for the x-ray.... it wasn't good..... bladder stones! So many of them in a cluster and a couple stray ones floating around inside at other parts of his tummy. Oh no! What a blow! Poor baby, the vet said he must be in pain and was obviously not going potty normally. The only possible fix at this stage.... surgery! Could it get any worse??? The vet suggested that because of his condition, he stay in the hospital a few nights. I authorized bloodwork to be done, as well as a heartworm test, further x-rays (including ones of his hips) a complete tick panel, vaccines and medication. We would start there and then depending on the results of the bloodwork and tests we would determine how to proceed. The preliminary work-ups authorized will set us back at least a few hundred right off the bat. If tests come back okay and he is able to be put under anesthesia we will figure out our next step regarding raising funds specifically for his needs. Normally the price for the type of surgery Mr. Chalupa needs is around $1600.00. This does not include any rescue discount the vet is willing to apply. So for right now we are praying for Mr. Chalupa's strength, positive test results, and the hand of God to watch over and touch this dog in a special way. Vet results will be in on Monday or Tuesday. I'll be on edge all weekend. Stay strong baby boy! Your new mommie is pulling for you!

Adopt-A-Bull Rescue, Inc. is currently accepting donations to help with the cost of the preliminary tests/diagnosis of Mr. Chalupa's overall health conditions. In rescue, every dollar counts. If you can help, please use to paypal button above. If you prefer to mail a check, please send to: Adopt-A-Bull Recue, Inc. PO Box 8035 Coral Springs, FL 33075. All donations are tax-deductable and 100% will go directly to Mr. Chalupa.