The good news is- it's not cancer. WHEW. The type of cancer they thought it was had a very poor prognosis and we had embraced the fact that Champ may only be with us a short time longer, even with surgical removal. Mommie Neely is certain that is because of all of your prayers that what they thought was cancer turned out to be something so different. Once they opened Champ up and got a good look, they realized that what they thought was a mass on Champ's spleen was actually......more spleen. His spleen has enlarged to nearly 5 times its normal size. In fact, it has gotten SO large, that it ran out of room and had actually started folding over!! The "mass" we saw in the x-ray was actually part of his spleen that had doubled up and twisted into a "knot." Ouch. Maybe this is our laymen opinion but "knot" and "organ" shouldn't be in the same sentence. Sounds very painful; this is probably why he cried when pressure was put on his abdomen. They also found a significant amount of scar tissue on his spleen likely from past trauma. Not surprising considering they also found BB pellets inside him! This boy has been through his share of pain and suffering that's for sure. The scar tissue could be from previous physical abuse that caused damage to the spleen. They're not sure why it is so enlarged, but the size in and of itself is not life threatening. There could be a variety of reasons why it is so big. But the bottom line is, a big spleen is better than no spleen. So the doctors "unfolded" it, removed the scar tissue, and basically "cleaned it up." It appeared to be in relatively good condition once it was "cleaned up" even though it was still HUGE! So now Champ has a new and improved spleen!...ok not new, but it's definitely improved! This should help with his pain, but it doesn't explain all of his other symptoms, especially the anemia.

Which leads us to the bad news- we still don't know what's wrong!!

The doctors ruled pretty much out auto-immune disease. It's not completely off the table yet, but it's unlikely. A call was put in to an internist (Dr. of Internal Medicine) in Coral Springs. Hopefully she may be able to provide some answers. We also did a more complete blood test to rule out other tick diseases. His 4DX tests keep coming back negative, but they're not as sensitive as the one that is being done now. Results of that (and a urinalysis since one hasn't been done yet) will be in by Monday. Hopefully we will have some answers very soon, so this sweetheart can enjoy his senior bullie years in comfort. Perhaps it is a rare tick disease that is not normally tested for. Whatever it is, we just keep saying "at least it's not cancer." We can work with anything else, right??? We hope...

Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive. Your support, kind words, prayers, and offers for financial support is simply overwhelming. I cannot thank you enough for taking such an interest in this little man. He is truly an example of what rescue is all about. He was abused by humans for years, and he still suffering because of it. Yet his soul is still so gentle he makes people smile wherever he goes. Dr. Baumwell kept asking me "Is he always this sweet?" Yes, he is! Always! To go from his past life of abuse and suffering to his life now could not be done without the love and support from all of you. No dog deserves the treatment that Champ has had to endure. Unfortunately, there are countless other dogs out there, the victims of dog fighting, puppy mill breeding, and just pure abuse/neglect of irresponsible owners. Thank you to those who have shown support, not just for Champ, but for all of the bullies who find their way to us at Adopt-A-Bull.

Our baby girl is doing well and should be coming home to be reunited with Wiggles soon.

We have a new picture feature called, Petfessions/Dogfessions, created by Mommie Neely. We will randomly include these "Dogfessions" featuring Adopt-A-Bull's very own bullies in some of our blog postings. Enjoy!

Today (11-16-09) was a very sad day. Baby Boy Bullie passed away at 5pm at a local veterinary hospital. Although our hearts are breaking, we cannot take time to stop and grieve. Baby Girl Bullie is hanging onto life and in critical condition. We have another possible owner surrender coming in. And let's not forget, we have over 30 other bullies in foster care, who still need our attention. Our tears flow as we continue to work.

We are unsure the cause of death, and although a necropsy will be performed, the COD may never be known. The following is the sequence of events that led up to the death of Baby Boy Bullie.

Both pups had lost over an ounce in weight (keep in mind they only weight 8-12 ounces, so an ounce is a drastic drop in weight). They were losing interest in the mother's milk. So at midnight, we began bottle feeding Esbilac (a milk replacement). At 3am, we bottle fed again. By 10am the puppies were not eating at all. They refused the bottle, they refused the mother's nipples. The boy began acting "loopy" there's no other way to describe it. He could not hold his head up. He wobbled. He collapsed. He cried the saddest cry. The girl refused to eat as well, and she cried constantly also, but she did not appear to have the same behavioral changes. She still seemed stable. We consulted a breeder, we googled...a lot. We called the vet and described what was happening. Dr. Sands and Dr. Lera rushed back from lunch to meet us at Heron Lakes Animal Hospital. They checked the puppies. We attempted to get them to nurse again. Wiggles was crying and squirming so much, that Dr. Lera had to hold her down while Cyndi and Mommie Neely tried to force the pups to nurse. After little success, it was determined that the mom's milk may be bad. It wasn't as white as what it should be. Although it wasn't a strong green color, perhaps it was on its way to that. Mastitis (bacterial infection of the teats) could be dangerous to the nursing pups. No more nursing off mom. But it also seems that the Esbilac supplement is not setting well with them. Goat's milk is the next option- raw goat's milk. We don't have goats. Where do we get raw goat's milk? We head home and start googling. Whole Foods- no. Fresh Market- no. Organic Pestores- no. Publix- maybe...."organic goat's milk", this may work? maybe? We decide to call Dr. Fox at River Bridge Animal Hospital where the puppies were delivered. "He appears purple now", we tell Dr Fox. He suggests we start antibiotics...the puppy may be septic. This makes sense. Sepsis is an overwhelming bacterial infection in the body that can cause organs to fail and a change in mental status (OK so Mommie Neely is thinking of her human patients, but the same holds true for animals...remember how we described the puppy acting loopy!!) Mommie Erica heads out the door to pick up liquid antibiotics and goat's milk at Publix. She doesn't get far when she turns around, change of plans. No time for us to attempt to treat this at home, he's fading fast! We head to the Emergency Specialist vet and wait as they look over the puppies. They recommend x-rays and blood work for the boy. The girl can go home, with strict orders to keep her warm. Her temperature was very low, likely from the trip to the vet and the cold clinic. We pack up the girl and Wiggles and are pulling out of the parking lot. The phone rings. The Baby Boy has stopped breathing. Do we want to continue CPR? Yes, anything to save him. Anything... anything! After about 10 minutes it's clear- he's too fragile and CPR is too harsh. To continue would be in vain and just cause damage to his delicate lungs and rib cage. CPR was stopped at Baby Bullie Boy was let go to cross over the Rainbow Bridge.

Below is a link to a youtube video taken hours before Baby Boy Bullie passed away. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R87nrxZLmRY

It is hard to watch. You can see that something is not right with him. We knew he was suddenly sick, but what do we do? We rushed to the vet twice, but it was too late. He died at only 6 days of age. We paid to have a necropsy done on the boy. His body will be sent to a pathologist in an attempt to find out his cause of death. It could really be anything. Dr. Fox that delivered the babies via c-section said that this kind of stuff happens. Whole litters die, babies pass, sometimes it's beyond human control. Wiggles had absolutely no pre-natal care during her entire pregnancy... we were lucky to have the 2 survive as long as they have. This is all so sad, we are completely devastated. Thoughts, feelings, anger, resentment, desperation.... we cannot possible put all this into words. This is the reason we fight so hard against backyard breeders and beg pet owners to SPAY/NEUTER. Breeding should only be done by a licensed, knowledgeable individual who actually cares more about the animal than the money. Unfortunately that is not the reality we live in, and this is the result of such careless, reckless, selfish breeding. Out of the 3 puppies Wiggles birthed, only the girl remains. She is in critical condition. At midnight, after several failed attempts at feeding, we travelled 40 minutes to a breeder's house who offered her assistance. The Baby Girl Bullie was tube fed and given injections of fluids. She is severely dehydrated and struggling to hang on. We must continue to attempt feedings every 2 hours and give her injections to keep her hydrated. If she survives the night, she may have a fighting chance....

This is a pic of the two of them before they started to fade:

We left the breeders house shortly after midnight.... she spent a good 2 hours with us as she cared for the pup and sent us home with everything we'd need to get thru the night and continue intensive care. We stayed up all night feeding & haven't gone to sleep yet; injecting, stimulating, feeding the baby girl trying to keep her alive. Every 2 hours she needs to be fed, every 12 hours she needs meds, every so often she needs a needle in the back of her neck to administer fluids under her skin. As of 8:00 this morning she is doing much better. The breeder called us first thing this morning and was really surprised she made it thru the night. She offered further assistance to keep baby girl for the day if we could bring her back down to her as she would continue to medicate, tube feed, inject, etc. We are hopeful for her survival and very grateful to this breeder. Thank you Andy, for putting us in touch. Updates to come...

Puppy duty is hard work..... but oh, so worth it. Mommie Wiggles and her Wiggletts are doing well. It's so funny because already, we can see a huge difference in the personalities of the pups. The white little girl is soft, sweet and submissive. She's so good and is an "easy" puppy. The boy.... well, let's just say he's trouble! He's going to be a little stinker when he gets older. Already, he whines and fusses...... he's very active. Even with his eyes still unopened, he's a little explorer.... Constantly venturing off his nice cozy bed to explore the rest of the crib, while his sis lays sleeping in her corner unmoved. They are so cute together! Wiggles is doing better, she's such a good mommie. We are feeding her special Canidae canned food and supplementing her with Ensure drinks and Pedialyte to keep her hydrated and healthy. She would much rather go to the potty on the floor in the nursery room where her pups are than go when we are on our brief recovery walks thou. The pups are not even 1 week old yet.... Days like these are ones we'll look back on and treasure the memories... that's why we're taking tons of pics! Enjoy!

• Hamlet is getting neutered today

Yesterday was one of the most eventful days in the history of Adopt-A-Bull Rescue. Wiggles had 3 pure English Bulldog puppies. 1 solid white female, 1 white & fawn/brindle male.... and another female white/brown that unfortunately didn't make it. Lucky for us, we were able to sit in on the surgery/c-section and photographed the entire procedure. After what we thought was a considerably successful procedure we had a major setback. We were on the way out the door, literally in the car, when we had to turn right back around. Wiggles had blood (more than usual amounts) seeping out of her incision site, and her color was extremely poor, gums basically white/very pale pink. The vet put her back under and re-opened her up attempting to find the source of the problem. Not sure exactly where at the blood was coming from, he cleaned her up again really good and sealed her back up. After a little over 7 hours, we all were on our way back home. Yesterday night, the first day home was the worst. No amount of prepping, or speaking to breeders could prepare us for what we were about to be throw into. Pups must be separate from mom except for supervised interaction and feeding time. Pups must nurse every 2 hours with our assistance positioning, adjusting, and monitoring. At around 2:00 am Wiggles temp shot up to 104.7 and we almost had to admit her to the ER. Luckily, with cold compresses and fluids, it began to drop slowly and by noon today it had returned back to normal. Mommie Neely came over today while Mommie Erica went to work for 4 hours. Every 2 hours they must nurse and be stimulated manually by us with cotton balls and warm water to poop and pee. Wiggles may take over these duties in about 48 when she's completely recovered from the anesthesia. Wiggles is doing fine now, she is a great mommie. We am very impressed actually, not ever having to go thru this type of thing before, Wiggles is making it easy on us. She is fantastic & we are so proud of her. She's on antibiotics and pain meds so maybe that's helping to an extent, but really she is a great mom. At the vet, they put warm water inside a latex glove so the pups would be warm on the way home and our boy started nursing on the warm water fingers! HA! (See Below) The pictures document Wiggles c-section from the surgery prep to arrival home with the pups nursing. Enjoy!

We wanted to thank Dr. Fox and his staff at River Bridge Animal Hospital for a job well done and for their help during the miracle birthing of Wiggles and her Wigglettes. Thanks also to the current local foster homes that have doubled up on foster dogs temporarily to relieve the burden at Mommie Erica's house. Sad to say at a time like this, but we do need more foster homes as the needs of the rescue bullies are never ending. Even though we are technically "full" we are still attempting to deal with the calls that keep coming from owner surrenders and the needs of bulldogs at county kill shelters as they come in. Toodles for now, off for feeding time again. - Mommie Erica & Mommie Neely Oh, check out this video of the proud Mommie & bullie pupsL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6Z4uoZ6j94

By now you have all heard the story of Wiggles, but for those of you that haven't had a chance to read her story, here is the Reader's Digest version:

Wiggles was being sold on the internet for $300. If you had an extra $200 you could have the artificial insemination kit. Well, we didn't want the kit but we were not going to leave Wiggles in a situation where she was going to be used as a puppy maker. Thanks to Mommie Neely who let us borrow $300 we were able to arrange the "sale." Mommie Beth drove to Kendall to pick up the poor baby. She was filthy, her nails were long, and her nipples practically dragged on the ground. The seller claimed: "She only had one litter but that was before I got her. She had 11 in that litter!" Anyway, Mommie Beth took her back to her house to wait for the glorious day that she would be spayed. YEAH! It's the big day!! Off Wiggles goes to the vet, but much to everyone's surprise, rather than getting spayed, she was pronounced "Pregnant!" So now she is at Mommie Erica's awaiting the big day when she gives birth to her two puppies. That brings us to today...

Wiggles' previous owner FINALLY called Mommie Erica back after almost a week of leaving messages for him. Mommie Erica says that she needs information from him and she needs him to be 100% honest. Her first question? "Are the puppies inside Wiggles mixed puppies?" His reaction?? "WHAT?" Yup, he flipped out. He had no idea that she was pregnant which was evident by his reaction, cussing, and the unbelievable next statement, "I can't believe it took!!" Needless to say Mommie Erica wanted to know what he meant by that. "It took! I artificially inseminated her but I didn't think it worked!!" Can you believe this guy?

Now, here's the best part. Guess what he asks Mommie Erica... "Will you sell me one of the puppies?" Are you kidding right now??? Really??? "Why do you want a puppy when you just sold me your dog?" Says Mommie Erica. He didn't want an old dog like Wiggles. He wants to start fresh with a puppy!

Update: As of approx 5:00pm Wiggles temp has dropped to 99.2 degrees. We called the original owner back to ask of the artificial insemination date.... 9-12-09, or possibly 9-11-09. From talking to a few Bulldog breeders, they give birth between 60 and 63 days, but 59 days is not unheard of. The worst thing that could happen is if she starts to push and "free whelp" or have the babies on her own.... this is extremely dangerous to momma and pups. A c-section for sure should be in order for any pregnant female English Bulldog. We are hoping to hold off from going to the Emergency Room this evening to have puppies.... if Momma can hold off we will have a scheduled c-section tomorrow afternoon. Needless to say, Wiggles will be monitored thru the night with Mommie Erica very close by.