Buddy has been tucked in and enjoying life with his foster family since April 2020. His foster mom is a Registered Veterinary Technician so she can monitor his health for us.

Unfortunately he was diagnosed with Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (also known as Boxer Cardiomyopathy), Systemic Lymphoma, and also has several large tumors. All of these diseases hold a very guarded prognosis for longevity, but with them all together there is really nothing medically that can be done for him.

When he arrived it was apparent that he was very uncomfortable, either from pain or from the arrhythmia so our plan was to start him on pain medications and see if we can keep him comfortable. Pain medications were started on 4/1/20. He has responded well to the medications and shown improvement in his comfort level. He has shown improvement, and his foster family is committed to keeping him until he no longer is comfortable. His foster family is dedicated to making sure he has some really wonderful days for as long as possible, and then we will say goodbye and send him across the Rainbow Bridge. The links below are good information on both diseases.

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/lymphoma-in-dogs
https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/cardiovascular/c_dg_cardiomyopathy_boxer

Sometimes when we “rescue” a dog, their time with us is short, but they want for nothing while with us.

Buddy is a fun-loving, ever-so-sweet boxer that LOVES to play ball. He puts up with any nonsense other dogs can dish out but the other dogs always lose when Buddy is running for his ball. He adores men and bounces toward the door when a man walks in. He prefers for a man to throw his ball but is okay if a woman does so, as after all it’s a ball. 😉 He will search for the ball if it has gone “missing” and will happily carry it around the house. 

This weekend we had to sadly say goodbye to LCAL’s “Buddy.” He came to us through our friends at Take Me Home Rescue after they saved him from the north Los Angeles shelter. He was immediately considered a hospice dog since he had a cancerous tumor in his mouth that was progressively growing and spreading.

He went into a foster home with a long time supporter and foster family, Ed and Ellen T, in Oceanside, where he was surrounded by love and living the spoiled life for the past five months.

Taking in a “fospice” dog can be the hardest kind of fostering, knowing that your time together will be shortened. And we are beyond grateful to Ellen and Ed along with all of our foster families who make these heartbreaking sacrifices to give these dogs love and comfort in their final days.

Fly free, sweet Buddy boy!