Hey Tracey,
So really the updates from when you saw us (which I can't 100% remember when that was). Benson got sick a total of two times over the course of last February to June. The second time he had pneumonia they told us to put him down- then we met you guys! In July I took Benson to Virginia Tech Animal Hospital for a second opinion on recommendation that they are one of the top vet places in the US. They were amazing although it's a long drive and Benson wasn't a fan of them. They recommended soft palate removal. I decided to have Benson's surgery at the beginning of August- August 11th at Dogs and Cats Referral Hospital in Bowie MD - where we have always gone. Dr. Eileen Snakard performed his surgery. His soft palate was removed, apparently it was too long and also too thick. He didn't need his nasals enlarged but during the surgery the surgeon was nervous since she removed so much palate he would swell so they did a temporary trachestomy during the surgery to keep his airway secure until the swelling went down. It cost him another day there but it did wonders for him! We brought him home after they reversed his trach on Friday. We had a follow up appointment a week later at which point his trach hole had closed on its on as expected and the surgeon removed his sutures from holding up those big wrinkles for the trach :)
Benson has since been fabulous - we transitioned him to Doc Side vet. On his first appointment he had lost about 6 lbs- which is good for him to keep a low weight. We first saw Dr. Joy Gooding on is now added to my christmas card list- I really adore her. We spent two hours there and I got to ask all my neurotic questions and sort of set a "game plan" on how to prevent Benson from further pneumonia outbreaks. We switch his food to no grain, no corn- and are now feeding him Evo and always include other cook foods such as : veggies, boiled chicken, yogurt, sweet potatoes, etc - per Dr. Goodings recommendations. Benson now is a brat and won't eat his food unless chicken is on it!
We also stopped doing lemon- as I told you before- to help prevent gastric reflux and ulcers. In transition, we now give him papaya tablets instead of lemon. I've heard of it for humans but never for dogs. But so far so good.
Benson is alive, well, and kickin. The past few days he sound congested but we have a follow up appointment at Doc Side on Friday. From all the anti-biotics he was on- he got a yeast infection in his ears so we're going back to make sure he's good- but we might also get an xray and see what's going on.
September 5th was Benson's first bday. We met with some friends and their pups and went to Iggies for pizza and celebration.
