Hank (Hankie) is 8-9 months old and he is soooo beautiful! He is shy but when its just the boys and me at home he is quite the little terror! Hank loves to run around the couch and chase Toby and Peanut. Even when they will stop running he likes to keep going as fast as he can around and around. He loves to drag mini beanie babies around and shake them ferociously. They quickly submit to his authority and once he is satisfied that he has established his dominance over them he will run off to find his brothers and chase them some more.
~ Update on Hankie ~ April 25, 2008~
Hank had his appointment on the 22nd. Dr. Yakely check Hank completely and said we have two options with him. First of all Hanks eyes are healthy. As far as his eyes being the reason he is blind, they are not it. The two choices are the Hydrocephalus or Occipital Dysplasia. To do the initial neurological and MRI work up will be $1300. To $1500. and although Dr. Yakely said this would be a good idea for Hank he doesn’t believe that the Hank could survive the surgery required to place a shunt in is brain should the tests lead to what he believes is truly a case of Hydrocephalus. The full cost of testing and the surgery would be around $5000.00.
Dr. Yakely said our only other hope is that there is this small chance that it may be Occipital Dysplasia and we can use a special compounded does of Prednisone every two days for the rest of Hanks life to control his health issues (sight/blindness, walking/tripping and falling, horrible fear and shyness and other troubles)if he responds to the med. The other issue with that is though that it very likely will cut his life span in half!
As you can imagine I was devastated by the news but there is always the joy and hope that Hankie will see better again and he will be able to overcome much of the extreme shyness and fear behavior he has, because of the pressure on parts of his brain that are triggering these issues, just by taking his meds. I am very glad that, if he will respond to the Prednisone and if he can tolerate it, Hank will likely have his sight back fully soon and his motor control and anxiety issues will be, mostly, a thing of the past for him. (at least as long as the swelling and pressure in his brain are well controlled) I have spent a lot of the last week crying and praying for Hank and for strength and comfort. Its hard to hear that I may only have my little guy for half of his normal life span. But I am going to make his little life the best it can be!
Thank you all for your prayers for us! I am really tired and overwhelmed but I know who holds my future and that of my little guys and I am not afraid of the things to come. Your prayers mean the world to us!
The medication for Hank will be $22.00 a month since it has to be custom compounded but Hankie must have it so we are going to make sure he never goes without his needed meds. Please pray that the funds will always be available to buy his meds, Toby’s meds and mine each month. Between the three of us I think we must be helping to pay for someone’s kid to go through college (what with the amount we have to pay for all our meds, check ups and testing). I should invest in stock from every medical company and pharmacy in my local area….maybe I could make back a little of my money. Lol
Hugs
Catherine
~ Update on Hank April 18, 2008 ~
Hanks appointment with Dr. Yakely, a leading provider of Veterinary Ophthalmology , is set for 8:45am on the April 22nd. We will have to drive to Spokane WA (about an hour away) for his appointment but Dr. Yakely is the best and I am happy to be able to take Hankie to see him! The cost of the visit is $82.00 + $250.00 for the first test (We currently have $100.00 saved so far). Hank will be sedated so please pray for my little tiny guy. We are hoping and praying that his vision and neurological issues are not going to be degenerative (more than what they have already been over the last month). He has suffered vision loss and is having some other neurological issues which cause him a lot of anxiety. Dr. Yakelys office will allow me to have an on going bill which is the only way I can have these tests done so I am very grateful for this! I want to give Hank the best chance of saving his vision if it is possible and we must get to the root of the neurological issues in case they endanger his life by continuing to cause this deterioration. After having my little blind Chihuahua, Zila, I am not afraid for myself at all since I understand how to care for a blind pup but for Hankies sake I pray we will be able to save some of his vision. He is so young and he loves to run and play. I hate to think of him losing all his vision. Even if we can just save some of it I would be so happy. I will do all I can to make sure he has the best opportunity to save his sight and make his life the best one possible. Thank you to all our Dear Friends who continue to pray for my little guys. We have had a rough months with both boys having medical issues and my own health not being great the last two weeks. We truly appreciate your prayers!
Hugs
Catherine
Every donation is greatly appreciated!
~ Update on Hank April 11, 2008 ~
We are in the process of setting up Hanks appointment with the specialist Veterinary Ophthalmologist Dr. Yakely of the Animal Eye Clinic of Spokane. The first visit alone is $80+. And there will need to be tests done so we are working hard to raise the needed money to make sure our little guy gets the care and treatments he needs.
We are in need of donations to help cover the cost of his medical appointments and any assistance is greatly appreciated. Because it seems that Hanks vision issues may be degenerative we are determined to find any and all ways that we can intervene and save as much of his sight as possible.
Because certain eye conditions can deteriorate rapidly and the eye is not very forgiving we are going to make sure that we do everything possible to preserve Hanks vision as quickly as possible. If you would like to make a donation to help with Hanks medical expenses please use the donation button above.
( If you would like to read about the specialist Hankie will be seeing there is a wonderful article about him here: Click Here )
Hank is very shy but very loving and needy. He always has a smile and is a happy playful boy. He is on medication for allergies and he sneezes constantly. He actually looks like he is grinning when he sneezes which is really really cute! My little niece calls him Hankerchief since he is such a sneezy boy. Its quite the task to get the pill form of his meds in him. Hank has an amazing knack for finding any kind of pill hidden in food or treats and he will eat everything BUT the meds. At least these pills can be crushed and that has helped me hide the medication better.
If you can find it in your heart to help with even a dollar toward his medical costs it is very much needed and appreciated. If anyone has questions about Hank please e-mail me any time. Because of the donations received so far this sweet little boy will soon be having his first visit with the ophthalmologist! With your help we can make sure that Hank is able to have all the needed tests preformed quickly so that he will have every opportunity to save his vision that we can possibly offer him.
Thank you for taking the time to read about Hank and for considering helping him.
God bless!
To all those who are helping Hank ~ Thank you!
Hank is about 3 pounds. He has some vision problems and I am raising money to have a more thorough exam to see the complete extent of his vision loss. Hank often misses the mark when he tries to jump up since he appears to be mostly blind on his left side and has very poor peripheral vision on his right side but he is a happy bouncy boy who never lets his vision troubles get him down.
Hank is a rescue/turn in from a nice home who found that Hank was extremely shy and unhappy in their home. They bought Hank from a seedy character who asked them to meet with them behind a bar to purchase Hank. He was far to young to be away from his mother and has suffered mentally and emotionally because of that but I am forever grateful that the first family chose to rescue Hank from that terrible person. I don’t think he would have lived long if they hadn’t purchased him. Hank is extremely shy and anxious at times and was so at his first families home. Since he was not able to be comfortable in their home they turned him over to a wonderful rescue in town called Coeur d’ Alene Small Animal Rescue. Deb is a awesome rescuer who has helped me in the past with a sweet little Pom who’s family threw her out into the streets when they were moving and no longer wanted her. Deb stepped in and found her a foster family when I couldn’t foster her and then found her the best family where she would have a wonderful forever home! When I saw Hank and read about him I fell in love! How could I not. Deb had taken such great care of Hankie and when she brought him to me I knew he was meant to be a part of our family. It took a few hours for him to start warming up but he has bonded deeply with Toby and has learned to trust me even when he can’t see much and gets nerves. At night when he is restless Hank will suckle on my fingers and is still very much a baby who needs a mama’s constant care and attention. I love him so much!
I am hoping to raise enough money to get him a full work up to find out the extent of his vision loss and also to find out any brain damage he may have suffered from what my Vet thinks may have been some water on the brain (hydrocephalus). This may explain some of his very babyish ways and his apparent memory troubles. Things can be a little hard for him to do but he is so cute and wild. He gets very worried at times and will pace around but with some comforting words he is willing to settle down and be snuggled. Its almost like working with an autistic child at times. Still I love him and am so happy to have him as part of my family! Toby loves him and shares all his babies and the toys with him just like he did for Zila. Zila was my very special needs little old man who passed away last summer. Toby learned to be gentle with disable pups and he is very gentle and kind to Hankie. He baby’s him and loves on him. If Hankie gets upset or begins to pace Toby will try to calm him. Toby grooms him and allows him to be the dominant leader. Hankie is very small yet Toby will roll over on his back and let Hankie think he has conquered him. The only thing Toby will correct Hankie for is if Hankie tries to bite Toby’s ears. That Toby won’t let happen but even then Toby is kind but firm. I love to watch my boys play together. When Zila passed away Toby grieved. Since last summer he has been an “only child”. The first day Hank came Toby pouted at me for awhile (he was even mad at Deb for bring Hank) but within a few hours Hank talked Toby into playing and ever since then they are inseparable. Toby even loved on Deb when she came over, she is forgiven since he loves his new brother that she brought to his house.
Hankie is having to learn to eat his treats fast. Having a fat older brother means that you have to be fast or face losing your treats to a seasoned pro! Hank has learned to tell on Toby though and Toby hates to be told on. He will hang his head in shame and will kiss on Hankie as if to say he is sorry. Its so funny to watch. Hankie is very forgiving and quickly wants to play with Toby again. Hankie has learned to grab his treat and run with it if he wants to beat Peanut and Toby to it.
He love my little nieces and kisses them and yips at them to play with him.
Pictures of Hank are below!
Also some of my foster baby Peanut! He is visiting us while we find his new forever home. He is a sweet little guy who loves Toby and Hank. He is very friendly and adores my nieces. Whenever I say “the girls are coming” the boys all go nuts and then go and wait for them in the living room or by the front door. Peanut will sit by the kids and gently paw at them for pets and attention. Hankie is loving have another really wild little guy to run and run with. Toby loves to play with them but he gets tired of all the running sometimes and will sit on the couch and watch the boys run around.
I love my little men!
Peanut our foster baby!
