UPDATE: June 27th

Hey Everyone.. Patrick Henry here again.  Mom wanted me to tell you all we are really sorry for not updating our blog before now.  Mom and me been updating my facebook page a lot but hadn't taken the time to write on the blog. 

Well it's been a big week so far.  Mom came and picked me up from the hospital on Monday and took me home to live stay with her.  She says I am going to stay here until I'm all done with my heartworm treatment, I'm all healed up and I get neutered... YIKES!!!!!  She said when I am all better that I get to have a forever home all of my own, and it looks like I am going to be goin all the way to place calle Pennsylvania... how cool is that????

I was kinda sad leaving the hospital, I love the people there, they really took good care of me and gave me lots of attention.  My mom took a picture of me and some of my friends there, it's kinda blurry... mom said it was because of her "stupid smart phone"  but I think it was an operator issue... don't tell her I said that hehehehehe  Here is the picture.  These are my friend Glo, Jamie, Dr. Worthley, Suzanne, Carrie and Bobbie.

I had fun riding in the car... it was super hot outside but mom and had the ac blastin and it was a nice ride.  Mom said I was a perfect gentleman in the car cause I didn't try and come up front to help her drive. 

It's been good here so far, I have lots of foster brothers, Wyatt, Roger, Doug and Rodney and a foster sister Gertie... she's mean, she isn't very big, only about 9 pounds but she things she is a giant.  she climbs up on the couch arm just so she can growl and lunge in my face...  I'm kinda scared of her but don't tell.  I even have two foster kitty siblings  Poot and Birthday Cat.  I think I'm fitting right into the schedule here.  Mom put me in a kennel at night, the first night I didn't think that was a very good idea so I protested for about 10 min, but she stuck to her guns... it wasn't so bad.. I only have to go in there at bed time of if Mom has to go somewhere... Doug, he has a kennel too, just like mine...  Mom says he has to go in there cause he likes to chew on things he shouldn't. 

Oh and my Grandma and Grandpa came to visit.... my Grandma is having some heart problems so they had to come back from all the way in Texas.  They brought their 3 dogs.. Jackie, Fifi and Baby.... they kinda get after me a little cause I guess since I'm not fixed I annoy them a little...  but if they grumble at me I listen and back up and then walk way away from them when I have to go by. 

Mom snapped a couple of pictures tonight with her dumb smartphone...  you can see me with some of my foster brothers and sisters. 

And here are me and Doug sitting for a cookie, well I'm sitting, Doug decided to lay down... I will do ANYTHING for a cookie!!!!!

WAIT?? WHAT????  Did someone over there say cookie???

Well anyway, I should probably get off here now, have to be "up and at em" early tomorrow, my grandma may be getting something called a cardioversion.. I'm not sure what that is but it doesn't sound like a good time.  I'll try and write more tomorrow.  I'm sure mom is going to be taking tons more pictures to show everyone how great my face is looking.  Oh and I feel great....  I'd like to play a little but mom says I have to take it kinda slow. 

More later,

Love and Hugs,

Patrick Henry

PS, My mom posted this on my facebook page.. which by the way you can get to by clicking here Patrick Henry's Facebook Page but for those of you who don't use facebook I wanted you to see how great I am doing with my spanish.  I know how to sit and give five in English and Spanish... how cool is that???  My friend Glo at the hospital taught me the Spanish.  Check out the video 



UPDATE: June 20th - Patrick on the computer again

Hey Hey... Patrick Henry here again.  Did you guys know that there is a computer here at the hospital????    My Mom told me that everyone liked hearing from me so thought I would do it again, hope the hospital doesn't mind if I get peanut butter on the keys. (thanks to Aunt Julie) 

Mom was saying she was really sorry that she didn't post an update about me yesterday.  She has something they call migraines and yesterday she got one.  I don't think I want one of those... Mom sat with me for a long time and loved on me but she had a grumpy look on her face, I think that's what a migraine does... makes you look grumpy hehehe

Anywhoo.... my doctor got the results of my biopsy back and WOOOO HOOOO I don't have Lupus... what ever that is.  Turns out I don't have an auto immune disease at all.  I had a bunch of worms in my heart and oh my gosh...  I had a bunch of worms coming out my beind... that was weird.. wanna hear something weirder...  my friends here at the hospital took some of it and looked at it through this machine....  how weird is that????  They found something called round worms and whip worms in there so they gave me medicine, it didn't taste too bad.  I had to take it for 3 days.  Oh and you guys already know I had to get a big shot in my backside for those heartworms. 

I guess because I had so many parasites in my body and because I didn't get much to eat,  it made my immune system be really weak so when I got hurt my body couldn't fight off anything.  And guess what????  today I started getting a runny nose.  My Mom was like "of course you have a runny nose"... she says I have one of every thing and two of some things.....  My doctor, Dr. Worthley she told my Mom today not to get to worried about it, that it could be because of my heartworms and stuff, but you know Mom.. she was flippin out.  The big bump on my neck got bigger today too, but I guess that's normal for a lymph node, sure makes my mom freak out....

My Aunt Julie comes almost every day to see me, she's super nice, she brings me peanut butter and takes me outside.  Oh and today I got to meet another new friend, her name was Rachelle, she was super nice too, she hung out with me and my Mom and she gave me some treats too and brought me a big ole bone.  And then this evening my Aunt Nikki came and brought me even more treats and she let me text my Mom.. it made my mom cry, but I don't think she was sad.  

Well, it's gettin late and I should probably head back to my "room" and hit the hay.  I got a big day tomorrow visiting with everyone. 

Thank you all for praying for me and helping me feel better.  I am one lucky boy.

Hugs and Pooch Smooches,
Patrick Henry
 
PS....  This is what Patrick Henry has to say to Heartworms, Internal Parasites, Lupus and the worthless piece of crap who did this to him....

UPDATE: June 18th Patrick Henry

Well I have to say once again that I am still amazingly, grateful and humbled by the outpouring of support for this special boy.  Emails, messages, posts, donations and well wishes continue to come in and I am blown away by it all.  Thank you all again so very much.

I headed out first thing this morning to go hang out with Patrick Henry... wanted to go early because it's 8 million degrees here in Kansas City today.... well maybe not 8 million but it sure feels close.  Anyway, I was greeted by a sort of grin and a very happy tail wag....  and that was just the staff....  hehehe  okay okay, I know, stick to my day job. 

Patrick Henry was very glad to see me.  He sat patiently in his kennel so I could hook his leash up and then he immediately took me to the back door at the hospital... he knows his way around there pretty good.  We went out and he did his business... such a good boy, no accidents at all... he is almost painfully housebroken, think he would hold it for days if he had to.  Oh and I must share a "business" story with you all... some will appreciate the humor, so will probably think I'm "not quite right" for sharing BUT... I wish I had my phone out and on video this morning.  When Patrick Henry does his number 2 business he prefers to back up to a tree or bush to do it...  it's the funniest thing... he just backs up against something and takes care of things hehehehe

Anyway, since I didn't get to visit him yesterday I was pretty amazed once again at how great he looks.  The day I took him to the clinic he weighed in right at 50 pounds.  Over the course of the next few days going through all of his treatments, being sedated daily  and just in general not feeling well he was down to 47 pounds.  Today he was 50.6 pounds and he was peppier (is that a word?) then ever and just so happy. 

Of course as I said in a previous update, he received his first immiticide injection for his heartworms on Wednesday this past week.  He also had a round (3 days) of Panacur due to his whip and roundworm infestation of which he completed Sunday.  And his poo I referred to earlier, looked great by the way hehehe  We are still waiting the results of his biopsy... grrr I hate waiting.  He has not had to be sedated for wound care for the last several days and allows everyone to do whatever they need to do for him.  They have switched him from the silvadene to Vetericyn VF spray for his wounds and of course is still on his antibiotics and prednisone as part of his after hw treatment protocol.  I can't believe how good this boy is, he doesn't dig or scratch at his wounds at all.. (knock on wood, of course).  Here are a couple of pics from today of how great the wounds on his arms look

We sat on a blankie outside for an hour or so today and just snuggled.  When it started getting really hot he happily went back in... of course we had to camp out in the lobby for a while just in case he had visitors.. still thinks everyone coming through the door is there to see him. 

I discovered today that he is an excellent "sitter".  Sits really well on command and will work for treats hehehe  When I brought him back in, I walked him to the scale, he is a master scale getter on'er too, steps right up, turns around and promptly sits.... man can this boy be any better?????  Here are a couple of short videos, showing off his purse nosing skills and sit and take a treat nice skills.

Patrick Henry and I's friend Nikki and his new friend Kaylene came by to visit him after they got off work today.  They took him out for an extra potty break and Nikki even got kisses.   I think Kaylene feel in love too....  Nikki text me just before the vet clinic closed and told me she noticed a lump on his neck so of course in a panic I called the staff and Jackson County... Dr. Worthley check it out and said it was a swollen lymph node and that it was nothing to worry about....  WHEW....  thank goodness.  Now that being said, they will of course be keeping an eye on it. 

Not long after we put Patrick's story out there we had several rescue offers and a few forever home offers.  We have had some wonderful emails with a gal in PA... Shirl..  sounds like this might just be the "right" home for Patrick Henry...  of course it's going to be several weeks until he completes his heartworm treatment etc before we can even consider moving forward with him going to a real forever home.  But at least initially it looks like it would be a great placement for him. 

Thanks so much everyone for continuing to keep up with Patrick.  Be sure to look toward the top on the right so you can click and read his previous blog posts and of course please stop by his facebook page and click "like" and leave him a message.  His face book is Patrick Henry's Facebook Page

Love & Hugs,

Patrick Henry & Carolyn

UPDATE: June 16 Patrick Henry - Extraordinary Dog

Hey Everyone... Patrick Henry here....  Mom, the lady who rescued me... her name is Carolyn but I like to call her Mom,  came to the hospital again today to hang out with me and while she wasn't looking I "borrowed" her phone to give you an update on how I am doing.  I mean Mom is doing a pretty good job but I wanted to take a stab at it....  Don't tell her I was on her phone, I don't know if she has unlimited data or not..... hehehehe  Oh and before I managed to sneak her phone away she took a bunch of pictures, man.. she is nuts about her pictures. 

This is me saying Heeeeeey Everyone!!!!!!!

Okay so I wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who has been praying for me and sending positive thoughts.  I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who is helping pay my bills and make sure I have all of the stuff I need to get better and of course to the super nice people here at my hospital.  They are all so nice to me, even though sometimes the stuff they do hurts a little.  I know they are just trying to help me.

Well I'm not sure where to start....  My life has been kinda crazy this last week and I'm not quite sure what to think.

A little while back my people really hurt me, I don't think I am ready to talk about what happened yet, but sometimes I whisper about it to my Mom.... I don't say it loud enough for her to hear yet but I see the way she looks at me and I know she understands.  Anyway, I was in pretty bad shape.  I was in a lot of pain, my face hurt really bad and my arms and legs too and even my chest.  I cried sometimes but no one helped me.  I didn't understand what I had done wrong, why wouldn't they help me?  couldn't they see my wounds?  couldn't they see how hungry I was?  I had always tried to be a good boy so why did they stop loving me?  Why did they hurt me and leave me like this?  I would cry out sometimes just to say "look at me... please" but it didn't seem to matter. 

Then finally a man in a truck came, they call him an ACO.  He came into my backyard and got me.  He was pretty nice but I was really really scared.  He put me in his truck, it was kinda scarey, it was dark and not very big.  He took me for a ride to a place called the shelter, but I don't think it's much of a shelter.  There were a lot of dogs there, everyone was barking and it was loud.  I also smelled death there and that really scared me.  The ACO man he put me on a leash and he brought me inside.  He took me down the hall and I was feeling really scared and then there was Mom... she was standing there and she saw me... I mean REALLY saw me.  She even asked me what happened to me but I just couldn't tell her.  She walked along behind me and I didn't feel quite so scared.  I must of looked pretty bad because there were a lot of people asking me what happened to me....  My mom, she squatted down and talked to me a lot... she always talks alot hehehe  she rubbed my head....that felt so nice, it had been a long time since anyone rubbed my head, then she had to go.  The people in there said they were going to give me shots and draw blood... that didn't sound like much fun to me but I didn't have to worry about it, I didn't get any shots or draw any blood, they just took me through the big room where there are a gazillion dogs.  I thought that's where I was going to stay but they took me all the way to the back... there aren't as many dogs back there but the people don't get to come there either.

I'm not sure what happened after that... I know I sat there in my cage, it was so loud in there.  I just wanted to rest but that's not easy at that shelter place.  Oh and wow.. I really had to pee but I hardly got to go outside.  It was hard to hold it but I did it... I was a good boy.  A couple of days went by and then my friend at the shelter Shannon, she came to my cage and got me, I thought we were going out to go potty but when I got to the door, there was my Mom...  I can't beleive it she came back for me.  She opened the back of her car and she had a big blanket in there, she patted the blanket and said come on Patrick Henry, I hadn't heard that name before but I liked it.  Shannon helped me get in the car and then Mom and I went for a ride, she kept saying to me the whole way that everything was going to be okay and that I didn't have to worry ANY more. 

She took me to this place she calls her vet.  I heard her talking to the people here, she said I was a good boy and she said I was on the Kill List.... WHAT???  why would I be on something called a kill list?  I also heard her tell them that she wanted to do whatever she could to help me.  The doctor came in and put me up on this table and looked me all over and he and Mom said I needed my wounds cleaned... last thing I remember something poked my hiney and it hurt... I even yelped a little.

Oh man I better hurry, mom is looking for her phone.  Anyway, I know my Mom and my Aunt Susan have been keeping everyone up to date.  Mom tells me I am an international celebrity.  She tells me everyday how there are tons of people rooting for me and praying for me. 

My Mom comes everyday to see me.  I also have a good friend Julie who comes all the time to take me outside and today she brought me a big red rubber thing that she filled with peanut butter... man that is good stuff.  My friend Nikki came to see me to and she calls my girls here all the time and asks about me.  I think it would be cool if my Aunt Susan would come visit but she lives all the way in some place called Michigan. 

Anyway, I am feeling so much better, my Mom can't beleive how much better I look... I haven't seen a mirror so I don't know but it doesn't hurt any more.  I thought they were going to give me a haircut but they just shaved one spot on my back... now I look silly... but they gave me a shot there, guess it was something called heartworm treatment... I was really brave and didn't even cry... of course my girl here Jamie, she was hugging me so I wouldn't be scared when I got that shot and one of my doctors here Dr. Worthley, she is super nice and treats me really gently. All my girls here are super nice.

Oh my gosh and this is super embarrassing... they followed me and took some of my poop... yuck, then they said I had whip worms and round worms... My Mom just said "of course you do".... and then she smiled really big at me. 

It's been pretty scarey but I'm not really scared anymore.  Everyone is so nice to me and mom brings me big ole bones too.  My Mom says she is my temporary mom and that she will make sure I get everything I need and then find me the very bestest home EVER.... she seems pretty confident.  I think Mom would like it if I came home with her when I'm better but she says she already has 5 dogs.  No matter what I know that Mom will make sure whatever is best for me is done.  She's pretty cool like that.... 

I gotta go but I will try and send a note again soon, until then my Mom and Aunt Susan will let you know how I am doing.  Thank you all again so much for helping me and for "seeing" me when I needed help.

Love Always,

Patrick Henry

PS.. I heard mom say she was going to be posting a bunch of new pictures so be on the look out

The Ordinary Story of Patrick Henry An EXTRAORDINARY Dog Pt 2

WOW....  I want to take a quick moment to thank everyone for the huge outpouring of support, thoughts and prayers for Patrick Henry.  I am humbled by the way everyone has come together to help him.   Our donation fund for him has far exceeded our goal and donations are still coming in.  No matter what his diagnosis ends up being he will have the means to get what ever care he may need and for that,... to all of you we are forever grateful.


I had the extreme pleasure of being able to spend about 3 hours with Patrick Henry today at the vet clinic.  I had called first thing this morning to check on him.  He had eaten and drank his water and been out to do his business.  Dr. Worthley said his wounds were continuing to show improvement but that he seemed a little down.  We also discussed his hearing and we both feel he does have some hearing loss.  This morning when the staff came in, of course all the dogs were barking.. but not Patrick, nope, he was snoozin away.  He is not deaf because he does respond and react to some noise, but does appear to have some impairment.


Late morning I headed on over to the vet clinic to spend some time with our boy.  One of the girls at the clinic brought him out to me in the lobby.   He came walking through the door and as soon as he saw me, his tail starting wagging double time.  He was so happy to see me, but I don't think he was half as happy as I was.  Even in just 24 hours his wounds looked so much better, it was almost unbelievable.  Bobbi dropped the leash and he trotted right over to me.  I squatted down and he just leaned into my chest.  Man oh man he is quiet the ladies man, knows just how to make you fall in love with him.   Here is a picture of Patrick Henry working his magic on me today.

Thanks to all of Patrick Henry's wonderful new friends, I brought him a nice fluffy bed, a couple of big ole chew bones, a stuffed ducky, some extra canned food and his very own collar and leash.  After taking a walk and spending a little time out in the fresh air, Patrick led me back to the door, seems he has become quite accustomed to climate controlled environment hehehe  When we went back in I introduced him to his new bed, he wasn't sure what to think of it at first..  sniffed it and then walked around and stood leaning into me NEXT to the bed.  I kept patting the bed and finally he stepped up on it with his front paws... well he's no dummy, it took about 2 seconds for him to decide that the bed didn't feel to shabby under his feet and he promptly plopped down... mostly on his new bed and snuggled into me. 

I just sat there stroking his face and side as he lay there completely at ease snoozing.  I think the only time he even moved a muscle was when I brushed against his ear and he would give it a little shake.  I tried to use my phone and get several pictures while we sat together.  I took some pictures of his wounds again... all of which look so much better.

Right arm                                                                        Back legs and feet 

                                                                       Left arm

I introduced Patrick Henry to his "duckie" that I had brought for him and the look on his face was priceless.  This duckie, instead of squeaking, it makes more of a honking noise and he just kept tilting his head and kind of backed away...  I think it scared him a little so we decided we would save the duck for another day.  lol

I sat there in the floor as long as I possibly could... until my back was aching and both legs were asleep.  He was just so sweet laying there I didn't want to move.  I woke him a couple of times trying to snap pictures... Here is one such pic where he is kind of giving us that... "alright already lady... let's just snuggle and stop with the pics, okay."

I finally had to give it up and stand up to try and get feeling back in my legs hehehe  I was sure I would completely disturb sleeping beauty but nope... this is what happened when I stood up..

Yup... absolutely NOTHING...  well he did raise his head a little so I carefully gave his duckie the job of headrest and back to sleep he went.

As for a medical update, I can tell you that his wounds are healing nicely.  His face is sooo much better too.  No more goopy mess on his face, it's starting to dry up some and get some scabbing (sorry, I know that's not pleasant to talk about).  The wounds on his arms, legs and chest are all granulating around the edges.. meaning they are getting smaller and healing wooo hooo.  He is being an incredibly good patient.  He allows them to clean and put medicine on his wounds and he (knock on wood) rarely messes with any of them.  Again I think this is a true testament of his totally awesome amazingness.  Of course we are still awaiting his biopsy results and we discussed at length today the need to go ahead and begin his heartworm treatment.  The vet believes we need to move forward with it so his body can focus on the wound healing and not have to combat the heartworm infestation.  Soooo, tomorrow Patrick Henry will have an immiticide injection, then in 30 days we will give 2 more injections.  Jamie, one of the awesome vet techs went ahead this afternoon and shaved the spot on Patrick's back to do the injection... it was totally adorable... apparently the spot she selected was "his spot" and as she ran the clippers over him, his leg started tapping, I think he loved it. 

His friend Julie came by again today and spent some time with him and brought him some special treats.  He was very pleased to see her... I don't think this boy knows a stranger and he automatically assumes anyone coming through the door is there to see him... and why wouldn't he think that????  I found out that Patrick Henry is an INTERNATIONAL celebrity.  His story has been shared not only all over the United States but he has crossposted Facebook posts in Madrid and Bogota Columbia....  Apparently the whole world is falling in love with him, just as I have. 

He has received several offers of rescue and just today received an offer of a forever home.  I told him as I sat petting him and talking to him that he was not going to have to worry about anything ever again and that he had a lot of people rooting for him, sending healing thoughts and prayers.  And again I told him that never again would he have to worry about being hurt because now he has a huge family to look out for him. 

I apologize for the lack of creativity on his blog tonight.  I was about all typed out by the time I got to his update...  the number of emails, texts, facebook posts/messages etc has been astounding and I have been trying to make sure and respond to everyone. 

I will be back spending time with Patrick Henry again tomorrow and will of course post more pics and updates tomorrow night/wee hours of the morning ;-)

Much love, hugs and pooch smooches,

Patrick Henry & Me

The Ordinary Story of Patrick Henry An EXTRAORIDNARY Dog

Seems to me that the powers that be, fate, karma, kismet or whatever you believe in were at work on Friday June 8th, and because of this... This is where Patrick Henry's story BEGINS, rather then where it ENDS........


I had for personal and health reasons been moving further and further away from actual hands on volunteering at our local KCMO shelter for several months, which makes this story all the more interesting. 


I had spent the whole day on Friday June 8th at the shelter working with their rescue coordinator to show her some tips and tricks to help her with her job.  I had taken a little break and had walked to the back area of the shelter where the vet clinic area is.  I was standing there chit chatting with someone when in walked one of the Animal Control Officers...  I looked down and was immediately in shock.  At the end of a little blue nylon slip lead was this...

Of course my first thoughts and words were the same.... "OMG, poor baby, what happened?" and I offered him the back of my hand and knelt down to say hello.  ACO (animal control officer) said he didn't know what had happened to him.  He said he was a cruelty seizure out of someones back yard. 

I followed along to the vet clinic where we all squatted down and began to love on this boy.  His face was just nothing but a bloody infected mess... not a small spot, literally his entire face, even under his fur we could see he had infected, raw wounds on his arms and legs as well, yet his tail was still wagging.  He allowed ALL of us to offer him up some lovin.  Of course we all gave him a once over and made a guess about what we thought had happened to him.  Anything from a chemical being thrown on him, to an attack by a dog or dogs, an attack by a rogue gang of raccoons, to an auto-immune disease with secondary infection that had not been treated.  I stayed with this boy only about 10 min or so before he was walked to the back and into the "bite section" to await his fate..... not because had bitten anyone but understandably this is hardly a dog you could display in the main kennel room and hardly humane to keep a dog with this severity of injury in an overcrowded shelter.

I went on about my day and was there until close and while I could kick myself for not making one last pass through to see him before I left... he was right there... stuck in my mind and it didn't take long before he had wiggled his lil ooozy face into my heart as well. 

I left the shelter thinking of this dog...  tearing up as I drove away thinking how bad this boy looked and how he must have been in unspeakable pain yet his tail continued to wag.  In spite of the fact that he had horrible wounds and infection all over his emaciated body, he STILL wagged his tail, he still felt that we (the human race) were okay.  Whoever had done this to him and or allowed him to get in this condition... well THIS boy didn't hold it against ALL of us.  I mean how amazing is that???? 

When I have had to deal with cases of abuse and or neglect, I have a bad habit of letting my mind go to places I wish it didn't.  Often times for me... it is not the injuries themselves that break my heart it's what this poor boy must have thought when his people put something on him that burned him or that he sat in a back yard getting more and more infected, wounds getting larger and larger and his people looked at him and never reached out to help him.  Did he think, what have I done????  What did I do that made you not love me even enough to rinse off my battered bleeding body?  What must this boy have thought? And even after all of that, he still sees the good in people... 

Anyway, I spent the next day with mental images of this boy going through my head and trying to decide if there was even anything I could do.  And then.... then late Saturday night I received a text from the one of the management team/trainer at the shelter with a "preview" of the kill list.  She had asked me to take a look and make sure the pics had attached properly and as I rolled down through the email... there he was....  Don't get me wrong, I hate that my local high volume shelter has to kill for space but I did understand why this boy was placed on there immediately.  The over capacity gazillion year old dilapidated illness harboring shelter was certainly no place for this boy to be in.  The thought of this boy being rescued from his back yard by ACO and making his way out, only to be placed in the non public section of the shelter to be euth'd at 4pm on Tuesday just didn't work for me.  I just thought he needed one chance, so I asked if I could pick him up first thing Monday and take him to my vet.  Permission was granted and away we went.

I also saw his picture that night posted out on facebook because he was on the "kill" list.  I hadn't paid any attention to the photo caption that read "Charlie"...  but I had studied his picture and had already dubbed him Patrick...  he just really looked like a Patrick.  I busied myself googling and yahooing inspirational people names because that's what I was INSPIRED by this boys spirit and his ability to forgive.   Those searches paired with the fact that I already KNEW he was a Patrick I quickly came up with Patrick Henry... after Patrick Henry Hughes, a young man whose family was featured on Extreme Makeover Home Edition, very very inspirational young man and family.  This link might let you see how Patrick Henry for this boy... just works.  Click the link and check out the video, not just to see this young man but to see the impact he has on others and his amazing positive outlook on live despite the challenges that he faces every day.  "They tell me there's more to life then just what I can see".... I think our Patrick gets that statement.

Patrick Henry Hughes - Extreme Makeover - I Believe

 I arrived at the shelter bright and early Monday morning and Shannon went in to get Patrick Henry for me.  He came out, tail a waggin, went on a brief walk with us to do his morning business... and yes, this boy is housebroken to a fault.  He had not pottied in his cage at the shelter all weekend.  So he did his biz and we headed back to my jeep to load up.  I opened the back gate of the jeep where I had a big blankie all fixed up for him.  He immediately put his front paws up on the back, stood there for a second or two then turned his head and looked at us as if to say... "Hey.. little help here, this is kinda a big jump".  Shannon gave him a boost and instantly he just curled up on the blankie. 

My vet clinic is only about 10 min from the shelter but the whole trip I never saw him or heard a peep.  He was content to be curled up on the blankie, enjoying the peace and solitude of my car.  Now of course I had called ahead to my vet clinic to let them know I was bringing in this poor boy that we had no clue what was wrong.  They are always willing to take on a challenge. 

Once there in the vet clinic with both Dr. Worthley and Dr. Bendur present I was hoping for an "AH HA" moment but no such moment existed... still a mystery and many scenarios it could be.  Now I should back up and tell you all another little something about Patrick Henry... it's very cliche but he had me at hello.  This boy just got me... yup went straight for the heart.  Patrick Henry is the kind of dog you look at and you can see straight into his soul.... or maybe it's that he can see into yours but man... he gets ya.

Anyway, I told them about how sweet this boy is and in spite of what he must be going through, he is loving and affectionate.  I told them I wanted to do what we could for him.  I went on to tell the vets that IF he took a turn for the worse or we determined that is was cruel to keep going then I would not return him to the shelter.  I would be with him there at the clinic if we needed to help him to the bridge.  We discussed at length what I wanted done at this point and what needed to be done.  He was given a thorough physical exam and we decided to sedate him and scrub down his wounds and remove dead tissue... there was a lot of that.  Here are some pics of what he looked like before during and after this process.



Patrick's right arm                                                     Patricks left arm after it was shaved

Patricks sweet face                                          Left rear leg

Patrick still knocked out after being cleaned up and slathered down with Silvadene

Honestly at this point in the process we still don't know what has caused all of this injury.  We did a complete blood workup, all of which was basically normal.  Of course we heartworm tested him and no way he could catch a break.. he was positive.  At this point I am completely smitten with this boy so I know I need to find out what is going on and see if we can "fix" it.  My vets also took a sample to send off for biopsy to help determine if this is an auto-immune thing or what....  so now we wait....  up to 10 to 14 days for results.  He is on antibiotics and his wounds are being cleaned daily and Silvadene applied.  He is being such a good boy there and has already made a couple of wonderful friends. 

His friend Julie, she comes and takes him out for a walk and just keeps him company and his friend Nikki was able to come meet him yesterday and is following his care... also offering her home to foster once he is well enough to go.  Patrick Henry makes friends no matter where he goes.  He's so stinkin cute.. on Monday as we sat in the lobby at JCAH, there were 2 ladies who came in to drop off records.. Patrick Henry immediately stood like a gentleman would when a lady enters the room and his tail went crazy.  He was sure these 2 lovely ladies were there to see him....  Thank goodness they noticed him... they too could see to look past the horrific physical appearance, they stood chatting with him for a few min, gave him a pat on the head and told him they were praying for him.  He wagged his tail and watched them leave then curled back up at my feet.   I always hear stories about the "angels" who walk among us... and I have to wonder......  he has a purpose here and he was NOT meant to meet his fate in the back room of the shelter.  Too many factors aligned for this. I ordinarily would not have been at the shelter.. and even if I was I would not ordinarily have been back in the back...  I mean had Patrick been brought in 15 mins earlier or 15 mins later I would never had met him.  If I didn't have an amazing, wonderful, fantastic, phenomenal vet clinic (Jackson County Animal Hospital) I would not have had a place to take him.  So all of these things that were not part of my ordinary day... make me believe that Patrick Henry is not ordinary at all... he is EXTRAORDINARY.  I can't wait to continue to tell his story....

Patrick Henry already looking better after Day 2

I'm going to ad more to his story later tonight but for now I need to get to the hospital to see him and pic up another undergoing hw treatment.  I do want to thank everyone for their healing thoughts, prayers etc and for all the amazing people who are already donating to his care.  We have set up a chipin for him located at Patrick Henry's Fund  On my way to the hospital I am stopping to pick him up a great big ol bone and a big cushy bed... from all of his friends!!!!!  

Big Hugs,

Carolyn & Patrick Henry