Hugo the English Mastiff was a very special boy who crossed the rainbow bridge this morning. This sweet, sweet boy weighed over 200 lbs and was an ENORMOUS teddy bear with a heart of gold! Despite the fact that he could barely get up and down or walk, it didn't stop him from wagging his tail and sliming you with kisses in exchange for pets and loves! He and his sister, Molly the Saint Bernard, were the victims of cruelty. After 4 long months at the shelter in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, awaiting the conclusion of the court case, they were finally released to BDHPI last weekend.
We were told that Hugo had some medical issues and knew that he was going to be special needs, but we were not prepared for the train wreck of a dog that we encountered. It took 3 men to get the poor guy into the vehicle and once we finally got him home and in the house he laid down for a long nap. He was happy to accept treats and gobbled up his dinner and pain meds, but they didn't seem to help alleviate his discomfort much and he cried most of the night and didn't move around much at all.
We took him straight to the vet who did a thorough physical exam and x-rays and determined that he was suffering from severe spondylosis of his spine. It affected his upper and lower 4 vertebra, L2-L6, and the amount of stenosis was causing nerve pressure. The vet said that outside of fusing his whole back, there was really nothing else that could be done. Even then, he wasn't very confident that we would provide him with quality of life because he had such advanced arthritis in all of his joints. To add insult to injury, he was also heartworm positive at an advanced stage. The vet's recommendation was euthanasia to put an end to his suffering. With a heavy heart, we gave him a big hug and gave him this last gift.
He was a special soul and didn't deserve to suffer, but we are hopeful that even though it was only for a few days, he felt loved and cherished while he was with us here at BDHPI!
