Saving Kai

– Rescued August 4th 2017 – Passed July 20th 2018

Kai was a sweet 3 year old Boston Terrier who was rescued by the Rescue Ranch with a severe wound on his neck from a larger animal.  His owner surrendered Kai to animal control after realizing he had been missing for several days and found him hiding under a shed.

Kai was rescued on August 4th 2017 with a massive neck wound. The wound had been allowed to fester for days and maggots had to be cleaned out of it. He was hospitalized for nearly a month. Weeks of bandage changes, betadine and sugar scrubs, and a surgery to trim off necrotic skin healed Kai’s neck until just a tiny scar remained.

Next he needed to be neutered and have his cherry eye repaired. Kai’s cherry eye had been left untreated for so long that it was very large and required multiple surgeries to repair. Then a series of eye ulcers needed treatment also. Poor Kai wore a cone of shame for weeks!

After all of that Kai was finally well enough to undergo heartworm treatment. Again, his history of neglect played a part and Kai struggled through treatment developing pneumonia and needing rounds of steroids and Lasix. Treatment had to be delayed twice for additional medications.

Through all of his medical trials we worked with Kai on resource guarding food, treats, toys, and space. Kai worked with multiple volunteers and had private sessions with our trainer. We worked with our veterinary team and trainers and behaviorists to address his extreme anxiety and get Kai to a place of peace and safety.

Unfortunately even with the help of experts (veterinarians, trainers, board certified behaviorists), medications (like Zlykene, Xanax, & Prozac), holistic medicine (including CBD oil), time, love, and volunteers we weren’t able to heal Kai’s emotional wounds from years of being left outside to mostly fend for himself. The skills he developed to keep him alive while living almost ferally could not allow him to live safely in a home. He remained in a constant state of flight or fight, and he usually chose fight. Despite our best efforts we couldn’t break through with Kai and no more than we would allow a dog with an untreatable miserable medical condition to cotinue to suffer, we could not let Kai continue to suffer a debilitating mental illness. We helped Kai cross over on July 20th 2018, just a bit shy of a year with us. 

Rest easy Kai. I wish we could have done more to heal you. I wish we could have gotten to you sooner before the world taught you to always be afraid. I am glad we got to love you and I hope you know how much you were loved.