Adopt a Boston Terrier (short coat)

We’d like to introduce you all to Hermey, a very special boy who came into rescue at the end of last year and spent the holidays recovering from some pretty extensive surgeries. Just like his namesake, the elf who wanted to be a Dentist in Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Hermey dreamed of a better life for himself and Boston Buddies is doing our darnedest to make it happen. Hermey’s rescue story started in early December when he was spotted by a Good Samaritan while he rummaged through dumpsters outside a grocery store looking for anything to eat in order to survive. Hermey's Guardian Angel checked with local people who said Hermey had been foraging around the area for at least a few weeks. No one seemed to be looking for Hermey – no signs, no Craigslist ads, no shelter reports. It seemed that Hermey was truly on his own. Once she was able to get a closer look at Hermey it was obvious that he needed immediate medical attention and she contacted Boston Buddies right away with photos and a plea for help. And after we saw the photos (we have chosen not to share the gruesome photos) we got him right in to see the doctor! You see his entire prepuce (the skin covering the penis) was crusty, ulcerated and infected. Each time this poor boy had to urinate he had to pee urine through raw, irritated skin – we cannot even begin to imagine how painful that was for him and we have no idea how long he had been having to deal with that situation while also trying to survive on the streets. His condition was not something that happened within a few weeks, it had been this way for a while. It appeared that Hermey had been abandoned to deal with his medical issues on his own. We can’t help but think that someone must have gotten coal in their stocking this Christmas! After an initial intake exam we whisked Hermey off to see a specialist and run several diagnostic tests. One possible diagnosis was a transmissible venereal tumor (TVT for short). Now, we never thought we would be hoping that one of our dogs would be diagnosed with a sexually transmitted tumor – but because TVTs are easily treatable with chemotherapy, we all said a short prayer that that was what Hermey had. Sadly, the testing showed that Hermey had preputial squamous cell carcinoma and because of the extent of tumor involvement the only course of action (other than euthanasia- which was not an option for Hermey! No Way!) was to amputate his penis and conduct a scrotal urethrostomy to provide a new opening for Hermey to urinate through. We know, we all pretty much gasped at the thought of that! Pretty major stuff and a first for our volunteers, we were not really sure what to expect. And so a few days after Christmas, Hermey went into surgery and had his penis amputated, a new opening to pee through created, two involved lymph nodes removed and a neuter. All in all, Hermey had a pretty full day on the operating table! He stayed just one night in the hospital and then he was sent home with his awesome foster mom. Hermey has been a trooper through all of these extensive procedures – he honestly never let it get him down. He was eating the very next day. The pain meds allowed him to get the much needed recovery rest. Hermey has been on "lock down" for 2 weeks, only allowed out of his crate for potty breaks and he has taken it all in stride. He is however looking forward to his follow up appointment this week and hopes he gets the thumbs up to lose the cone of shame and have more time "uncrated". He is for sure ready to play with his furry foster siblings and enjoy the ability to move freely throughout the house. Hermey will be meeting with the oncologist this week to discuss the order of his upcoming chemotherapy and radiation therapy. While Hermey is not yet available for adoption we are all optimistic that 2018 will be his best year ever! Please keep Hermey in your thoughts and prayers as he continues his therapy and if you feel like it, drop him a line of encouragement in the comments section here – or you can even send him a Get Well Soon card to our mailbox (George so enjoyed his cards that we thought Hermey might like a few too!): 19051 Goldenwest St. #106-145, Huntington Beach, CA 92648. We will continue to post updates on Hermey’s journey – and who knows, a Dental Degree may be in his future yet!

View more photos of Hermey on our Facebook page (Copy and paste link)
https://www.facebook.com/pg/BostonBuddiesInc/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1697612543628567