Wheezer came from an Amish puppy mill. He is now 5 months old, and has been with OBR for a month.

When we said we would take him, we were only told he had a lung condition. Wheezer has pneumonia and a collapsed lung that test results show was caused from BORDATELLA. He had a saline lung wash done which is a procedure that a specimen of bacteria is extracted, and after 5 days the culture grows. They did this to make sure he was being treated with the correct antibiotics.

The specialist says it is the most horrific case of bordatella, which could have been prevented, and is clearly considered abuse. Wheezer has gone into respiratory arrest numerous times. The first couple times it happened, it took a couple hours to stabilize him. The vet wasn't sure he would live through the ordeal, but when he was stabilized he just wanted to act like a puppy again. Wheezer has the will to live and his vet has shown his foster mom how to give him the needed medical attention when he is in crisis. This saves time from calls and driving and she can stabilize Wheezer in a quicker amount of time. She has injections on hand and then oxygen is used. He has improved greatly, but has a long road of recovery ahead of him. Oxygen is kept at his foster home for the difficult breathing moments. Wheezer has learned to run to his foster mom when he starts having breathing difficulties. He is a smart little boy and knows she can help him. He takes meds several times a day, and just started a new antibiotic that he will take for the next 6 weeks. He visits a specialist often. If his lung doesn't re inflate soon, it likely never will. There is a time frame that the lung would be most likely to re inflate. He was not stable enough to undergo surgery to try and re inflate it, and it had so much infection, it wouldn't have helped at the time. It is very possible that Wheezer's deflated lung will eventually be removed, because it will turn to scar tissue and cause other problems. At the present, Wheezer's vet bills are nearing $2000, and his ordeal is not over. Wheezer is starting to play,but runs out of air quickly. He is his foster mom's "Velcro pup,". It's mom, Wheezer, and the oxygen tank that are best buddies. He sleeps propped up on his foster mom where he feels secure, and of course loved-who couldn't love that face! Thank goodness he is the cutest thing ever. He even got his foster mom out of a ticket when she was stopped by the State Highway Patrol for a safety check and she had no seat belt on....Wheezer was with her with his oxygen tank and he charmed everyone and mom was free to go with well wishes for Wheezer!!!! Whew!. Please donate to OBR for Wheezer's ongoing vetting. Oh yeah, if Wheezer doesn't have enough to endure, he also came with a broken rear foot. Wheezer thanks you and we will update his progress.