Breed | Pug |
Age (Dog) | 33.5 |
Age (Human) | 4 |
Cause of Death | Calcinosis Cutis, Medical |
Eli came to the states after escaping the Korean meat trade and was found on what is known on ‘dog island.’ He was fostered by a US military family before making his way to Chicago to start his new life.
The minute he landed, we noticed a persistent cough but he was extremely happy to have touched down on US soil and was overall a happy dog and funny. He would always make the funniest noises when he would chew on his bone.
I fostered him for almost a year with Chicago French Bulldog Rescue, trying to figure out his chronic cough that turning into skin problems and later chest masses. It was determined, that his time in the Korean meat farm, being exposed to mass amounts of ammonia caused his lungs, skin and trachea to calcify and essentially turn to ‘bone/stone’ or the condition called calcinosis cutis.
In humans, there are more advanced treatments that can be done, but in canines, those treatments cannot be preformed. This is when I decided I would not be pursuing veterinary medicine as a career path. (I had been previously studying to become a vet and my whole life had been making every choice in order to set up self up for veterinary school.)
The lack of progression in medicine and failing infrastructure that was demonstrated while I was going through the diagnostic and treatment period of my foster dog completely changed my entire perspective on the profession as a whole and caused me to change career fields.
I truly dont think he should have passed and I miss him every day!
Eli, Im sorry I failed you!
Submitted by Rylan Martin