Saving Ferdinand The Bulldog

My name is Kennedy, and I have the absolute pleasure to be Ferdinand’s foster mom.

On Saturday, April 30th I saw a Facebook post. The moment I saw him, something told me he needed me. They were rehoming an English bulldog named “Chubs” for $100, and said he had a skin condition that needed treatment.

I messaged them and told them I would love the opportunity to foster him back to health, and find him the perfect home. They agreed and surrendered him to me.

They explained that he was their children’s outdoor dog, and that they couldn’t afford the treatment for his skin.

The next day, I drove across the state of Arkansas with the intention of picking up this sweet boy.

As soon as I saw him, I knew we were in for a longer journey than I originally thought. His eyes were clouded over and irritated, his skin was swollen, dry and itchy, he was covered in ticks, his feet were covered in cysts, his nose was covered in tick mucus, his ears were full of puss and infection, and there was a deep congested crackling cough in his chest. He was sick. So so sick.

His breathing was so labored and painful that I worried he wouldn’t make it through the night.

But despite everything, all this little guy wanted was love and affection. He crawled into my friends lap and took a nap on the way home.

His sweet demeanor and stout bulldog figure made us think of the story of Ferdinand the bull. So he was renamed Ferdinand (Ferdi for short)

Luckily I work at a wonderful veterinary clinic and I was able to get him in the next day.

The positives: his bloodwork looks pretty great considering how sick he is, and so far he is testing heartworm negative.

The negatives:

* he is eating little to nothing. We have been able to tempt him with some chicken but nothing else so far.

* skin is likely a mixture of allergies and demodetic mange. The mange will be a lifelong condition that will likely go into remission with care but could come back during times of high stress.

* he has pneumonia

* She looked at his eyes. His eyelids are entropic. (Eyelids curl backward and eyelashes are touching the eyes) which has caused them to to ulcerate and become very painful. This can be fixed but it requires surgery. If they are already doing surgery it will probably be a neuter, entropy fix, and possibly nare surgery. This stress on his body may cause the mange to flare up again.

* tested positive for ehrlichia (tick born disease)

* multiple cysts on his feet - fairly easy to treat but painful.

* a KILLER ear infection

* He is also currently hospitalized and in isolation for a possible distemper diagnosis. We are awaiting these test results (it could take up to 4 days) IF it is distemper he is not currently showing neurological signs, and we believe he will be able to pull through. However distemper can be deadly, and needs to be treated as soon as possible for the best outcome.

He is on multiple antibiotics, IV fluids, cernia for nausea, claro (ear infection meds), apoquel (allergy meds), skin relief spray, rimadyl for pain, eye drops for the ulcers in his eyes, anti fungal cream, a joint supplement, and a skin supplement

The reason I am setting up this gofundme is to help with the cost of his ongoing care. My wonderful work family is trying to make his care as affordable as possible, but even with that extra help, his cost of care could easily become overwhelming.

The cost of entropy surgery, nare surgery, possible soft pallet surgery, neuter, medications, special prescription food, and ongoing veterinary treatment is what this money will go towards.

If I have extra funds after his care, it will be donated to Last Chance Arkansas to cover the medical costs of other medically needy dogs.

Thank you so much for reading this far. Ferdinand has a long long long road ahead, but he is worth every moment. With a little love and a whole lot of veterinary care, this little guy has a very bright future ahead.