Hounds
P's Hitch Winner
Adoption Date: 1919-0505-1818
Pet/Kennel Name: Hitch
Age: 3
Color/Gender: Black Male
Cat Tolerance: Yes
Small Dog Trainable: Yes
Good w/ Children: Yes
Fostered by (location): Elrod, Greenville SC
Additional Details:
Special Needs Boy That Has Been With Us The Longest! Hitch is a handsome, black guy that came to us from the Daytona Beach Race Track. He is a smaller guy that raced at 66lbs. Hitch raced 30 races and only managed to win one of his races so was retired young. He just turned 3 on April 23rd. His sire is P's Gibbs and is dam is Kiowa Super Cin. Hitch has an auto immune caused dry eye condition, where the tear ducts just suddenly stopped producing any tears. Hitch's eyes were OK when he began racing and his last race was August 8th. When his trainer noticed that his eyes became dry, he was started on antibiotic treatment, lubricating drops and eye flushes at the track. Hitch was at the track waiting on a group to take him from August to December. We got Hitch from the track at the end of December and have worked with our vet and eye specialists to resolve his eye issue. Our vet started him on prescription lubricating eye drops that were given several times a day when he arrived. Unfortunately that medication didn't work well and he developed a deep ulcer on one eye and had to have emergency surgery to save the eye. When he went in for a recheck on that eye, ulcers were also found on the other eye. So Hitch had to have another emergency surgery on that eye too. One surgery was $2200 and the other was $1800. The eye specialist came up with another treatment plan with drops that can be given several times a day that work to keep his eyes lubricated. This treatment has been successful and he seems to be pain free now and he he is able to see!! So Hitch has finally been released for adoption after 4 months. Hitch is an exceptionally sweet guy that has a wonderful personality, in spite of all the trouble he had with his eyes and the pain he was in. He has been very cooperative with the vets and staff during his surgeries and treatment. Once Hitches' eyes stopped hurting all the time and he could see again, he went from a subdued dog that liked staying in his crate with his eyes closed, to a silly, happy, playful guy. Hitch passed his cat and small dog tests easily, and has been fostered with both so is used to being around them. Hitch has been going to work every day with his foster mom and is very well behaved in the office and enjoys the attention from her coworkers. The pictures of Hitch with the gunk around his eyes were taken when he first arrived. The ones with shaved patches around his eyes were taken right after surgery. The one with Hitch wearing the cone was taken some time after the surgeries and you can see the red grafts. The hair has grown back now and his eyes are clear, but each eye has a reddish patch where a surgical graft was put on to patch the holes in his eyes. You can see the graft in the more recent pictures taken in April with the toy, standing on the wood floor and with the green circle drawn around the eye.
If you are considering adopting this special guy, these are the medications that Hitch is on and what they cost: Twice daily drops of compounded 1% Tacrolimus morning and evening ($75 for 2.5 -3 months supply). Drops of artificial tears several times a day: morning, after work, and right before bed would work (cheap and available over the counter). One drop of Fluriprofin 1 time per day whenever convenient ($12 to $25 dollars depending on where it is purchased, one bottle lasts months). Hitch will need rechecks of his eyes twice a year. Hitch doesn't need drops at night when he is just sleeping. Because of generous donations toward his adoption fee, Hitch's fee will be just $50 and he will come with at least a month's worth of medications. He will need to continue his medications for life.
We have spent nearly $5000 on Hitch's two surgeries, hospital stays and with the specialist trying different medications until we found a treatment that worked. If you would like to help with Hitch's medical expenses please go to our donation page. We appreciate all the donations that have come in for Hitch already!
Tag: Adoption Pending
Picture: Hitchafterrecovery.JPG
Image Gallery: GC-Dog-Photos-2017/Ps-Hitch-Winner/
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