Purdee Olivers Storm Warming RN, TN-N, NTD

"Ollie"

Born 12/09/01 - 06/10/17

 

It is with an extremely heavy heart that I have to write that Ollie left us on June 10th, 2017. Ollie was the first dog I ever put an "official" title on and he taught me so much. He was my constant companion and completely devoted to me. I owe him so much and miss him more then words can say. 

 

This boy came to me from Purdee Shelties in Wisconsin. Ollie has a zest for life like none other. At 14 years of age Ollie still meets me all the time with toys and spins enthusiastic circles when I get treats out so he can do trick training. He is completely devoted to me and is “my” dog.

 

Sadly Ollie had to be retired at an early age due to a freak accident in the kitchen that caused him to slip and dislocate his shoulder and rupture a disc in his neck. It broke my heart to see a dog that was so full of life and drive to work for me not to be able to do what he loved so much. He became very depressed and I was determined to find a way to help him. As I started doing some research, I discovered the world of strength and balance training using low stress/impact equipment. With some TLC and patience, I started seeing results. He went from barely walking to trotting and eventually running around with toys again. I was so impressed with the results that I now use FitPaw products with all of my dogs. I also started using trick training as a way to keep him mentally stimulated.

 

Although Ollie never was able to achieve a championship on paper, he is a champion in his own way. When he was injured in 2008 he was put on a common pain killer for dogs and was one of the few that had an extreme reaction to it. It caused bleeding ulcers in his stomach and intestines and he almost bled to death.  At one point his blood count dropped to 8 (yes 8 and he was still moving, the vets couldn’t believe it) and he was given less than a 35% chance of making it. He was too unstable for surgery yet was bleeding to death internally. The amazing vets at the University of Minnesota asked my permission to try an experimental procedure on him where the basically overdosed him on Barium (a thick Pepto Bismo like substance that is used during X-rays to stick to areas of the stomach to help things become more visible) in hopes that it would coat the bleeding areas long enough to allow them to clot. Not only did it work, but within two days Ollie’s blood count was back to a safe range and he came home. I was told at a follow-up visit that Ollie had become a “case study” and that this same procedure has went on to help other dogs that had come in with similar issues. Everyday with him is a blessing.