Meet Dori. She is an 8lb, 8 year old, red min pin. The first years of her life were spent being used by a backyard breeder to produce puppies for profit. In addition to putting Dori through excessive breeding, the breeder also had Dori "debarked". By the age of 7, the breeder decided Dori was no longer of use to her, and chose to have Dori euthanized. A kind and concerned neighbor caught wind of Dori's fate and intervened by offering to take Dori into her own home. This Good Samaritan reached out to SDR for help with finding Dori a suitable home. After almost a year on the intake waiting list, Dori was finally able to be placed in a foster home with SDR.
Once Dori arrived at SDR, she was seen by a veterinarian for a general health exam and routine dental cleaning. There were immediate complications with trying to place an endotracheal tube for anesthesia in order to perform the dental cleaning, creating a very touch and go procedure. Upon further examination by a veterinary specialist, it was determined that Dori's trachea had suffered major trauma from the debarking procedure that the backyard breeder had chosen to have done. The fibrous tissue that grew from the scarring had webbed across Dori's trachea, blocking her airway. She had a raspy sound when breathing and also choked a little when eating and drinking. Because of the blockage in the trachea, her oxygen intake was restricted, causing her heart to compensate by working harder to pump more blood. Because of this, her heart had increased in size and was very stressed.
Debarking is a heated topic in the dog world. It is an extremely risky surgery with no health benefits, and many health risks. It is solely performed for behavior modification, nothing else. Many breeders or hoarders will have this procedure performed on dogs in an effort to keep the noise of such a large number of animals contained in one place to a minimum. Families will also choose to have a dog debarked simply because they don't want to hear it. To go to the lengths of performing a surgical procedure on a dog for behavioral modification purposes only is simply inhumane. Surgical specialists that work with SDR agree that debarking is cruel and dangerous. The long list of side effects include compromised airway, dysphagia (problems swallowing), adhesions, formation of granulation tissue, stenosis (hardening) of the windpipe, infection, cutaneous fistula (hole in the windpipe), bleeding, aspiration pneumonia, gastrostomy tube dependence (relying on a feeding tube), tracheotomy
dependence (relying on a breathing tube, cardiomegaly (enlargement of the heart), and even death.
Dori was experiencing many of the common risks of debarking, and was referred to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center to have surgery to help alleviate the suffering she was going through. The surgeon working with Dori was able to remove excessive amounts of scar tissue from her trachea with the use of a laser. Because of all the trauma her throat had suffered, a large amount of swelling occurred, and a tracheotomy tube was placed to assist Dori in breathing while she recovered. Dori was kept in intensive care overnight and woke up very panicky. The staff at the U of M helped to keep her calm by taking turns holding her while she recovered as this is how Dori felt most comfortable in her unfamiliar environment, a measure that was very appreciated by SDR.
Thankfully, Dori is now back in the loving arms of her foster mother and recovering very well from her surgery. Dori's medical costs are currently totaling $2,200.00, and she is worth every penny. Her adoption fee is a mere $300. This fully-vetted, house-trained, sweetheart of a dog deserves so much to find her forever family where she can continue enjoying the safe, happy and loving lifestyle that SDR has been able to introduce her to. For more information on Dori or other dogs currently needing homes, please visit www.smalldogsminnesota.org.
