Stormin’ Norman was with us only for a short while. He was a breeder in a puppy mill. The owner brought Norman to the shelter to be euthanized because he was sick and no longer any use to them. As soon as we got Norman, he was taken straight to the vet for immediate care. He was 30 lbs. under weight, his x-rays showed he had eaten a towel which lodged in his intestines, and his liver and kidneys were starting to fail. With a little help from the vet, Norman passed the towel and started to perk up! He was starting to enjoy his life. For the first time he felt love, comfort, and happiness and he started gaining weight. The problem was that it was too fast. Norman was retaining huge amounts of fluid in his abdominal cavity, gaining 2-3 lbs. a day in water weight. X-rays we were not able to show any of his organs due to the fluid; cultures were not developing. Norman went in for emergency exploratory surgery to try to fix the problem. He had cancer in his esophagus, right above the stomach, which was deteriorating, allowing his drinking water and some debris to seep into his belly. It was getting ready to rupture and there was no hope of repair or recovery. It was not a hard decision to let him go in his sleep.
With the lifetime of neglect and torture Norman has endured, I know in my heart Norman had the best 23 days of his life here, learning the soft touch of a hand, a hug and most of all – he loved his kisses…
In honor of Norman, I would like to take this opportunity to ask anyone who is looking for a pet or new family member to adopt – not buy from puppy mill breeders. It doesn’t matter what breed you are looking for, there is a rescue or shelter with that perfect baby you wanted all along…