July 2007:
Colby was a stray who ended up at an animal shelter in Bedford County, Virginia, in early May 2007. He was suffering from a nasty head wound, along with hook and tapeworms. The shelter staff thought he might have been shot with a BB or pellet gun. Because they did not have the funds to treat him, they wanted to find a Westie Rescue group to take him. Ultimately, they found Maryland Westie Rescue, which is a service of the Chesapeake Bay West Highland White Terrier Club. A call went out to all club members, and a Virginia member’s daughter immediately drove across the state of Virginia to get him. Since he didn’t have a name, she named him Colby. He was checked out and xrayed by a local vet. The x-ray showed nothing. Later, other volunteers drove him from Virginia to Greater Annapolis Veterinary Hospital (GAVH), in Annapolis, Maryland, for further treatment.
While no object was found in the wound (according to the original Xrays and additional X-rays) the wound was very deep and the infection reached into his sinuses. It drained constantly. The staff at GAVH cleaned his wound multiple times a day. The wound took several weeks to apparently heal. However, just when the wound seemed better by early June, it began showing signs of infection again.
It was determined that an MRI was needed to get to the bottom of what was going on. The MRI showed a deep infection, including a foreign object in his sinuses, and he would need surgery. A few days later, he went to have his surgery, and the surgeon not only removed a mass, but there also appeared to be signs of previous surgery. A biopsy of the mass (which included something that was black on the outside and gray on the inside and friable) showed the mass was a granuloma caused by a fungal infection in his sinuses. While recovering, he had to be kept cool so as not to pant–not easy for any dog.
Colby did well in surgery and has been recovering nicely. He finally got well enough to be moved from the hospital to a foster home!
Despite the extent of his medical issues, Colby is such a friendly and affectionate Westie. The staff at GAVH has been amazed at how tolerant he has remained through all of the cleanings of the wound. He never seemed to mind.
He is still undergoing treatment for the extensive infection, and probably will be for some time because the infection did affect the rest of his body. Although his prognosis is technically uncertain (can we ever really be sure about anything), he has proven to be a fighter over the past two and a half months.