“Angel” Hoss

Update

It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that Hoss lost his battle to SARDS. He was a brave fighter to the end, but he became overwhelmed and fear aggressive. He loved his Muffin’s Halo, but didn’t have much time to enjoy it. He was having such a good time outside that day not bumping his nose on everything. With your permission, I would like to bless it on to Adoptabull.org Bulldog Rescue to save another bulldog from struggling with their world of perpetual nighttime. I understand that your network of miracle Angels donated that Halo for Hoss and I will return it if you would prefer.
On another note, I had a little extra in my paycheck this week from a project I have been working on. I made a donation through Facebook to your cause. I hope it helps. Thanks again to the Angels who donated the Halo to him. Bless you and the work you are doing to make such a positive impact on the lives of blind dogs.~Joy Schaefer and RIP Hoss, the bulldog.

Update

Thank you so much for Hoss’ Halo. He has really brightened up his spirits since he can explore his new world without bumping his nose. He’s is a much happier boy now! He is only 5 1/2 years old so he can look forward to a long life thanks to the generosity of the amazing Angels who had it in their heart to give blind dogs a second chance. Thanks also to Silvie, who took the time to make sure Hoss had a Halo that fit him properly.
With much love,
Joy and Hoss

Backstory

Three days after my last English Bulldog, Elmo, passed, I got a call from AdoptaBull (English Bulldog Rescue in Chicagoland area) asking me to foster a recent rescue who they had just paid for cherry eye and teeth extraction surgery. They had just picked him up in St. Louis from a shelter that had rescued him as a stray, alone on the streets of St. Louis. He was so skinny, only about 35 pounds when I got him. All his ribs and vertebrae stuck out. He had been flea infested. Needless to say, he is a foster failure since I applied to adopt this sweet boy within 2 days. He has had his health challenges with cornea ulseration, chronic dry eye, and stomach issues as a result of being starved. He is the light of my life. His personality is so distinctive from Elmo’s, and he made my missing Elmo so much easier to bear. Mid-January this year, he became more food focussed than ever and started putting on weight rapidly, eventhough I was trying to feed him the same amount. His water intake and peeing dramactically increased. He started balking at going outside, I had to put a leash on him just to get him out the door. I also noticed that he started bumping into the bushes when he would try to pee. And more frequently, he would bump into the wall, gate, and door. I took him to my vet, Dr. Chris Serpico of Rising Sun Vet Clinic, who diagnosed him with SARDS. He was totally blind within a couple of weeks. His whole world right now is sleeping and food. He is scared of outside and it breaks my heart. He has had a bad enough past, full of scary things, sounds, people, thunderstorms and snowstorms, and hunger and thirst. He deserves a better life, full of things to do and explore. My only consolation is that if SARDS was always in his future, he has me to help him get through it as best as we can. I love him and will stick by him to give him the best, he’s not on the streets facing this alone. He is fully obediance trained, someone put a lot of time and effort into his training. I don’t know how he came to be a stray, but that is his past and with God and my help his future is bright.