Dr. Greg Griffin…Our champion

Dr. Griffin, and everyone who touched Bartleby at the Regional Veterinary Referral Center in Springfield, Virginia has done an incredible job caring for my beloved companion.

With the help of amazingly generous donors, we were able to engage Dr. Griffin’s expertise and persistence to cure a condition that has had a significant impact on Bartleby’s energy for the past five years.

I won’t kid you, it’s been a difficult and frightening time.

The internal damage from the long term infection of his right anal sac was far, far greater than anyone suspected. So much so that Dr. Griffin was moved to say that this was the worst such case he has ever had to undertake.

I want Bartleby to be famous for his exemplary behavior and his soulful expression…not for being a medical miracle, but there you have it. He came home from the two and a half hour surgery with deep wounds and a great deal of pain, but a good prognosis.

I will spare delicate sensibilities by ‘whitefonting’ Dr. Griffin’s post-op comments. If you are interested in the medical details, you can highlight over the next couple of paragraphs to read his notes and my at-home comments.

Dr. Griffin wrote to Dr. Talbott that: At surgery an incision was made over the swelling in the right perineal region extending ventrally over the draining tracts. There was extensive inflammation around the ruptured right anal sac with draining tracts extending through the external anal sphincter to the rectal wall, around the urethra ventral to the rectum, laterally invading the perineal muscles and extending ventrally down the caudal thigh. All the abnormal tissue was removed, this included the anal sac also removing part of the external anal sphincter, and the perineal muscles…The incision was closed over a penrose drain.

My dear friend, Stephen, graciously drove us home from the hospital on the 16th so that I could hold my little guy close. I am proud to say that, once I saw Bartleby in his cone, my many, many tears dried up. I was all business and ready to do whatever it took to help him heal.

This photo does not deliver the full grossness of his incisions, but it still should not be viewed if you are at all squeamish.

Thankfully, despite the extreme nature of the wounds, the potential for incontinence and infection has not been realized. Except for some minor leakage on the first night, the little guy’s tush has been doing an admirable job of getting back to nearly 100% normal! So far, SO GOOD!

Today, (21Nov) we had the drain in his thigh removed and Dr. Griffin let us know that the biopsy results came back clear of cancer cells.

All that is left now, is another week of antibiotics, pain killers, restricted activity and having dozens of sutures removed on the 30th. The good news-bad news is that Bartleby feels so much better that the incisions are really bugging him.  This, we can handle!

In this season of giving thanks, I cannot express how grateful I am for the tremendous care, concern and support we have received.

• Incredibly generous donors helped to pay for the procedure,
• drivers got us there and back,
• shoulders were dampened by my tears,
• experts did exactly what was necessary,
• wise counsel steered us to helpful treatments,
• friends gave me respite care and
• prayers and kind thoughts carried us to this point.

I have used the word ‘humbled’ more times in the last two months than in my entire, collective life.  I have never had a more grateful Thanksgiving.

Thank you, thank you, thank you…to everyone!

why we needed so much help

• Any dog owner is familiar with the need to express their pet’s anal sacs…the glands responsible for scent marking.
• Normally, these sacs fill and release without human intervention, or with regular expression.
• Bartleby’s affliction is commonly known as ‘anal saculitis’…which basically means that there is no specific explanation for why his right anal sac became compromised five years ago.
• Since then, he has bled every single day. Some days, a few drops, some days as much as a quarter cup of blood and mucus.
• Six different vets have either mistreated or been completely flummoxed by this condition. They gave him the wrong antibiotics or had me force water through the holes in his backside.
• I did mountains of research and pretty much begged every doctor I spoke with to find an alternative to surgery.

• Just recently, Dr. Shannon Talbott, of VCA Alexandria Animal Hospital did the research necessary to discover the right drugs and confirmed, in language I could accept, that the only adequate treatment is surgically removing the anal sac and adjacent tissues.Her conservative and thoughtful opinion made me think twice, but I still wasn’t ready to put Bartleby through such an invasive procedure.
• She made it clear that the three days following the procedure will be the worst days of his life, but that once it is over, we will ‘never look back.’
• Two weeks ago, we had a few small procedures done to remove growths and a broken tooth. Unfortunately, the stress of this time in the hospital caused the major issue to ‘blow up’ and become unmanageable.
• A week ago, I noticed blood coming from a brand new hole, several inches down Bartleby’s haunch. I tried not to panic, but a couple of hours later, I found an enormous puddle of blood in my bedroom. When a dog spontaneously springs a huge leak, you have to pay attention, right?
• Were it not for this turn of events, I’m not sure when I would have scheduled this surgery, but it just can’t wait anymore.

• Dr. Talbott has recommended Dr. Greg Griffin at the Regional Referral Center in Springfield, VA. She respects his skill and conservative approach. I am extremely grateful for her wise counsel.
• The surgery will require at least one overnight away from home and will cost about $3,000.
• I understand that this may seem like a lot of money to spend on an animal, but I have thought this through from every angle.
• If it were an attempt to keep an old, sick dog alive for my emotional well-being, I would never do it. I could not be selfish at Bartleby’s expense.
• What this WILL do is support his on-going good energy and give him a longer, more comfortable life.