Bear’s Story

As told by Bear’s owner: 

At the beginning of 2017, Bear was a very active boy with perfect health. Out of nowhere, his front right leg swelled up to twice its size and all of the fur began to fall out in chunks. I had been taken over a dozen different vets over the span of three months and none of them could figure out what was wrong. They had done every test possible from bloodwork to CT scans and biopsies. Results were confusing because they showed that Bear was extremely healthy for an older pup. With no end in sight, the vets began to talk to me about the possibility of removing his little leg and even putting him down if his issues continued to worsen. That is when Bandit’s BandAid (now Bandit’s K9Care) stepped in and saved Bear’s life. 

They found specialists that diagnosed his problems as a rare autoimmune disorder called Vasculitis and immediately got him on a regime that healed his wounds and turned his health around. A few weeks into the treatment, Bear lost the ability to walk, seemingly overnight, and his nose began to eat away at itself and cave in. This became another battle as the specialists did more tests to see what was causing this deterioration. With a weakened immune system, Bear unfortunately picked up a rare fungal disease called Valley Fever. Bandit’s BandAid continued their support and made sure that he got on the correct medicines that he needed to get rid of the fungal infection. 

Six months into his treatment, Bear was weaned off of all the medicines but was still immobile and needed assistance walking. Bandit’s K9Care provided a sling for his back legs to help him walk, and even offered to provide him with a cart if needed. Bear still showed that he wanted to fight and had it in him to continue this battle. His owner took him to another specialist and they gave him steroid shots in his little drummies to help him walk again. The veterinarian said the shots would not have a long-term effect on him and he would have to get steroid shots every three to four months to keep him walking.

The initial set of shots was given in June of 2018. Since then, Bear has not needed to go back and get more because he is still walking and playing without any signs of wanting to slow down. He has had a small Vasculitis flare-up since the treatment, and his lifesavers were there to make him better again. He is moving slower than before, but that is due to his age. He still wants to play catch every five minutes and can go on small walkies, so that is a win for us. 

A few years later, and the amazing team still checks in on him like he is their own. I CANNOT thank Bandit’s K9Care enough for stepping in when I thought all hope was gone. My best friend is still alive because of you.