Rex

Well, after spending about $2000 on testing for Rex, the diagnosis is acid reflux. But, of course, not your general run of the mill acid reflux. Most dogs that have this condition can be fed while sitting them in an upward position and they remain that way for another 20 minutes so that gravity goes to work. There was actually a chair designed called the Bailey Chair, for dogs that have this diagnoses. The creator had a dog named Bailey that needed to be kept in the upright position.

Well, Rex is a bit different. We tried the upright position, the partial upright, the on the floor and whatever else we could think of. I've had him for about a month now after Shelly had him for a few weeks. We thought he would do better in my home which is calmer. She had been able to put a couple pounds on him and after a few days with me he has lost the weight and I'm having difficulty in putting any back on. The change of scenery effected him it seems. He was regurging quite a bit but now I've gotten it down to much smaller meals with no real regurgitation, but he vomits a thick sticky mucus/foam combination. Yeah, nice. It has been determined that this often occurs with any kind of anxiety, excitement or stress sometimes even when it is very mild. Yup, making it a bit difficult to live a normal life for him or me.

We have no idea what brought on this condition so suddenly 3 months ago. The original owners didn't want to spend any money on trying to figure it out so he came to us.

He loves to snuggle, likes other dogs, and is happy to see me come home. He is crate trained so now when I feed him I'll put him in his crate for a resting period and this seems to help. He is a mellow boy by nature and that is definitely helpful. He is a really good dog and we are emotionally stressed as well as financially drained between his care and Harley's surgery.

I'm hoping that there will be someone out there that will be able to adopt him that has a quiet home, stays home a lot and is willing to do multiple feedings, someone that would enjoy a quiet companion and not mind picking up puke a couple times a day. But, maybe with the perfect home, that will become less of a need.

I need to get some weight on him. If I can't, then he will literally be starving. He's so hungry now and although he is given extra vitamins and such, he needs to put on 3 to 4 pounds. I've experimented with foods that I've used to put weight on my dogs and he was not able to handle most of it even though it was simple and bland.

So, if you could keep Rexxy in your prayers, I'd really appreciate it.