7am Romp in the Backyard

In this video, Caine and Tauri were outside for their morning romp. It's kind of dark but you can still see them play. Caine also drank alot from his fountain yesterday while they were playing! The other picture is of me spoon feeding him because he does not need meatballs anymore. We have also begun to mix dry food (soaked in water) with his wet food and spooning it to him. We know that he could probably take it from a plate at his eye level as well.

Many people have asked me about grooming. He does try to groom himself. His front legs will be soaked and sometimes he chews on them and tries to lick. We will take a warm, wet face cloth and rub his legs down, or have him hop in the tub for a rinse. We also wash his face, because he'll shake his head from side to side and saliva will be on his nose.

He is very tired after playing all yesterday and came home and fell right asleep. He's still does not have all of the stamina and energy he used to, but he'll get there.

Moving Ahead

Caine has done remarkably well. He is eating on his own now and we have seen him drink water from his fountain. We haven't seen him drink since Monday, but we are confident that he is comfortable with it. The important thing is that he knows he can do it.

At the vet yesterday, he weighed 67.3 pounds. He has gained one more pound this week! In total, he has gained 4 pounds back. Our goal is between 74 and 75 pounds. This is what he weighed before the accident.

Tonight he will go to visit his dog friend Tauri in Orland Park. They haven't seen each other since December and I'm sure they'll have a ball. Caine has been sleeping a lot, and it doesn't take much to tire him, but a bit of fun is in store. I know that he'll get tired, but he'll have fun too. I have to make sure to bring his fountain! Maybe Tauri will have a sip too.

Caine is feeling better all around. He is getting into things and being his nosy old self again. Sometimes he'll start really frothing and that usually means there is something in his mouth or he THINKS there is something there. Yesterday, he had a tiny piece of paper just behind is bottom front teeth. It's amazing that the tongue can do so much, we don't even realize. Each night before bed, we rinse his mouth with water and wipe it clean with a damp paper towel. He also has teeth wipes that we use to freshen up his breath and help keep his teeth and gums healthy.

We are still waiting to hear from the shredder company. I have sent many emails but with no response. I will continue until I do receive some sort of response back.

I am so happy with how the word has spread. I hear all the time of people telling their friends and family about Caine and immediately unplugging their shredder! That is great news. If we can keep this from happening again, that would be wonderful. Caine is adapting well but still is healing.

Dr. King has said that Caine has made it this far because of his dedicated owners, but Dr. King has also helped tremendously. He's worked with us very closely this past month (it's been 30 days!), calling almost daily to check on Caine and give us ideas. I think Caine has taught Dr. King a lot, but we have also learned so much from this situation. Caine has also become close to the staff at the Chicago Heights Animal Hospital, giving out kisses and hugs. It is so nice to see that there are so many people rooting for our Caine Boy.

I think it's a lot to take on, mentally and physically, and that is another reason why he gets so tired. Thank you to everyone who keeps him in their thoughts. I really appreciate all of the kind words and donations. I hope to put some pictures of Caine and Tauri up later.

Water Fountain and dry food SUCCESS!

After romping outside, Caine just came in and drank from his fountain!! We are SO EXCITED! We did lower it so it is a bit below his eye level, and he drank a lot because we could hear the reservoir bubble with the decrease in water level. We gave him lots of hugs and kisses to praise him and encourage the drinking from the fountain. He tilted his head to the right and just drank like he's been doing it his whole life.

This evening we also had Caine try some dry dog food. This was recommended by Dr. Mann at the University of Missouri. He said that I will not have to make meatballs for the rest of my life (yay!). Hunger will drive him. We put about a cup of dry food on a plate to make it easier for him to get into his mouth. I dribbled some water on it just to make it a bit less crunchy. He was definitely motivated to eat that. I did open up a can of Evanger's all natural wet dog food and he also ate that from the plate. I gave him the food off of a spoon too, which he took with no problem.

He probably ate about a 1/4 of the dry food cup. I gave him the entire Evanger's food, and then about 30 meatballs. For dessert, he had a ball of cream cheese and a piece of strawberry.

Earlier today my mom gave him a couple jello balls. He didn't care for the cherry chicken flavor, but did take them if tossed. He ate about 7 or 8. He did drop one on the floor and then stepped on it. He didn't like the feel of jello between his toes.

Later tonight I'm going to try the dry food again. He wont be that hungry, but I think he'll be hungry enough to try to eat it. By the time he was done with the plate of dry food, it was full of slobber!

Caine is really adapting well to his new way to eat and drink.

Bath Time

Caine has been feeling great since his feeding tube was removed. He is perky and is getting more like his old self. He's starting to be more care free and play with Roxie a bit rougher. We're not so worried anymore because the tube is out.

His wound is healing well. You can barely see it anymore! He had his first bath since the accident today. Usually he would try to lick his legs to help me 'rinse' him off, but today, he didn't even try. I'm beginning to wonder if he is realizing that he does not have a tongue. I'm not sure what the intelligence level of a dog is! He just stood in the tub and let us suds him up and then he sat under the blow dryer. He is a good groomee!

We've made him some Jello. Initially we were told to give him sugar free jello, but Dr. King said not to. There is some chemical that is in the sugar free jello that can cause a drop in blood sugar and then liver toxicity. That is a no go, but we bought regular jello. Instead of boiling water, we added boiling chicken broth! He hasn't tried it yet. Cherry chicken jello.

Tomorrow is going to be the first day he is home alone since the accident. We have less to worry about since the tube is out, and we have picked up everything that may be some sort of choking hazard. The other dogs make sure there is no food on the ground, so we are thankful for that!

Caine did vomit this evening. He came in from outside. He must have gotten into something out there, because Roxie also vomited. We watched him carefully, because that was one thing that all the vets are worried about. We do not want him aspirating. He was able to get it all up though, with the help of his saliva! He didn't seem to have any problem though, so that is comforting.

This Saturday, if he is feeling well, Caine may go visit his friend in Orland Park, Tauri. He has not seen her since his accident and I'm sure he would like to get out and play with his old friend for a while.

We are so proud of Caine!

Caine in the Yard

Caine is just walking around the yard in this video. I was hoping he would play a bit with Roxie, but today is not the day! He is feeling well, getting back to his old self. A bath is planned for tonight!

Feeding Tube is Out!

This afternoon we received a call from Dr. King. He said that Caine is really getting enough water from his food for maintenance. Caine is getting all of the water he needs from the canned food, except for just 2 fluid ounces. He said that we can come now and get the tube out! I was so happy! My face just lit up. We hopped in the car and were at the vet about 7 minutes later. Once we walked in, he was weighed, and he he now weighs 66 pounds! Gained one more pound. Dr. King gave him a pain killer that would take effect in about 10 minutes, and we definitely saw when it started working. Caine became glassy eyed and just sat there.

I elected to leave the exam room when Dr. King removed the tube, but Mom and Ryan stayed inside. They both said it took a lot of force to remove the tube, which had a piece of foam on the inside. You first cut the tube to deflate the foam piece, but then it still has to squeeze through the tiny incision hole. Caine did jump a bit when that happened, but Dr. King didn't want to give him to much pain medication. Mom said that it didn't leak too much when the veterinarian pulled it out, which is good. In the experience she had, stomach contents have splattered all around!

After Dr. King pulled the tube out, Ryan called me back into the room to sit with him while his bandage was placed. The incision did not look that bad. It was a lot smaller than we anticipated, maybe between the size of a pea and a marble. It seemed to start healing immediately, to the point where you could almost see it closing. The body is an amazing thing.

We go back tomorrow for the doctor to check the bandage (that we might take off tonight if it really bothers him) and then he'll go next week for a urine test to make sure he has enough water in his system.

Take a look at his pictures at the vet. In one he is giving Dr. King kisses, and that was before he took the tube out. After he took the tube out, Caine didn't want to have anything to do with him! Caine is now asleep on the couch.


I want to say thank you to Leslie Cruz and the Early Act Club of Brookwood School District 167. Her club of middle and junior high school students rolled 36 cans of canned food into meatballs after school yesterday! Thank you so much! It is very appreciated. They even agreed to do it again. I guess the students had a fun time playing with the dog food!

Thank you again for your generous donations. Caine is doing well and the donations of money, shirts, and love are helping. We are hoping to hear from the shredder company very soon, but I guess we'll see.

Watch Caine Eat Meatballs!

Caine is doing very well. He is still not drinking a whole lot on his own, so we've decided, with the advice of Dr. Mann, a veterinarian at the University of Missouri, to let him get a little thirsty. Dr. Mann said, "I honestly believe that Caine will learn to drink if you just provide a bowl of water for him to learn." Sounds great!

This means that we are not going to do anything for him, other than have access to water. No more tube waterings, no more syringes in the mouth, no more pitchers into bowls waiting below. We've been babying Caine, and that will not help him drink any faster. He likes the attention that we are giving him and he's milking us! Just like he hammed up the camera for the SouthTown, he is sure milking his injury for all it's worth.

Dr. Mann of the University of Missouri suggested that if we are worried about his weight that we can weigh him daily and go from there. There are also blood tests that Dr. King can do to make sure Caine has all of the water and nutrients he requires.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Caine, including Dr. Greg at the Georgia Aquarium, our veterinarian Dr. King, and Dr. Mann at the University of Missouri. I am also continuing to receive donations towards Caine, which are really helping.

Please check out the video we took this evening of Caine eating his meatballs. The video is rather dark, so we hope to take one during a morning feeding.