"Alex"
Killara's Alexander The Great TD CA BCAT
THE DRAGON
THE DRAGON
CH Killara's Sunday Silence x CH Killara's Light Up The Darkness RATN
Born: May 8, 2020 Died March 16, 2022
Owned & Loved By: Dave Dolengowski & Karen Balinski
Bred By: Karen Balinski
Health Clearances: too young
Born: May 8, 2020 Died March 16, 2022
Owned & Loved By: Dave Dolengowski & Karen Balinski
Bred By: Karen Balinski
Health Clearances: too young
Sometimes its the littlest that have the biggest heart!
Meet Alex aka as THE DRAGON. Alex arrived along with the rest of his litter with no complications. Although he was the smallest in the litter, he was still a normal sized puppy. Everyone was vigorous and we were thrilled with our beautiful litter of 11 puppies! By week 2 Alex started struggling. He had this nasal discharge that just wouldn't clear up. We had many sleepless nights with him as we were doing all the supportive care you could imagine. From suctioning his nose out, tube feeding him, giving medications and frequent trips to the vet, his care was around the clock. While his littermates were gaining poor Alex barely gained any weight at all.
What was wrong with Alex was the question that plagued us for weeks. There was no cleft palate. His lungs were clear but yet we had a chronic nasal infection that caused him so many issues. We tried various antibiotics and even did nebulizer treatments. By 4 weeks of age he already had multiple vet visits for fluids and just basic supportive therapies. We cultured his discharge and we discovered he had E-Coli in his nasal cavity. We started treatment for that but nothing seemed to offer him relief. We dealt with many episodes of him expelling larges amount of discharge from his nose. We tubed fed him, gave medications and basically did everything we could. We held our breaths as we weaned him onto canned food. Everything went well and he slowly gained a little bit of weight. The entire time this brave little soul hung on. He was a fighter and we weren't about to give up on him. While his siblings grew bigger Alex remained small. For his safety we made the painful decision to remove him from the rest of his litter so they couldn't hurt him.
Finally, by the age of 6 weeks the vet could see all the way in the back of his throat and it was discovered his soft palate was short on one side. This was causing food to get into his nasal passages and causing his infection. Once we switched him to dry food his nasal infection cleared up immediately and Alex finally started to gain weight! His eyes became bright and he started acting like a normal puppy. Alex may need surgery in the future to correct his palate issue but we have to wait until he is older. We also have to be careful with what he eats as soft food still causes him issues. Aside from watching his food Alex gets to be like any other puppy!
Alex is still significantly smaller than his littermates but that's ok. This amazing boy has already showed us he can tackle anything that is thrown at him. We treat him like any other puppy and that includes being trained in hunting and tracking. Alex is already proving to be a top notch hunting dog with a strong retrieving drive! He has already been introduced to birds and gun fire and is proving to be a natural!
*update
Earlier in 2021 we took Alex to a specialist and learned he could not have surgery to fix his palate as he has renal dysplasia. Renal dysplasia is just a fancy term for his kidneys aren't correctly formed. There is no cure and there is no chance of a long life. Despite this we decided to make Alex as comfortable as possible and to allow him to still have a normal life. Alex gets IV fluids daily to help with his kidneys and is on a special kidney diet. If you meet him you would never realize he has a terminal condition. We almost lost Alex after a surgery where his body rejected his sutures. He pulled through after ten days at the vet office. Soon he was back to his happy self and ended up earning 3 performance titles.
The Dragon has a heart and soul that can't be matched. We focus on what is possible, rather than think impossible. The one thing this incredible boy has taught me is the only limitations in life are what we put on ourselves. He never quits and we will be there fighting with him every step of the way.
The Heart of the Dragon is the strongest heart imaginable!
On March 16th Dragon lost his battle to his kidney disease. This amazing boy has touched the hearts of hundreds of people. He was an inspiration and a shining example of living life to the fullest. Our hearts are heavy, our home quiet. We all miss him terribly. It was an honor to have him share our lives with him and we will forever love him.
Alex - you got real wings now. No more pain, nothing to hold you back. Till we meet again Mister~ Love you my Dragon.
Meet Alex aka as THE DRAGON. Alex arrived along with the rest of his litter with no complications. Although he was the smallest in the litter, he was still a normal sized puppy. Everyone was vigorous and we were thrilled with our beautiful litter of 11 puppies! By week 2 Alex started struggling. He had this nasal discharge that just wouldn't clear up. We had many sleepless nights with him as we were doing all the supportive care you could imagine. From suctioning his nose out, tube feeding him, giving medications and frequent trips to the vet, his care was around the clock. While his littermates were gaining poor Alex barely gained any weight at all.
What was wrong with Alex was the question that plagued us for weeks. There was no cleft palate. His lungs were clear but yet we had a chronic nasal infection that caused him so many issues. We tried various antibiotics and even did nebulizer treatments. By 4 weeks of age he already had multiple vet visits for fluids and just basic supportive therapies. We cultured his discharge and we discovered he had E-Coli in his nasal cavity. We started treatment for that but nothing seemed to offer him relief. We dealt with many episodes of him expelling larges amount of discharge from his nose. We tubed fed him, gave medications and basically did everything we could. We held our breaths as we weaned him onto canned food. Everything went well and he slowly gained a little bit of weight. The entire time this brave little soul hung on. He was a fighter and we weren't about to give up on him. While his siblings grew bigger Alex remained small. For his safety we made the painful decision to remove him from the rest of his litter so they couldn't hurt him.
Finally, by the age of 6 weeks the vet could see all the way in the back of his throat and it was discovered his soft palate was short on one side. This was causing food to get into his nasal passages and causing his infection. Once we switched him to dry food his nasal infection cleared up immediately and Alex finally started to gain weight! His eyes became bright and he started acting like a normal puppy. Alex may need surgery in the future to correct his palate issue but we have to wait until he is older. We also have to be careful with what he eats as soft food still causes him issues. Aside from watching his food Alex gets to be like any other puppy!
Alex is still significantly smaller than his littermates but that's ok. This amazing boy has already showed us he can tackle anything that is thrown at him. We treat him like any other puppy and that includes being trained in hunting and tracking. Alex is already proving to be a top notch hunting dog with a strong retrieving drive! He has already been introduced to birds and gun fire and is proving to be a natural!
*update
Earlier in 2021 we took Alex to a specialist and learned he could not have surgery to fix his palate as he has renal dysplasia. Renal dysplasia is just a fancy term for his kidneys aren't correctly formed. There is no cure and there is no chance of a long life. Despite this we decided to make Alex as comfortable as possible and to allow him to still have a normal life. Alex gets IV fluids daily to help with his kidneys and is on a special kidney diet. If you meet him you would never realize he has a terminal condition. We almost lost Alex after a surgery where his body rejected his sutures. He pulled through after ten days at the vet office. Soon he was back to his happy self and ended up earning 3 performance titles.
The Dragon has a heart and soul that can't be matched. We focus on what is possible, rather than think impossible. The one thing this incredible boy has taught me is the only limitations in life are what we put on ourselves. He never quits and we will be there fighting with him every step of the way.
The Heart of the Dragon is the strongest heart imaginable!
On March 16th Dragon lost his battle to his kidney disease. This amazing boy has touched the hearts of hundreds of people. He was an inspiration and a shining example of living life to the fullest. Our hearts are heavy, our home quiet. We all miss him terribly. It was an honor to have him share our lives with him and we will forever love him.
Alex - you got real wings now. No more pain, nothing to hold you back. Till we meet again Mister~ Love you my Dragon.
Accomplishments To Date:
05-08-20 It's His Birthday!
10-03-21 Lure Coursing Ability Title "CA"
10-16-21 Fast Cat Title "BCAT"
10-17-21 Tracking Dog Title "TD"
10-03-21 Lure Coursing Ability Title "CA"
10-16-21 Fast Cat Title "BCAT"
10-17-21 Tracking Dog Title "TD"