Revisiting Buck, a Soldier Dog Recovering from PTSD

I'm heading to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, for about a week, to learn more about military dog teams, and to attend the DOD's Military Working Dog Competition. It's essentially a military Iron Dog event, and promises to be really exciting and show just what these teams are made of. It'll be great to see some familiar dogs and handlers and to meet new ones.

One of the highlights of my trip will be visiting a dog named Buck again. I'd met the chocolate Lab at the Lackland adoption kennels last summer while doing research for my book Soldier Dogs (now a New York Times best seller! I'm not the only one who loves these dogs). Unlike all the other dogs around him, he wasn't barking or twirling or standing excitedly and wagging. He was curled up in a ball on the hard kennel floor, gazing out into nothingness. My heart broke for him, especially when I learned he had PTSD.

Lynette and Larry Sergeant, and their dog, Buck, who had to get out of the military because of PTSD. (Photo copyright Estella Diaz)

I was relieved when someone told me that Buck was going to be adopted by a wonderful couple, Lynette and Larry Sargent, the very next day. That's them in the photo above. I've been in touch with them since shortly after they adopted Buck. They have done everything to help get him out of his skittish, oft-terrified, oft-vacant state.

This dog may have had bad luck in Afghanistan, but he could not have been luckier in landing a loving family. He has gotten much better under their care -- especially after they adopted him his very own puppy.

(The wagging you hear is from my happiness about being able to shake paws with Buck and his whole family tomorrow evening.)

And speaking of reunions involving military and dogs, here are a couple of uplifting videos to start your weekend on the right paw. I love the way the German shepherd in the video below is so excited to see his owner return from deployment that he can't help but talk with his mouth full. He has a ball in his mouth, and his beloved owner by his side; it doesn't get much better than this for a dog.

The video of another reunion, below, is also super sweet. It's funny; the reunions with little dogs often involve a lot of barking and yapping and yipping and running at hyper warp speed. But the bigger dogs, while their hearts are clearly just as joy-filled, often tend to be slightly more manageable. I'm not so sure that a giant Great Dane standing on his hind legs is manageable, but there's not usually the utterly chaotic frenzy with the bigger guys. There are exceptions galore, but humor me on this one.

And finally, here's a Siberian husky who's super stoked that his Marine "dad" has returned from yet another deployment.

Happy weekend! Next time I talk to you, I'll be in the Lone Star state!

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Dog Poisoned by Meatballs in Backyard is Recovering

Oreo is recovering well, despite having been near death because of the poisoned meatballs

When Oreo found several raw meatballs in his backyard, he must have thought he’d died and gone to heaven.

Tragically, he nearly did.

The meatballs were laced with strychnine. His owners found six more in their La Mesa, Calif., backyard — but thankfully their other two dogs didn’t find them first.

Nine-year-old Oreo wasn’t expected to pull through at first, but his vet put him in a medically induced coma over the weekend.  He was kept alive via a ventilator ($5,000 per day!). Generous donations from viewers of a CBS-8 news segment raised $2,000 helped defray costs.

Amazingly, Oreo came out of the coma on Monday, and was able to breathe on his own. He even stood up and drank some water.

“He looks great. This is better than I could have hoped for,” veterinary assistant Jenny Burns told KSWB-TV. Oreo isn’t out of the woods yet, though, according to veterinarian Mike Mansfield. There’s a chance he suffered brain damage from the severe seizures he suffered from the poison. Time will tell.

The most frightening part of the story is that this is not the first attempted dog poisoning in the San Diego-area town. Neighbors say about five other dogs have been poisoned and killed within the last five years. Police are apparently investigating.

The first video below is from when Oreo was still in his coma. It provides a good look at what this poor dog and his family have gone through. The second one is the CBS-8 video that helped raise money for this very expensive medical treatment.

We wish Oreo and his family the best. And we hope police really pursue the poisoner this time.

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Scout Recovering From Surgery

Scout is recovering from minor surgery to correct what has become a chronic toenail injury. Laser cauterization was employed to encourage the nail to grow out after 2 months of splitting. We are hopeful that this procedure will be the last.

Toenail injuries can be common in sporting and other active dogs. It’s important to trim your dog’s nails regularly and to check feet and pads for cuts or foreign bodies. Rarely do nail injuries require surgery as in Scout’s case, but failure of the nail to re-grow properly after injury can be a painful, chronic condition.

Thanks to everyone for your well wishes! Scoutie is doing fine and aside from a little boredom (he is on limited activity for the next few weeks) we expect a full recovery.

posted 2009 Nov 12 by Leslie Hayes

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