The Story of Katie, my sweet Special Needs Pup

If you've spent a lot of time at our house, you've probably heard the story of Katie. She's our crazy dog that people will often ask me why in the world I have such a crazy dog. Well, like many things in my life, it's a good story. Or at least, I like to tell it. ;)

It was February of 2002. I used to live way out in the country and the "jug dog" was becoming a quick legend. One of my neighbors spotted me on my morning run one day and warned me about this "Rabid dog runnin' 'round wih (pronounced as it looks) a jug on is head. Why, I clocked 'em wih my truck goin' 35 mile an aer." O...K.... If the dog has a jug on it's head, I'm pretty sure I can defend myself.....but thanks for the warning.

Sure enough, a full SIX WEEKS later, I saw what I thought was a dog with a jug on it's head. What the heck is that? I wondered. This dog was completely skitsed out and wouldn't get anywhere near me. I kept wondering if it could possibly be the same dog. How was it still alive? How did it eat? Drink? Now, I was on a mission. I had to save this dog. I called animal control hoping to get a tranquilizer and some help. Turns out, the dog had already been shot once and ran away before it was caught. How it survived the night, I will never know. So, they said they would not come out again, I was on my own.
I chased her around for about a week and realized it was futile. So, in March, I got my vet involved and got some tranquilizers. I stuffed them in hot dogs and set them on top of rocks. I had to place them elevated, as her nose did not clear the jug. Then, Nala and I waited for her to take the "bait". I'll never forget this day. It was St. Patty's Day and in Indiana, that can mean freezing rain. So, I've drugged this dog and now I have to catch her. Well, Katie had other plans. She didn't want to be caught. Drugged or not. I literally chased this dog up and down the hills for over two hours. Then, the sleet started. Great. A different neighbor, my favorite one, came by at this point. He had helped me try and chase for a while and then began to tease me and tell me to let it go. By now, there was no way I would give up. I had drugged this defenseless dog and if I gave up, the coyotes would kill her for sure. And it would be my fault. :( So, chase some more I did. I could get so close, but I just couldn't capture her. At one point. We both sat down next to a barn, exhausted. I looked over at this pitiful dog, within arms reach, and tried to reason with her. I slowly raised my hand to capture her, and off she went again. Stupid mutt. So, I did it. I gave up. Nala (my other dog) gave up long ago and had been sitting in Uncle Frank's nice warm truck for the past thirty minutes. They were both warm and dry by now. I was soaking, cold, and exhausted. As I neared the truck, Frank says, "You finally giving up?" I answer, "Sadly, yes. I just can't do it. That dog is too stupid anyhow. It can just die for all I care." Not exact quotes, a few @#$s and it would be. Then, Frank starts to laugh at me. So insensitive. I give a few more @#$s and he says, "Look behind you." That @#@$ dog was following me! I eventually lured her home with hot dogs like Hansel and Gretel. I had a big fenced yard and was able to contain her until she FINALLY passed out from the drugs and exhaustion.
Poor dog was in really bad shape. Can you see the tranquilizer on her right hind end? The tip of the dart was actually still in her, just broken off. Ouch!


After I cut off the "jug" this is what I found. This was a few days later after the infection had cleared up. The jug had literally grown into her throat.
I took her immediately to the vet to discover she had given birth a few weeks ago but never delivered the after birth. She couldn't stimulate it since the jug was on her head. So, lots of money later, I have a dog I don't even want. And, she's crazy on top of. Completely aggressive, stupid, and as unhappy to be owned as I was to be the owner. I tried to take her to the pound, but they said they would just put her down. I couldn't live with that, especially with all I went through to save her. Initially, I named her "Not Mine". I did not want to name this dog, because I didn't want to keep her. But, no one else wanted her either and after a few months it became evident that she was, indeed, mine. I named her Kida. It went nicely with Nala. She was in a crate the majority of her time until I could trust her not to chew through a harness or eat Nala. She was the wildest dog I have ever seen. I eventually had to change her name to Katie because she used to bolt from me so frequently I was always yelling, "Katie! Come back here!" Kida just didn't roll off of my tongue as easily. This dog could escape anything. She even scaled a fence. She didn't jump it, no, she climbed right up it. I had to sew chicken wire to the top of my fence - facing inward like a prison camp, so that she wouldn't escape and be able to have minimal freedom. Eventually, she began to learn some manners and is now a very pleasant house dog.

Back to the jug, it ended up being an automatic dog feeder dispenser. I took the above photos and sent them to the manufacturer in hopes of sparing this fate to other poor animals. I'm guessing she was just really hungry and raided someones feeder one day and got her head caught as she tried to get the last little morsel. Anyhow, I was shocked to find a big box from the manufacturer a few weeks later with a free automatic dog feeder. Seriously, did they think I would actually let my dog use one of these horrific devices? Did they seriously think that Katie would ever get near one again? Sheesh... When I read the note, however, I realized that because of my story, they completely re-vamped the plastic portion to make it a break-a-way panel to prevent future entrapments. Yeah! They had sent me samples of the new design. I donated them, anyhow.

Over the years, Katie has become a great family pet. We love her. She sleeps with us. She eats the table scraps from the kids. She has her own stocking at Christmas. She's our sweet Kater Gater. We joke that Nala is the princess and Katie is the court Jester. She's still pretty stupid, but it makes her funny. And entertaining.
Katie's Christmas bunny. She's by no means the perfect pet. She barks at everyone and anyone and is very jumpy and jittery still. We still can't trust her with strangers or children. Our own children, she is very tolerant of, as they are a part of her "pack". But in all, she requires a lot of love and patience already. We happily give it to her.
Before Suzy was born, we did everything we could to help ease the transition. We even hired a "dog whisperer" to help us. I know, crazy. But I wanted to give her a fair shot. Rob said that the first growl, and she'd be put down. She had already attacked a dear friend's little puppy and it was pretty traumatic for everyone. She ripped through blinds trying to attack a UPS guy. We couldn't take a chance with our baby.
She really surprised us and deals beautifully with the kids. Suzy adores her and Andy is starting to laugh at her as well. She doesn't seek them out, but she knows where they are at all times and is very protective. She's a great guard dog. Here she is letting Suzy wipe her nose.
She has special needs, but I love her. It's a bit of an occupational hazard.
So, why the long post? I'm trying to sort some things out and I need some advice. I feel like you need background for that. As you know, last week I had pink eye. Literally overnight, Katie developed a very blood shot eye as well. Could I have passed it to her? Surely not. So, I took her to the vet and was given some pretty grim news. She is completely blind in her left eye. We were hoping to save it and prevent the spread to her right eye. Unfortunately, we didn't get in soon enough. Who knows, even being seen on Monday by the doggy Opthamologist may not have helped anyhow. I can't look back. All I can do is look forward.
Our options are to remove the eye, or give her a prosthesis. A normal eye pressure is 15. 20 can cause migraines in humans. Katie is at 45. The optic nerve has been severed and the eye definitely needs to come out. It is estimated to be acute glaucoma. We will know more after pathology. Untreated, she will likely be totally blind in her remaining eye within 8 months. With treatment, we can prolong up to three years if we are lucky. So, here's my delimna. Rob says he won't risk having a completely blind dog when Andy is so mobile and young. What if he sneaks up on her and she snaps? It's a valid concern. I respect him for thinking of the safety of our children. But couldn't I just work really hard at keeping them separate like we did when Suzy was an infant? What if it makes her more mellow like the vet suggested? I can't think of anyone who would adopt this dog from us. I tried when she didn't have medical issues, this is just another big strike against her.
If we decide to treat the other eye and prolong things, what are we prolonging them for? If we are going to eventually have to make that decision anyway, why are we waiting the 8 months to a year? Blindness is my own personal biggest physical fear. I have a very dear friend who is facing vision loss as I write this. Am I supposed to watch Katie go through this to further help my friend if it comes to that? How do I explain these things to a three year old? Especially when her favorite bible story is how Jesus heals the blind. I am totally anticipating her rubbing dirt in Katie's eyes on a regular basis. ;) How do I explain if this miracle doesn't happen? How do I explain death? She already talks about how our neighbor dog, Hershey died way more than I think might be appropriate.

Oh, I hate when life gives me decisions like this. I am so grateful for all that we are blessed with. I know this isn't a big deal in the large scheme of things. But for me right now, it really stinks. Any thoughts? Do we prolong things? Do we go for broke and hope for a miracle? Do we just end it now? Do we give Suzy time to learn compassion and inevitability? Help! :)