Ray Charles

In Memoriam

Age: Adult
Sex: Male
Breed: Shih Tzu
About Ray Charles:

Yes there are purebred dogs in the shelter including this one who appears to be a Shih Tzu. He is in great need of grooming and we will get that done as soon as possible, but for now this is what we can see. He is an older dude, pretty darn thin and was dehydrated on arrival.

Welcome to Dog Ranch Rescue Ray Charles

UPDATE 2/5/2021

When you take on the responsibility of owning a pet or taking in a rescue dog the decisions are the same. Our job is to make decisions on what is “right” what is “humane” and most importantly what the dog is telling you.

Ray is a very sick little dog, we don’t know how old he is, he could be 12, 15, 17 we just dont know. What we do know is that he is blind, his pelvis has been broken at some point when nobody who cared and it had to heal over on it’s own. He has heartworms, he has ehrlichia, he has coccidia, he has anaplasmosis, he has giardia, he has a terrible cough and cannot sleep without taking codine, his teeth are so rotten that he has nasal fistuals that will require surgery to try and repair them.

He is weary, he feels terrible and he refuses to eat anything at all but yet he needs to take a plethora of medicines. Today he was at the sanctuary this morning and he felt terrible. Foster mom Christi took him home to see if he would perk up at all, but he didn’t.

Christi sent us this video and we knew, the eyes tell it all, Ray is tired, he doesn’t want this anymore and we have to listen. I called Dr. Reno and sent her the video and she agreed, we need to be kind and we need to let go. Christi put him in the car in a warm blanket and drove him to Dr. Reno where she helped him over the bridge.

It was all just too much for him and the fight was over…

May I go now?

Do you think the time is right?

May I say goodbye to pain filled days

and endless lonely nights?

I’ve lived my life and done my best,

an example tried to be.

So can I take that step beyond

and set my spirit free?

I didn’t want to go at first,

I fought with all my might.

But something seems to draw me now

to a warm and loving light.

I want to go

I really do.

It’s difficult to stay.

But I will try as best I can

to live just one more day.

To give you time to care for me

and share your love and fears.

I know you’re sad and afraid,

because I see your tears.

I’ll not be far,

I promise that, and hope you’ll always know

that my spirit will be close to you

wherever you may go.

Thank you so for loving me.

You know I love you too,

that’s why it’s hard to say goodbye

and end this life with you.

So hold me now just one more time

and let me hear you say,

because you care so much for me,

you’ll let me go today.

Rest in Peace Ray

UPDATE 2/3/2021

Ray Charles is doing a little better he had a bronchial wash yesterday and it looks like he just has severe infection in his lungs but we don’t know what the bacteria is just yet. The culture will take 5 days to get back. He’s on doxy for heartworms and ehrlichia. He’s on metronidazole for Giardia, he’s on Albon for coccidia. He is now taking codine to help him sleep. Dr Bronstadt said his teeth are just absolutely disgusting and he can only eat soft food, but he is eating for them and his cough is now being controlled by the codine. He asked if we wanted to take him home and I said not yet. I want him to spend another night and touch base again tomorrow. We don’t know what we need to use to go after the lung infection yet and he’s worried about his gut with the amount of antibiotics he’s already taking but we will visit that again when the culture comes back.

UPDATE 2/1/2021

He remains in the hospital and is in the care of Dr. Bronstadt today. He called me this morning and said this is a very sick little old dog but his concern was did he have any cancer in his abdomen. I told him to go and do an ultrasound and lets find out. He called me back this afternoon and said thankfully no cancer. Here is the problem, besides being blind, having a broken pelvis that has healed over with no care. Ray is heart worm positive, he is ehrlichia positive, he is positive for anaplasmosis, he has giardiasis, and he has coccidia. His teeth are so rotten that he has nasal fistulas that are probably contributing to the runny nose. Basically he is being consumed by parasites in his heart, his body and his blood. He is just a little guy and ultimately all of this would kill him if he hadn’t been rescued. Dr. Bronstadt has given him a steroid injection to help with the cough because he believes the cough is due to heart worms. He is now on a plethora of various kinds of medications going after these parasites that are trying to kill him. He will remain in the hospital for now until he is stable enough to come back to the sanctuary.

If you can imagine what life is like for dogs in the valley just take a look at Ray…

UPDATE 1/31/2021

The emergencies continue with our rescues at the sanctuary. Ray Charles has come down with an upper respiratory infection and he is not doing well, he has a fever, cough, snotty nose and lethargy. He has been whisked away off to the ER for emergency care..

UPDATE 1/20/2021

This little man has lived a life of hell. I can’t imagine how he has survived on the street. We named him Ray Charles, little did we know he is in fact blind, just like the artist he was named after.

In addition to being blind, his pelvis is broken, probably happened a long time ago and it has healed over on it’s own. Life has been hard for him, that’s all over now.

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