9 Signs that Kuma Was HEATHY

1. Kuma's paw HEALED very quickly

Kuma injured her paw a few weeks ago. She stopped putting weight on her front left leg. I noticed that the calf muscle in her leg started to atrophy and was about half the size of her right leg. For a while I didn't know why.

Then I saw that she had stepped on something (probably a sharp tree sprout in the grass that was cut down to grass level) and the cut eventually caused her paw to split open. When I finally noticed it, she had an open raw gash an inch long and a quarter inch wide. No wonder she wasn't putting weight on her front left foot.

I cleaned it out with alcohol, put antibiotic cream, covered it with a sterile pad, wrapped it with gauze and with medical breathable tape. When she went outside I put a glove on it to keep it dry. I changed this dressing twice and by the third day it had miraculously completely closed up and healed. I couldn't believe how quickly it healed. Then Kuma walked straight on it. 

2. Kuma's large boil burst and HEALED quickly

About a month ago, Kuma developed a large growth on the right side of her face. At first it didn't seem to bother her and to me it was just another lump that she got like others she had for years under her skin. But, this developed into a golf ball size hard lump and now seemed to bother her. She started banging the right side of her face down into the pillow. Of course I started to worry. I thought it may be one of two things; either a melanoma cancer or a blood boil caused by trauma. In the back of my mind I remained positive (even though I cried thinking it had to be cance)r because Kuma had always come out of these kind of difficult situations on her own with minor miracles.

She finally burst this growth and it started bleeding badly. For about 30 hours she bled, losing lots of blood. I used two rolls of paper towels and two boxes of tissues to soak it up. She shook her head and sprayed blood everywhere. finally it stopped bleeding but was still a large mass. On the day Kuma entered the hospital I noticed on her birthday that it had completely dried up and healed. It was gone completely. Her immune system fixed it. Maybe that is what was causing her pain or annoyance on the right side of her face and now it was gone. But, Kuma was in the hospital and never woke up to appreciate it. Kuma was healing herself right up until she was killed. Her large mass on the side of her face was gone within two days of bursting. This tells me that Kuma was healthy.

3. Her coat became thicker and darker

Before her dental surgery, Kuma's fur on her back started turning orange, dry and thinning and falling out. She developed two large bald spots, one on top of her hips where there was just a patch of hairless skin and one on top of her front shoulders. My guess is that the bacteria in her mouth was causing her inflammation which added to her arthritis inflammation.

Since her operation Kuma's fur grew back thick and dark and all the bald spots filled in. Her new thick, dark fur made her look healthy again especially in the last few weeks when she was eating so much.

4. Kuma was gaining weight and getting stronger

After her operation when she weighed just 61 lbs, Kuma started to eat at least twice as much as normal and gained weight back up to 74 lbs. She gained it slowly because she mostly gained muscle. Now she had much more muscle and strength. She looked filled out, strong and healthy. Kuma looked really good!

5. Kuma had a Great Appetite, Drank lots of Water, Pooped and Peed

All her basics showed that her body was functioning well. She had an enormous appetite and really enjoyed eating. She drank a lot of water (the greatest sound I loved to hear was the loud sound of Kuma slurping big gulps of water). Kuma also pooped regularly now almost every day. Before her surgery she sometimes didn't poop for up to five days and went regularly three and four days without pooping. But now she was right on schedule almost every day with perfect consistency. Kuma also held her pee for 12 to 14 hours. Lately this was starting to worry me that she went so long without peeing but in the last four days she was back to a normal pee schedule of peeing every 6 to 8 hours.

All of Kuma's bodily functions showed that she was perfectly healthy and everything was functioning well. Older dogs often start to lose bladder control and most die from kidney failure, but Kuma's kidneys were functioning normally like a younger dog.

6. Kuma was walking well

Aside from when the drugs I gave her made her dizzy and weak, Kuma normally walked very strong and straight. She walked every day. Before the hot weather she walked regularly in the park. During the hot humid weather, she mostly walked inside the gym, pacing up and down to get her exercise. We had a great strip of grass outside where Kuma walked out all the way to the street and back again several times. Some days she was weaker and losing her balance but that was because of the effect of the pain pills and the Valium in the end. Eventually, I slowly weaned her off of the Gabapentin and Tramadol pain pills and reduced the Valium to one or two per day.

7. Her Vet said nothing seemed wrong with her

Just last week her Vet examined her and said nothing seemed to be wrong with her. She said that twitching and anything that looked like pain on the side of her face was probably neural, meaning neurons in her brain were causing these feelings. She also said it may be the growth on the side of her face. I dismissed it with, "no she has had this for a while, I touched it and it doesn't seem to bother her". But, within days it got worse and then burst and this may have been the cause of her pain or irritation on the right side of her face. And, now she healed it herself.

8. Kuma's blood tests were very good

Before Kuma had dental surgery, her Vet took a blood test to see if she was healthy enough to survive the surgery and anesthesia. After seeing the results of her blood tests, her Vet was really surprised. She said to me that she thought Kuma should be put down but after seeing how healthy her blood tests showed she is, she said she can no longer say that.

The Vet at the hospital that looked at Kuma's blood test results was also shocked. She said all her liver values and blood values were really good.

9. Lastly, I just know that Kuma was healthy

I know Kuma well. I have seen her ups and downs and I know how she felt. I know Kuma was healthy and she was not ready to die. Her body was healthy and her mind was still curious and enjoying her daily routine. she liked her outings and she liked socializing.

 

Kuma was too strong, too healthy and too positive to die. She had a look about her that said she was a young 17 year old and ready to live some more. People who think she should have been put down, did not know her. those that did know her, knew that she still wanted to live and was doing really well for her age.