Hearts break as puppy who underwent brain surgery due to extreme neglect lost his battle

Just two days ago, at the Stray Rescue of St. Louis, two puppies arrived in need of help. The black puppy was named “A Minor” and his brindle brother had been named “Mustard.” The dogs had obviously been neglected, and one of the puppy’s medical needs quickly escalated to that of a life-saving emergency.

A Minor had a bump on his head and a depressed area on his skull. Radiographs had been done of the area, but nothing stuck out as life threatening, and that same day the puppies were active and playing after they were given medications to address their most obvious injuries.

The next day, however A Minor seemed very lethargic and strange, and within minutes he had a grand mal seizure. He was rushed to Animal Neurology Center where the puppy underwent a CT scan to look for fractures in his skull. The advanced testing revealed the puppy had suffered from a skull fracture, from what appeared to have been a dog bite several weeks ago; the injury had never been treated and ended up causing a raging infection in his brain.

A Minor was rushed into surgery; it was his only chance of survival where fractured pieces of his skull were removed and the infected abscesses that had leaked into his brain were expressed. After surgery the puppy would be administered an aggressive antibiotic regimen.

The puppy survived the delicate surgery and was released the next day to his foster mom. He had been sleeping a lot, but he lost his appetite and showed signs of cognitive decline. He was rushed to an overnight care facility, and on Thursday back to the neurologist.

During his surgery, there was a lot of pus. So samples were sent off of the abscess in his brain to find out what kind of bacteria we are up against. He’s been on several antibiotics, but as soon as we get results, we’ll know the perfect cocktail to help him fight this. ..

Sadly, life doesn’t always go as planned or how we all wish for happy endings with the precious lives stellar organizations like Stray Rescue of St. Louis are able to treat. This morning, unexpectedly A-Minor died. The infection in his brain had continued to spread, and although doctors were fighting it aggressively, there was no stopping the damage.

His medical condition escalated so quickly initially, but even still, we were able to give him every chance. Everyone who knew him feels it, he was such a sweetheart. His doctors are mourning, and of course, his Julia, is heartbroken. She cried right along with his nurses and everyone who was caring for him. We’re so thankful he came to us. That because of you, we can give every single one of these babies the fighting chance they deserve. We give them the very best, and most of the time we have the greatest love story on our hands. Stories of triumph, resilience, forgiveness, and even sometimes medical miracles. But realistically, there also times like this.

Had the infection been treated prior to this by his former owner, A-Minor probably would have had a completely different outcome, and we could have watched with smiles on our faces, the outlandish and of course adorable antics of a healthy puppy learning that life is wonderful.

But he was LOVED his few days he got to spend at Julia’s house. He got to be her baby and part of her family. No matter how short it may seem, he got to know and experience respect, be valued, and of course so. much. love. To us, that is priceless and never ever to be taken for granted.

Many thanks to the entire staff, doctors and volunteers who work hand in paw with the most vulnerable victims of neglect, cruelty and loneliness.

Rest in peace A-Minor. You will be missed.

Read the puppy’s previous coverage here.

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