An update about Buddy's health
It's Buddy Mercury's mom and dad here, Laurie and Glen.
We are so overwhelmed by your kindness to Buddy and our family! We are so grateful and appreciate all of your support.
We promised to keep you updated on Buddy's eye condition.
This past month we brought him for his follow-up eye specialist visit (to see Dr. Noelle La Croix). We don't expect to receive good news at these visits because we understand his diagnosis.
If you missed the news, Buddy has an inherited eye disease - PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy). We learned about this a few months ago and if you missed the details, you can read our first blog about it by clicking here.
So at Dr. La Croix's office we learned that Buddy also has a heart murmur. We're glad she caught it and within a few days we had Buddy back to our regular vet's office to confirm. Dr. Howe is very loving and kind - she was able to fit Buddy in the next day to see the Cardiologist.
Buddy had his first echo which showed a slight murmur on the right side, and a bit worse on the left side. The good news is that he does not need any heart medicine at this time, but he'll need to have a repeat echo test in 6 months. We were relieved to get this news after quite a few days of worry!
But back to Buddy's eyes. He is not in any pain but we want to ensure his eye pressure is in the normal range so he goes to see the eye specialist 2 - 3x a year in addition to his regular vet visits.
None of this has stopped Buddy! He continues to be a star pawformer, enjoys walkies and play time! And he is getting around fairly well despite his condition.
Buddy continues to be on three prescription eye drops for both eyes. These medications help him, but he will never be able to see again and is almost completely blind now.
And he remains on his eye health vitamin too, 2x a day with meals.
We've known about Buddy's condition for over a year now and we've settled in to acceptance. You'll notice changes in Buddy's eyes in his photos and videos. But despite the changes you see, there is nothing more to be done for him right now.
Even with the prescription eye drop protocol and eye vitamins, it doesn't mean that his eyes are healing.
Sadly, there is no cure for PRA. And though it's heartbreaking for we humans to hear that, Dr. La Croix reminded us that this is not bothering Buddy.
Buddy uses his other senses to help him get around! And you know what? We have noticed one very distinct change. He has become a LAP DOG!
Prior to his vision changes you would really have to pick him up and place him in your lap. Now he just jumps right on your lap and snuggles in! Pretty incredible and no one is complaining.
We're grateful that Buddy will live a long, happy life and since dogs are so adaptable, he will be okay. Oh, and his next ophthalmology follow up appointment is in March. In between ophthalmology appointments, he sees our regular vet to check his eye pressure.
Many of you have asked how to help. We can feel your good vibes, healing energy, prayers and love! And that's all we need - Buddy is in good hands and we'll do everything possible to take the best care of him.
We made that promise the day we rescued him. And Buddy's diagnosis will not stand in the way of our mission to help animals and spread joy!
If you wish to sponsor a special gift for Buddy, here's a place to leave a tip.
And if you're adding Buddy to your Christmas card list, here is our mailing address:
Buddy Mercury
c/o The Wolfe Family
PO Box 207
Lake Grove, NY 11755
Thank you for being part of our community! The holidays are here and we have lots of happiness to spread! The world needs ALL THE LOVE!
Have a happy week ahead,
Laurie and Glen
PS - If you want to support the work our family does, please grab your copy of our 2023 calendar. These are expected to sell out, AROO! (FREE shipping ends soon.)
HERE IS A SHORT SUMMARY OF ST ROCH OR ST ROCCO WHO IS THE PATRON SAINT OF DOGS:
St. Rocco, also known as St. Roch, was born to a wealthy family in 1340 in Montpellier, France. He was orphaned at a young age and raised by his uncle, the Duke of Montpellier. When he grew up, St. Rocco renounced his wealth and distributed his possessions to the poor. He took on the cloak and staff of a pilgrim and made his way to Rome.
While on his way there, he stopped at Aquapendente, Italy and devoted himself to helping those who were stricken by the plague, curing them with prayer and the sign of the cross. He next visited Cesena and other cities en route to Rome. Each city in which he sojourned was cleansed of the plague.
Rocco was ultimately stricken with the plague and was banished from the city. He took refuge in a nearby cave where, though he had nothing to eat, a dog faithfully brought him bread daily and licked his wounds, healing them. The dog belonged to a nearby nobleman, Count Gothard Pallastrelli, who was curious to know why his faithful dog stole a loaf of bread and carried it off to the woods every day.
We may all rest assured of St. Rocco’s sanctity; he must have been a very good man indeed for a dog to have approved of him.
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The count followed the dog and found Rocco. He took pity on the stricken saint and brought him to his castle to tend to his illness. Thus, we may all rest assured of St. Rocco’s sanctity; he must have been a very good man indeed for a dog to have approved of him.
St. Rocco is venerated throughout Southern Italy, Sicily, and Spain, and his patronage includes dogs and protection against disease—especially against epidemics such as cholera and the plague. In addition, he is prayed to for knee problems, skin diseases, cattle diseases, and against being falsely accused. He is also the patron of invalids, surgeons, veterinarians, tile makers, gravediggers, bachelors, thrift store owners, pilgrims, druggists, and the cities of Venice and Potenza.
A cursory examination of scripture will find that dogs are much aligned in it. But, as bad as the anti-dog references are, cats aren’t mentioned at all in the Bible, which I love to point out to cat lovers. Here are some of the less irritating examples:
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A fool doing some stupid thing a second time is like a dog going back to its vomit (Proverbs 26:11).
Getting involved in an argument that is none of your business is like going down the street and grabbing a dog by the ears (Proverbs 26:17).
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St. Rocco is always shown accompanied by a dog carrying a loaf of bread in its mouth. Being depicted along with a dog is not particularly uncommon in Christian iconography, and any saint who likes dogs is OK by me. Despite this strong love between saints and their canine companions, St. Rocco is the only official patron of dogs. All of my dogs have had St. Rocco medals attached to their collars clinking away along with their rabies and ID tags. All of my dogs converted to Catholicism some time ago. I never proselytized them and can only presume they converted because I offered them a good example.
Venice’s Chiesa di San Rocco (Church of St. Rocco) is the saint’s major shrine. The church’s blanched stone façade is both imposing and familiar. The church has a single nave over which lies a flat ceiling, typical of Renaissance-era churches. The will-lit church contains eight opulent Tintoretto paintings in its Sala dell’Albergo, most of which depict St. Rocco. Tintoretto is considered the Venetian school’s greatest painter and the last great painter of the Italian Renaissance. His paintings exhibit a phenomenal, dramatic vibrancy; viewing Tintoretto’s depictions of St. Rocco, one feels spiritually drawn into the saint’s life and faith.
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I stood in the church before the glass tomb which contains the saint’s relics and offered a silent prayer to St. Rocco for my dogs, living and otherwise. I took out my cell phone to take a peek at photos of my dogs. A dog will love you whether you are rich or poor, sick or healthy, educated or not. St. Rocco depended upon the unconditional love offered by his faithful companion to bring him his daily bread. Dogs offer perfect, unconditional love for which we, sinful creatures that we are, are completely undeserving.
Dogs are like that: never forgetting, never relenting, always loving, always appreciative, and always forgiving of our excesses, narcissism, foolishness, and diableries. It can even be argued that loving a dog might influence one into a greater appreciation and belief in the lord and master of all.
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Happy birthday Mr. Buddy Mercury, you handsome guy. We are so grateful that you are on this earth bringing us all so much joy every day. I pray for many more years of your beautiful face and kind soul to be with us and all the best of good health and happiness to you, Lil’Sis and your Pawrents. Much love to you little guy.
Also, we wish Buddy the best health now and always. Buddy is a remarkable boy, he will continue on this journey with his family beside him, loving and caring for him but, mostly spreading joy and happiness everywhere he goes!
So, today I had the incredibly opportunity to meet Buddy and his Dad in person! Turns out we are practically neighbors!!! Small world.
Buddy is an ADORABLE, SWEET, AMAZING, HANDSOME and I see now, VERY TALENTED boy!!!!! It was a pleasure to meet him and look forward to seeing more of his singing and piano playing.
Please support Buddy to help rescued animals and to bring about awareness…there is no better cause.
THANK YOU BUDDY AND YOUR FAMILY…YOU ROCK!!! WOOF WOOF
We rescued 2 beagles when we lived in Ohio; Hank and Caleb. Buddy, you could be Hank’s twin. I read your Mom’s blog and it makes me sad that you’ve lost your sight but I know that you’re doing great and that your other senses help you. Sadly Caleb and Hank have crossed over the rainbow bridge but we think of them every day and miss them terribly. They had a wonderful life, they were lucky to move to British Columbia, Canada which is where I from. They got to walk in the ocean, take trips to the forests and enjoyed chasing the wild rabbits that visited us every morning in our yard. My husband just adores beagles! We really enjoy seeing Buddy on IG, he’s just so adorable. Please give him ear and chin scratches from us. AROOOOOO! 🥰❤️🐾 Bietta