Yes, his mouth is still wide open! That’s Travis, our dog whose jaw was fused shut for most of his life by a rare muscle disease, masticatory myositis. He was gumming two of my fingers this morning to show you just how wide that mouth can get.
Many?months after his innovative?mouth-opening procedure?at Peak Veterinary Referral Center in Burlington — necessary so he could have oral surgery at Veterinary Dental Services in Massachusetts –?he has not lost any ground. He is completely off of prednisone, and has been for a long time. He only has a couple of teeth left, but he is now eating solid food, no longer splatters his meals all over himself and his surroundings (the housekeeping staff is particularly grateful for this), and has gained significant weight. Just as important, he can pant to cool off, something he could never do before. On summer days, we’d always have to bring him inside early to make sure he didn’t overheat. These days he can pant like every other dog.
Here’s another shot I took this morning, just before I stuck my fingers in his mouth (he always pulls his ears back when the camera comes out — don’t ask me why!):
It’s going to be hot here today … we’re headed to 85? (29? C) … and Travis was already in cooling off mode because he’d been outside before I took these photos. You can see that tongue hanging out. We never thought Travis would have his mouth open like this. Our thanks to the great veterinary teamwork by?our internal medicine specialist at Peak, Dr. Marielle Goossens, and our veterinary dental specialist, Dr. Diane Carle at Veterinary Dental Services, who made this possible for him.
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2014 Shelter Challenge Underway
The latest?round of the Shelter Challenge for 2014 is underway. It began July 14 and ends September 21. You can vote every day at?http://www.shelterchallenge.com/. To search for us, type in our name, Rolling Dog Farm, and Lancaster, NH 03584. We’ve won thousands of dollars in the previous contests, so your daily votes do bring in serious money for our disabled animals!
Please note that I cannot help with technical or voting problems. If you find yourself having issues, please consult their FAQ page and their Rules page.
Thanks for your votes!
Travis, you are one handsome dude! Even with your tongue hanging out!
Don’t know if dogs think this way but I try to imagine the thrill he must have felt when he could finally eat solid food! To be able to chew or gum it but have real food not “soup” might have been a great happiness to him. And to know he has filled out in weight and can pant well that’s all just frosting on the cake. Yea for those vets and congrats Travis. 🙂
Yea, Travis! And all the wonderful folks who helped make this happen. What a great update!
I can’t believe the positive results from the process. I thought it would give him some more space on the side. He must be so happy. He was well adjusted to his lot in life but this must be like a whole new world. Another amazing job by the RDF minions.
Wonderful news about Travis after coming back from vacation and reading the posts from when I was gone.
It’s really a kind of miracle! Travis is so precious. Thanks for bringing us up to date on him, and sending a lot of sunshine my way! 🙂
I am so happy. Travis has always been one of my favorites. What a handsome boy he is.
That’s awesome! What a beautiful boy he is! You rock, Travis!!
Wow, this is such great news! I am so very happy for him. And I’m sure in his own way he is thrilled. What an improvement this must be in his life; being able to eat solid food. I remember those photos with his liquid dinner all over him and everywhere else. Now he’s a normal dog just like everyone else. Thanks to everyone who made this possible. It’s a wonderful life for Travis!!
I’m so blessed to have found your organization! You are doing God’s work, thank you!
We have all witness a beautiful, amazing M I R A CL E with Travis and his medical journey. what a happy happy doggy Travis must be!
Hurrah for Travis. Hurrah for Steve & Alayne…. and the fabulous medical team!!!!!
What a great story to share!!!!!
Travis is SMILING for sure. I can’t imaging how it felt not to be able to have his tongue out. What a WONDERFUL story and I’ve sure had many days enjoying following Travis’ journey.
That’s awesome news for Travis! You and Alayne and the vets should be very proud that you’ve helped this boy lead a better life. 🙂
Wow! This sheds a whole new light on this disease and possible actions that can be taken even in an adult dog. Good going Drs., Travis and of course Steve and Alayne.
That’s a beautiful sight! I was hoping that he would not lose the mobility he had gained. He looks very happy.
Thank goodness for patience and perseverance1 I’ll bet Travis is happy.
So happy for him and love to see him smiling
I’ve been waiting for an update on Travis since we saw his procedure and here it is! How absolutely wonderful to see that it worked so well and we can say that Travis is pretty much a normal dog now. He looks wonderful and happy! Kudos to the amazing veterinary staff who made this all possible and to all of you for making that care possible for him 🙂
At the end of a very long work day, what a happy, happy face to see in my inbox. You made my day! What a difference you’ve made for him. You said once something about a fused jaw was nature’s way of protecting Travis from himself in his interactions with the other dogs in the pack. Now that he has some use of his jaw (and 2 teeth), I’m curious if he’s still co-existing peacefully with his pals.
Hearing this great news makes me smile. Thank you for doing all that you do for those amazing animals. I hope everyone will go onto the contest website you shared and votes for Rolling Dog Farm. I did and Will again. You can vote daily. Good luck!
Nice!!! I’m sure Travis is thinking this is so cool!,
Steve, you, Alayne and your vets are miracle workers!
Travis looks so sweet with his tongue sticking out, doesn’t he?:-)
I was just thinking about Travis the other day and was wondering how he was doing. He is such a
wonderful guy, those eyes!
I want to express my deepest gratitude for what you are doing for these wonderful creatures. I am
so grateful that they can live out their lives with the care they need, the love that you shower on them and for the respect and dignity that they so well deserve.
Sadly In today’s society our furry friends have become the victims of the disposable era. They are just tossed aside like all the other material things. People refuse to believe that these living breathing (“things” to them) have souls and they want love and attention just like the rest of us.
So I am ever so thankful to you Steve and to you Alayne for giving our friends a chance at the life that they have a right to. Even if it is just for a few short months they know that they are loved and cared for. You never give up you try until the very end to save them. It means so much.
Bless you both.
Those happy eyes!! I absolutely LOVE this post. (We met Travis in Montana several years ago. He is such a sweet dog!) Thank you for sharing, Steve. Travis is one lucky dog to have you and Alayne in his life.
Wow…that is wonderful news! Travis is sooo handsome and what a dramatic improvement in his quality of life, that is no more baby food! Thanks for the update on this precious boy!
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do
OVER THE MOON ABOUT TRAVIS—HE IS SUCH AN AWESOME DOG!! He is the Mink’s of Dogs!!!!
Thank goodness for all the wonderful Vets out there 🙂
Thanks for the update…that is so incredible. He is such a handsome guy. 🙂
WOW! That’s amazing! What progress! I am so excited for Travis! I wonder what he thinks about eating now. It has to be much easier… but I am guessing no less of a mess 😉 … Glad to see Travis is doing well! Big hugs!
Couldn’t be happier for Travis and you ALL for such an amazing accomplishment! Life must be so much better for Travis. And your hard work has once again paid off with a wonderful miracle. Yay!!!
ps: Travis, you are still my (not so) secret dog crush!