For months Torpedo patiently waited for GREAT to pick him up from the pets-in-waiting kennel in Thonotosassa. Finally, in July 2003 we picked up the big boy, took him to Dr. Conrad for his vet work, and he began learning to be a pet with a foster family in Valrico. 

At first he'd gobble his food as so many new foster dogs do, and then spit it up.  We thought that was just "normal" because of eating too fast, so his foster mom experimented with various ways to slow him down so he wouldn't spit it up.  She plugged on, but no matter what she tried he was still regurgitating most every meal. 

Off to the vet he went for barium x-rays which showed that Torpedo has a condition called megaesophagus.  With this condition, normal peristalsis (contractions of the esophagus that cause the food to move into the stomach) doesn’t take place and the esophagus dilates.  It is not surgically correctable.  Without some way of moving the food along, it simply comes back out and the dog gets very little nutrition.  Adding to the problem is the fact that Torpedo has inflammatory bowel disease.  Stress, excitement or a change in diet can cause him to have runny stools.  Last but not least, Torpedo is low-thyroid so he takes soloxine daily, which costs approximately $10-15 per month. 

While every dog with IBD and megaesophagus will respond differently to different diets, Torpedo has been stable for more than a year on the following regimen: 

1)       He needs to have his front end elevated while eating.  In a nutshell, gravity is what helps the food to move down the non-contracting esophagus into his stomach.  In his current foster home, he eats on the stairs, with the food four steps up and his front legs three steps up.  He maintains this position for a few minutes after eating, in order to allow gravity to do its work!

2)       He is doing well on 2 meals daily, consisting of one can of turkey-based food mixed with one cup of Biljac dry.  The canned food he is eating right now is Authority (Petsmart’s brand) or ProPlan.  He needs to avoid beef and chicken based foods, and we also restrict treats.  His diet costs approximately $100 per month.

3)       He should be kept quiet for 30-60 minutes before and after meals. 

 At his low point, Torpedo weighed 68 pounds but is now at a healthy 84 pounds.  His foster mom has medication on hand (metronidazole and azulfidine) in case he has a flare up of loose stools or diarrhea, but he rarely needs either at this point. 

The ideal home for Torpedo will be with a female greyhound, although he gets along well with male greyhounds as well.  He’s a tall boy and likes to jump up to say hello, so he would be best in households with older children (12+ years old) or no children.  He is not cat-friendly or small animal-friendly and does not tolerate fuzzy dogs of any sort – they remind him too much of his racing and chasing days!  In addition, we have found that the smaller the home, the better – Torpedo maintains his healthy weight much more easily if he does not have a lot of room to run, inside or out!  His current foster home does not have a fenced yard, so he is very accustomed to taking walks instead and does not require very much exercise. 

Torpedo is a very happy dog who LOVES human attention, is extremely affectionate, likes to take walks and smell everything, sleeps through the night and does stairs easily.  This wonderful traveler has even been to “Greyhounds Reach the Beach” in Dewey Beach, Delaware in 2004 and to Sandy Paws in Jacksonville in 2004 and Jekyll Island, Georgia in 2005. 

This sweet boy has been in foster care for almost 2 years.  He has so much love to give, his needs are not difficult to manage and they will soon become second nature to the lucky family that adopts him.  Good things come to those who wait, and we hope that Torpedo’s patience will soon be rewarded! 

If you would like to make a donation to help Torpedo or any of our other foster dogs, you can do so via credit card or checking account through PayPal. Click on the button below to make a donation now!