Johnson County K9 Deputy Recovering After Surgery
The Johnson County Sheriff's Office reported via their Facebook page that K9 Deputy Boss is resting comfortably at home after having his spleen removed over the weekend.
On Friday Boss's handler noticed that Boss wasn't acting like himself. He appeared lethargic and in pain so his handler took him to Warrensburg Animal Hospital. While there Dr. Houtsma determined that Boss's discomfort was because something was wrong with his abdomen.
Dr. Houtsma transferred Boss to Blue Pearl Animal Hospital in Overland Park, Kansas where Boss received an emergency ultrasound. Dr. Grauberger and his staff determined that Boss was dealing with splenic torsion, which is fatal without immediate surgery. Overnight Saturday, Blue Pearl staff performed a splenectomy on Boss.
According to the American College of Veterinary Sciences large and giant breed dogs with a deep-chested conformation like Gernan Sheppards and Great Danes are most likely to develop this condition which presents itself suddenly. In many cases where a splenectomy is performed a normal quality of life is expected after recovery.
Boss is resting comfortably at home and it's my hope he's able to protect his surgery incision with a Johnson County Sheriff T-Shirt as opposed to having to wear the cone of shame. That's no fun for any dog. And I bet a working dog like Boss would just spend a lot of time trying to get out of it.
The Johnson County Sheriff's Office wrote on Facebook:
The Johnson County Sheriffs Office would like to extend its greatest appreciation to Dr. Houtsma and the Warrensburg Animal Hospital staff along with Dr. Grauberger and the staff at BluePearl Pet Hospital. K9 Boss is more than a dog, he is a valued Deputy and we are fortunate to have him return to work soon.
My appreciation to the staff and doctors at both hospitals as well. Generally, I think dogs are amazing. And working dogs, like K9 Deputy Boss, even more amazing. I'm glad to hear he'll be back to chasing perps and biting then (if necessary) in a couple of weeks.