Companions Animal Hospital

This page is to provide news about Chubby the puppy, the puppy severely injured in the Paradise explosion. Updates on his health and progress along with pictures will be posted below as frequently as possible. Those who fondly love and take care of Chubby are now lovingly referred to as the Chubb Club. The costs for Chubby's continuing and extensive care will be great. Our goal is to not charge a cent to the owner, so if you would like to donate please drop by or mail a donation to Companions Animal Hospital at 7668 Skyway Paradise, CA 95969, care of Chubby. *WARNING THE PHOTOS ARE VERY GRAPHIC AND HEART-WRENCHING!*

We all wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone in the community who has donated and those who have kept Chubby in their thoughts. The generosity of everyone is truly amazing and there are not enough words to express our graditude to everyone who has helped or even just sent a kind thought Chubby's way. Though Chubby couldn't be more deserving and there is never enough love for this little guy, we are deeply grateful for the community's support, so simply put thank you, thank you all!

8/15/07 Chubby, a male yellow lab puppy was severely burned in an explosion at a welding business in Paradise, CA that claimed the life of one man and injured another. A neighboring welder ran out to investigate the explosion and saw a small ball of flame running from the building. With quick thinking, he grabbed the ball of flame - Chubby - and patted him to the ground to put out the fire. Animal control responded to the scene and transported Chubby to our hospital.

He had mostly second degree burns over 20% to 25% of his body, was in shock and very painful. He was treated with several pain medications, antibiotics and fluid support. He was monitored closely during the day and our staff worked to get him stabilized. He was transferred to North Valley Emergency Veterinary Clinic that evening for continued care overnight. The staff at NVEVC continued to monitor him closely and keep him as pain free as possible.

8/17/07 Chubby began eating and drinking the evening before at NVEVC. He continued to do well at our hospital during the day. He had his first debridement (clearing away of dead skin) under anesthesia in the morning and was bandaged using honey as a salve in his raw areas. Later that afternoon, he got out of his kennel for an exercise session and some play time. He moves rather slowly as his feet are still painful, but he enjoys the attention. He had a little food, and had fun drinking - and playing in - his water. Chubby is much loved by the whole staff.

He also received a visit from his family and was happy to see them.

8/18/07 Chubby is doing great today, he has begun eating normal dog food and thoroughly enjoys drinking and playing in his water bowl. He no longer needs his fluid line so he has a bit more mobility freedom. His bandages were changed and he is now outfitted with a cute "body sock" courtesy of the clever Dr. Duffy, whether or not it stay put is yet to be seen. All the love and support for Chubby is truly amazing and is still pouring in. We are a bit afraid Chubby may get a big head due too all the attention though, not that it's going to stop us any from lathering him in love.

8/25/07 Chubby has been doing well and healing as good as we can expect, though he does get his daily cleaning and bandage change. Each time we change his bandages his wounds get drenched in organic honey (honey helps in the healing of wounds, in the growth of new skin, and, has many antimicrobial and antibacterial properties,) so we have been going through quick the stock of it. We would like to thank the kind folks at Nature's Pantry for telling Dunlap Apiaries about Chubby and donated a 5lbs. jar of organic honey! Thank you very much, your so sweet!

{Pure Paradise Mountain Wildflower Honey, Dunlap Apiaries 14632 Skyway Magalia, CA 95954}

{Nature's Pantry - 6008 Clark Rd Paradise, CA 95969 (530) 872-0549}

8/30/07 Chubby's bandages are getting smaller and his spirits are getting bigger! The less bandages he has the more active he gets, though he does like to "sample" the bandages and as a result has to wear the nice cone to prevent him from completely undressing himself. His ears are now bandage free, though they did have to be cropped, due to too much tissue damage they were shortened. We now refer to his ears as cute teddy bear ears.

9/1/07 Today was a big day for Chubby, he got to go home!!! He had a bath, a bandage change, and then his wonderful family got to take him home for the weekend! Though we will still see Chubby daily, after Labor Day weekend, for bandage changes he will hopfully get to spend more and more time at home. He is doing so well he no longer needs anesthesia for cleaning and bandaging daily. All the once dead tissue is now replaced with nice pink tissues, some of which are still very raw and need to be covered but those areas are getting smaller and smaller. We definitely think it's time for him to be with his family but we will miss him greatly, Dr. Duffy wont know what to do without the continuous care of her "son," we suspect she will get to catch up on her sleep now though.

We miss you already Chubby!

Much love, your ladies at Companions

9/5/07 Chubby has been healing great, he is now even bandage free for the time being. His skin is still very pink and raw but being exposed to the air is healing things to scab over. Though he does sometimes get a little overzealous on trying to clean himself so he has to wear the dreaded cone! *insert dun-dun-dunn music* On the plus side he does get great reception! We fondly call Chubby hoover because of his vacuuming habit he does along the clinics floor.

9/12/07 Today was a big day for Chubby; he got to be on TV again! A news crew from KNVN Action News came to get an update on Chubby so that his adoring public could be updated on his progress. Speaking of progress, he has been doing pretty good. His days are spent eating, drinking, playing, eating some more, sleeping, and having his physical therapy three times a day. He has traded in his cone for a handsome "daisy" collar so he can see and play better but not chew his bandages. He has been outfitted with a shirt to protect his skin which will be sun sensitive for the majority of his life. Unfortunately he has new bandages because he had to undergo another surgery because his skin, though healing well, is coming back very tough and tight causing mobility to be an issue. We hope with extensive physical therapy and a lot of love he will be able to move his legs like a normal dog but for now he hobbles around the office just fine and seems not to notice his slight handicap.
Though we know there will be more surgeries in his future and he will always be a "special needs" pup he will definitely get all the love and care he needs and deserves!

Chubby Goes to U.C. Davis...

9/24/07 Chubby went to U.C. Davis for a consultation with the fine staff and surgeons to see if his mobility can be improved. While surgery is recommended and will be scheduled soon, Chubby will be getting a job to pay for his visits to UC Davis, we are thinking of having him apply for Officer of Cuteness. All the staff at U.C. Davis loved him and was amazed at how much he went through and is still so sweet. While the tech who took him there did have to fend of many employees from trying to steal him. Chubby did have a good time walking around campus and was a wonderful driving companion. A big thanks to the kind and generous staff at U.C. Davis, you were all very kind and it was a pleasure meeting with you all.

10/1/07 Well, since Chubby's visit to U.C. Davis the doctors have decided it would be in Chubby's best interest to have the surgery. Chubby goes to Davis to have the surgery on the 24th of October, Chubby will be going into his piggy bank to find the funds for the surgery which will be around $3000! We think his savings may be lacking so if you would like to help Chubby, donations are gladly excepted! We have a Chubby fundraiser jar at Companions, as well as other locations in paradise including Skyway Feed, Reid's Feeds, Whisker Pines Pet Store. Chubby thanks everyone for their continued generosity and kind thoughts for him, remember to send him a loving thought on his big day!

A Big Day For Chubby......

10/23/07 Chubby took the long drive today to U.C. Davis for his big surgery. He gets all of his pre-ops done today and his big surgery gets done tomorrow or the next day (pending the surgeon's schedule and which pre-ops are needed), he will then stay another day or so for some needed rest and recovery. We are all very nervous and thinking about him constantly but we know he will be in great hands and will do wonderfully. Though the kind staff at Davis did promised him extra fluffy blankets and tons of kisses, we know he will win their hearts over just as fast as he did ours.

Thank You All!

Well, there are no words to express our deepest thanks for the generosity to our beloved Chubby by the community. We want to say thank you but wish there were some better stronger words to express our thanks. Words simply cannot convey our gratitude, the community's generosity overwhelms us. Each day we are greeted with such support that we are all overwhelmed and awed, simply opening up all the mail give us chills. You have no idea how much it means to us and Chubby, we are deeply grateful. There are so many people we want to thank but I am afraid the list would be longer than this page, so to those of you who know who you are, a million thank yous! And we want to send a special thank you to Mrs. Barbara Furry who has been most generous, you inspire us.

And finally, I know that if Chubby could quote or for that matter speak, he would be quoted as saying: I would thank you from the bottom of my heart, but for you my heart has no bottom. ~ Author Unknown

And a special thank you to the following:

Keith & Jean Fraser

Richard & Barbara German

A. Duane Menefee, M.D. & Candace Menefee

Edward & Betty Gardiner

Robert & Kathleen Copeland

Karen & Kirby White

Theresa Woods & Annemarie Baltzell

Garland & Jeanie Hart

Susy & Dennis Durkin

Ken Yvonne Pishek

M. Parenti

Sandra Acebo

Valerie Evett

Larry Coffman

Diane M. Cook

Elisabeth Danley

Fioretta Cultraro

Joyce & Andrea Lemcke

Thank you Rose Gibson!

Well a huge thank you is in order again and we are left speechless by her generosity. Each day we are awed and humbled by the kindness of the community. We are truly speechless this time so all we can say is thank you! Your generosity is outstanding and you are a truly selfless and compassionate person! Many puppy kisses and licks to you!

10/31/07 Chubby's Halloween Party Who says Halloween is just for kids? We all hat a good time dressing up, some more than others, though Jane made a lovely princess and lobster she still greatly disapproved of the whole thing. We even had the Lobster in his silver boiling pot. And Chubby made a great cow-dog and the rainbow wig looked adorable on him.

11/12/07 A gigantic thank you to the wonderful and unbelievably generous young boy who collected funds for chubby. We are so grateful to people like you! We wish you had left your name and address so we could send you a proper thank you, but alas we were overwhelmed by your kindness and forgot to ask. Our deepest thank yous and you are always welcome to come visit Chubby.

To U.C. Davis We Go......

12/04/07 Today was another big day for Chubby, he returned to Davis for his second skin graft surgery as well as having his hip worked on. Though it was sad to leave him there we know he will be well cared for and very well loved. Again we are truly thankful to the very kind staff at Davis, it is such a pleasure to work with you all. The photo includes Chubby's senior student assigned to his case, CC Falcis (far right), as well as two of his doctors (Far left is Margo Mehl, BA, DVM, Dip ACVS {Small Animal General Surgery}) (Middle is Matthew Stepnik, DVM {Small Animal Orthopedic Surgery}). He will be back to work by the beginning of next week.

Happy New Year

Well the new year is here and Chubby is on the road to recovery. Though he still has a long road ahead which will still be a rough and bumpy one he is doing very well. As of right now he has no surgeries planned for the immediate future. He will still need to have physical therapy and a lot of TLC though. We wish you a happy and prosperous new year and we will keep you up to date on anything new in his on going care.

2/11/08 Well it's been over 6 months now since the accident and Chubby is heading towards being a year old and life is pretty good for the happy go-lucky Labrador. There are no surgeries in his near future, though there will be some when he is an adult, he spends Tuesday through Saturday running amok at the office. He must be going through his rebellious teenage years plaguing the office cats, begging the receptionists continuously for cookies and love, tripping the hurrying techs and vacuuming the floor for any possible crumb that is eatable or even questionably eatable, which lint is included in the eatable category as well as paper. Though his true nature comes out in the way he loves everyone and loves life, we should truly take this as an example for ourselves, no matter what life through at us, wag our tails and ask for a cookie!

Updates will be posted as they occur though not many big changes our in store for Chubby as he continues to grow, and grow he does well! But anything new will be posted or if you would like to ask any questions or to ask about his general well being please feel free to email and at any time. Webmaster: Saphirapaws@aol.com

Back In The Daisy Again......

Chubby had yet another surgery, his knee was worked on this time. He went for just a couple of days to Sacramento to have his work done. He is healing up nicely and already creating mischief in the office once again.

Daisy Days Are Done...... Well at least for now......

Chubby is healing up well from his latest surgery and only needs a bit of physical therapy and TLC. We're sure he is glad to be out of that darn daisy collar, though he did get better reception it did interfere with his style. He has since also started puppy training classes so he can become a proper and polite gentleman of society.