Roger's Healing From the Bowels of Despair with Chia Seeds and Love

As you may remember, back in February, Roger became the newest member of our home. You can read about that adventure here:

When we brought Roger home from the shelter, he was very skittish, and scared of loud noises, or quick movements.

We found out that he knew how to sit, and that was about the extent of his tricks - or so we thought.

Since he is a border collie/blue heeler mix, he is very high energy.  Yet, he will listen when you tell him to sit or lie down, and calm down.

One of the first things that we noticed right away about Roger was his eagerness to eat.  It seemed that he didn't "eat" his food but rather just swallowed it.  In about 30 seconds, he would consume his entire bowl of food.

Then we also began to notice that he had "gassy" issues.  When he would get excited or just be lying in the room, the air would suddenly be filled with a very sick, yucky smell.  We noticed that his stool was more the consistency of a cow patty than typical dog poo.

I called the shelter where we got Roger to see if they could offer us any insight into this for us.  We were told that poor Roger had been in that shelter since September, and that they had rescued him from another shelter in a large city nearby, and they did not know how long he had been in that shelter. They also said they had dewormed Roger several times, approximately once a month since he had been at their shelter, with no improvement in his diarrhea.

It was quite obvious to me that poor Roger probably had something going on that needed to be checked by a vet.

So I made an appointment for Roger at the vet.  The night before the vet visit, poor Roger had a terrible night, and I had a terrible morning.  When I went in to let  him out (he sleeps downstairs in my son's room), as I opened the door, the first thing that met my nose was a sick smell, and the next thing that greeted me was green poo scattered over the entire room.  It was awful, awful, awful! It was obvious he had gotten to the door, and perhaps tried to get out, but since my son is a sound sleeper, he didn't wake, and then it was scattered over the rest of the room.

It was a terrible mess to clean up.  It still turns my stomach to think of it!  Thankfully the rugs were hauled upstairs by my son to a fence outside.  I shampooed them outside and let them air dry in the sun for a few days.

But, the problem still remained... what was wrong with Roger?  We went to the vet later that afternoon, and I paid to have extensive tests run on his stool.  The vet called me later to say they could find absolutely nothing in his stool to indicate any bacterial strain, or worms or anything that would give us a clue as to what was causing Roger to have the loose stools.

So, the vet advised me that perhaps we should try adding fiber to his diet.  He suggested Metamucil.  I asked him if chia seeds would be okay to use.  The vet was not familiar with chia seeds, but thought it would be okay to try. He also said it would be good to put Roger on some probiotic as well.

So I started Roger on a regimen with about 1 tablespoon of chia seeds, and 1 probiotic capsule in his diet every day.

We also decided to not put the rug back in the room in case of any more "accidents".  And we found a kennel that we have had for years and never used, and made a comfy special bed inside for Roger, and locked him in the kennel that night.  We were hoping to keep any more accidents "contained".

Oh Hallelujah!  In the morning, when I opened the door cautiously, and let my nose catch a whiff, all I caught was a distinct "boy" smell (smile) ... but thank GOD... no sick yucky smell that signaled a cleanup!

Poor sweet Roger! We really think being in a shelter was just too much for his sensitive sweet nature, and it had been causing him bowel problems.  The next few days, I kept a close eye on what he ate, and his stool - yes - a gross job!  However, I began to notice a distinct difference in his stool with the addition of chia seeds. After a day or so, they began to firm up, and there were no more cow patties, and no more stinky smells in the room, and no more accidents!  OH!  What relief!

We love this guy with all our hearts, and he has been such a sweet blessing to our home, and I am thankful to the moon and back, that chia seeds, along with comfy contained quarters at night, and lots of love during the day, have solved this sweet boy's problems.

I wish I could have rescued him from the shelter sooner, but I never even would have visited had it not been for stray dog Missy's arrival on our doorstep.  So, I do believe, all things work for good!

I cannot say how happy I am to report that chia seeds are a pretty amazing source to add to your diet.  I have been drinking chia seeds in my smoothie every morning now for about six months.  I notice when I miss a morning smoothie without the chia seeds, to put this politely - that my bowels miss them!  If you want to enjoy extra fiber in your diet, I highly suggest adding a tbsp or so of chia seeds to your diet. Roger is our shining example of just how marvelous they are.  Want to know more about chia seeds?
Go here, and see just how wonderful they are.

Now Roger has all the energy that the world can hardly contain since he feels better, and we  have discovered that he does know one other trick - he can jump over 6 feet high!  Since our son discovered Roger's leaping and bouncing ability, they have a great time playing together.  Roger seems to have boundless, endless energy for jumping, bouncing, and shaking his new toy...

... this toy - while it is not  what I would call special -  is a toy he thinks is special!  One day we caught him dragging this old rubber glove around and throwing it up in the air, and chasing it.  He doesn't chew it, but just drags it around to wherever he is at, and plays with it.   It seems comforting to him in a strange way.  LOL!

He certainly feels so much better now, and has settled comfortably into the routine our family has, and now I can't imagine life without him!  I give thanks to the Lord for bringing him to us, and for helping us to figure out how to help him feel better.

Oh - remember I was going to change his name?  Well.... he just doesn't respond to any other name we've given him!  We've tried several, and he just ignores us.  But when we say Roger, he stops in his tracks and listens.  So... at this point, renaming him doesn't seem to be working.  But if I could rename him, I think I would call him Bouncer, because of the funny way he has of bouncing on all four paws when he gets excited.

Roger and Annie are best buds now...

Roger loves Mr. Simba, and for that we are very thankful.  Mr. Simba was traumatized after Missy was here, and was scared to interact with other dogs for quite a while.  He has now grown quite fond of Roger.

The two of them sharing a special moment...

If only we could understand the language of cats and dogs...

Isn't that face cute enough to melt chocolate!

So that is our story about how Roger came to us in some distress, but with our love for him, and the addition of some chia seeds in his diet, things have really turned around for the better in his life.  We are blessed to have him part of our home, and so very thankful for his healing!

We love you, Roger (aka Bouncer)!