💔 Timber’s Toughest Battle Yet 💔
 

Timber had two really good days, and I was so excited to finally share a positive update… but once again, the bottom fell out for what feels like the thousandth time.

The second culture from his most recent procedure came back today, and it showed that the bacteria is now resistant to the new antibiotic. Timber’s Specialist has already reached out to the pathologist at CSU to discuss next steps and any possible options.

Right now, the only antibiotic the bacteria isn’t resistant to is Amikacin — a powerful drug that can cause kidney damage. Timber has already had some kidney issues, and he was treated with Amikacin when we first rescued him to fight the severe infections he had then. His body may no longer tolerate it safely, but at this point, it’s the only shot we have left.

In all the years of Noah’s Arks Rescue, I’ve only had one other dog with a multi-drug resistant bacterial infection that we couldn’t overcome. For several days, Timber’s drain fluid had finally been decreasing and his bacteria count improving — but today, the fluid became cloudy again, and the culture showed the bacteria multiplying.

After long discussions, the pathologist and Timber’s medical team agree that our only option is to move forward with Amikacin and do everything possible to support his kidneys and organs. Doing nothing simply isn’t an option — it would be a death sentence. If Timber’s body could fight this on its own, it would have already. So, we’ll take the risk and give him every chance we can.

Timber needs all the love and prayers you can send his way. 💚 He has no idea how sick he is — still wagging his tail, giving kisses, and smiling at everyone. He remains in ICU with round-the-clock care, and it breaks my heart to think that after everything he’s survived, we could lose him simply because we’ve run out of options.
 

💔 It’s heartbreaking in a million different ways. 💔