Thorin Marcus McGrath

He found me - 11/27/2018

He gained his wings - 9/2/21

 

Thorin’s story starts on a bitterly cold day in late November 2018.  I was finishing up a client walk and was sitting in my car preparing to send the update.  I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye and see this older, very skinny, pittie stopping to pee on my client’s tree. 

 

I looked around to see if he was with someone.  There was nobody around.  I got out of my car and he immediately walked over to me.  I noticed that not only was he not fixed, but he was also weak in his hind end.  He happily took some treats from me as I continued to look around for his people.  Nobody showed up. 

 

I was able to help him into the back of my car and he immediately climbed to the front seat, curled up, and rested.  He knew he was safe and warm. I fell in love immediately!  I took him to Brandywine Hundred Vet to be scanned for a microchip.  There was no chip.  He had no chip, was very skinny, was not fixed, and had a bad back.

 

When we got home, I posted his picture and the location of where he found me on our business Facebook page.  If you’ve ever seen a ‘lost dog’ post on Facebook, usually within 24 hours, somebody knows somebody that the dog belongs to (that’s the beauty of social media).  Over 7,000 people saw my post yet nobody knew him, nobody claimed him (thank goodness).  We believed that he was dumped.

 

By the end of January 2019, because of IVDD, he lost the use of his hind legs.  We did acupuncture three times a week at Brandywine Hundred Vet and he continued to get stronger.  In the 2.5 months after he lost the ability to walk, we helped him with a Help Em Harness and a wheelchair.  In early April he started walking on his own again!  We continued acupuncture with Dr. Chen for another 10 months. 

 

I was his human. He chose me and let everyone know it too. He would just watch me with those big, amber eyes and would follow me wherever I went. When I left the house, he'd go upstairs and patiently wait on my bed until my return. 

 

Thorin wasn't feeling well on 8/29 and 8/30. I rushed him to the emergency vet on 8/31 (my birthday) and, after several tests, they found an intestinal blockage. He battled dehydration, low blood pressure, low blood sugar, and sepsis even before the surgery. They stabilized him and he made it through the surgery and seemed to be doing well on 9/1. On 9/2, I got the call that he had developed aspiration pneumonia and his oxygen levels weren't good and that we should get to Blue Pearl as soon as we could.  We were able to be with him and speak with his doctor before we had to make the decision and we were with him as he passed.

 

He and I have a bond that is not broken by his death. 

 

Thorin spent three days in the ICU at Blue Pearl.  Luckily, we could pay for that care.  But what if we couldn't?  What if we couldn’t even pay for the X-ray that was needed to determine that he had a blockage?  We would have had to decide to euthanize him based solely on finances, without ever giving him a chance to fight. 

 

Thorin changed my life on that November day in 2018 and he will continue to change the lives of others through Thorin’s Promise.