Two weeks have passed since Katie the Bulldog had life-threatening surgery in Overland Park, Kan.
The English Bulldog of Ronnie and Debbie Pack, of Edgerton, had a superficial liver shunt surgery on Tuesday, July 9.
“She is feeling amazing,” Debbie Pack said. “She acts like nothing happened to her.”
This was surgery No. 5 for the nine-month old pup. The family took in Katie’s mom and three sisters on a temporary basis that turned into a permanent situation.
Now, the Packs have 16 dogs, 15 English bulldogs and a French bulldog.
The Packs had plenty of challenges on their hands with the addition of the five. All of the puppies got sick at three months old with an infection, but Katie’s didn’t get better. At 4 months old, she started passing stones.
When the family learned Katie had the liver issue the options for help initially were slim. The surgeons that have performed such a surgery were states away: Tennessee, Minnesota or New York.
Katie the bulldog.
Debbie Pack said the distance was going to be impossible for Katie. They found hope locally with Dr. Heather Towle Millard at Blue Pearl Speciality and Emergency Pet Hospital in Overland Park, Kan.
Katie had undergone three eye surgeries and a fourth surgery repaired a hernia and spayed her during the same procedure.
“She’s been through the ringer before this,” Debbie Pack said.
The success of the surgery and the goal to reach her first birthday became a reality.
Prior to that, a bucket list for Katie was fulfilled. One of those was becoming an honorary deputy in Platte County. The sheriff’s office also provided an escort — from Lincoln Pruitt and David Leeper — out of town on July 8, as she headed to Kansas the day before her surgery.
She returned home on Friday, July 12.
Pack said the bucket list got attention from a national and international perspective. Most of the support was positive but some questioned why does a dog need a bucket list?
“It’s a life,” Pack said.
The bucket list included seeing the fountains in Kansas City, a ride in a police car, sitting on a motorcycle and taking a ride in a plane with pilot Doug Parks. Through those events, money was raised for the $8,000 surgery.
Now, Katie will help spread the message of liver issues and work with the American Liver Foundation Mid-America division.
“I had never heard of a shunt,” Debbie Pack said. “You don’t hear much about it. It is real and it happens to animals and people. I hope Katie can help children and adults by being there for them.”