Monday, December 7, 2009

The Story of Bohdi



Hello All helpful Hank here

with a special story about a dog named Bohdi.



Recently I received an e-mail from one my friend Actor Thom Bierdz.
You may know him as the Actor who plays Phillip Chancellor III on the
Young and The Restless. He is a gifted actor, painter and speaker. He shared the
story of his dog Bohdi. With his permission I have reprinted it here.


This is Thom and I have a personal
holiday story to share.



My ex, Doug, and I have two dogs that we believe are our
sons. Bodhi, the shepherd/beagle is now 14 (we think) and Deen, the
Chihuahua, is 10. The only reason we figured out their ages is I remember that I
got Deen for Doug on a Valentine's Day in Chinatown (little dog was being sold
out of a box for $200) and Doug wanted to name him Godzilla. This was 10 years
ago when Godzilla was a huge movie in theaters. That same year we came across 5
gay guys walking their Chihuahua named Godzilla so I am glad I talked sense into
Doug and we named him Deen instead.

Bodhi was 4 when we brought Deen home, and, aside from a
rough first week, Bodhi has been the sweetest big brother a little needy dog
could ask for. Doug and I were together 6 years (he says 8) , and when
I moved out, I got a place nearby so I could visit my "boys" everyday. They
live with Doug because I have asthma issues with pets, and also, Doug
really needed them there after our break-up. And I learned what a divorced
father feels like who sees his kid’s everyday. It has worked out
great. Doug is a
great father to our dogs, and I am there at least once a day. Sometimes I take
the boys to my place, where they stay on my patio for hours as I paint,
and when Doug goes out of town, they stay with me in my second bedroom. I
just keep them out of my bedroom so my lungs are not challenged.


We had no idea Bodhi was 14 (15?) and didn't think much of
his extreme thirst for the past year. Then he started losing weight. Eventually
the vet said he has Cushing's disease, common for older dogs. He has an
over-active adrenaline gland and cannot keep weight on. His 70 pounds whittled
to 35. He is skin and bones. About two months ago he suffered a heat-stroke (neither
Doug nor I have air-conditioning and it was a very hot summer in L.A.)
so he was hospitalized for a weekend where he was freezing and being fed by
IV and they tried to raise his temperature by ice enemas. This may have
brought down his temperature but he was so scared after that, and he still didn't
put weight on. Last weekend he was doing so bad we again hospitalized him,
thinking he was going to die. I lay next to him a few days prior telling him it was okay if he
wanted to die, and then I tried to explain what death would be like for him,
not that I knew. But I think Bodhi understood what I was saying. He is the
smart dog, where Deen is not a smart dog at all (but cute). I was ready to let
Bodhi die by his own means if he wanted that, and I figured what does he has to
live for anyway? It must be boring to have the same day for 14 years, as dogs
do. Maybe he was ready to die. Maybe that's why dogs die - they just get so
bored. But Bodhi, even though the vet and strangers looked at him like he was
already dead because he was so skinny, and losing sight, continued to wag his
tail. He apparently was not suffering.


Bodhi went blind last week, and now has diabetes as well.
Diabetes and Cushing’s are treatable, but my first thought was why would Bodhi
want to live if he were blind? It would be a horrible existence.


Boy was I wrong. Bodhi is not sitting in a corner, afraid.
Not at all. He is wagging his tail, trying to follow sounds we make, sounds of
me tapping the glass coffee table so he can avoid bumping into it with his
face, sounds of Doug patting the couch so he can find that and climb atop it,
sounds of me splashing his water dish so he can find it, sounds of our new
guiding words, like "here's a step. Up. Up." Sometimes he walks with
his front legs kicked out like a horse on parade - it is his way to try
to feel what is ahead of him. He also bumps his bone-thin face and nose into
walls, doors, tables, you name it. Ouch. But he doesn't flinch.

Bodhi was never really affectionate. Now he loves to be petted
and coddled. It is like a whole new existence for him. I thought it would be
the end of his life and a tragic end at that. But he has a new life now
without pictures. He is as happy as he ever was. And I have developed a whole
new love for him, seeing what an inspiration he is, what a happy blind dog he is. My
love for him has been the same love for 14 years, and now it is a new love for
him. I am so proud of him. I lay in bed thinking about how much strength
(physically and emotional) it takes to live his day, and I am filled with pride.


Thom Bierdz

I hope you enjoyed the story of Bohdi, I received an e-mail
up-date from Thom and Bohdi is still hanging in there and still happy.

HH


Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Helpful Hank Has Moved

Helpful Hank Has Moved to read Helpful Hanks newest blog
world AIDS Day Mini Blog as well as other post click Here