Mariana Ramos
It was an unexpected solution to a terrible problem. Luckily for Bishop, a 7-year-old shepherd mix, his unusual story has a happy ending.
Videos by Rare
All thanks to Racine’s Woof Gang Rescue, which opened in 2012 and finds new homes for between 1,200-1,400 dogs a year, they saved Bishop’s life in rather unheard of manner. Bishop was on the edge of being euthanized, but an odd surgery proved to be the solution to saving his life. He was sent in to the specialist to remove his sex organs and rerouting his urethra. The only major difference is he now urinates like a female dog.
RELATED: ‘No-kill’ animal shelter admits to euthanizing at least 7 healthy dogs
ABC 7 Chicago reports that the surgery cost $7,000. But Jodie Hoffmann-Ruffalo, Bishop, executive director of Woof Gang Rescue, wasn’t going to let that happen without a fight.
Bishop ended up at Chicago Animal Care and Control last week after being surrendered by his family of seven years. He was in medical distress because of bladder stones, and seemed to be in much pain. The family couldn’t afford the care he needed so Animal Care and Control called Jodie.
Jodie just learned about the dog Monday when she began receiving calls from people asking her to help. Time was short; Bishop was set to be euthanized at 7 p.m.
At about 5:30 p.m. that day, Jodie finally gave in and agreed to take Bishop.
“We take dogs nobody wants,” Hoffmann-Ruffalo said.
Bishop was transported to one of Woof Gang’s regular veterinarians in Des Plaines, Ill. Around 9:00 P.M. Monday evening, the veterinarian called Jodie to tell her he’d had no luck dislodging the bladder stones that were stuck near the dog’s penis bone.
Jodie, the doctor and another volunteer went on a mission to find a veterinary hospital with a specific laser that would break up the stones. They found one, but it was in Madison, and they didn’t believe Bishop would survive the trip. Time was running out, but the vet was kind enough to suggest to Jodie her two options: give up completely but humanely euthanize Bishop; or try an unusual operation.
Jodie, desperate to save Bishop, went with the second option. The unsual operation included neutering the dog and quite literally removing his penis, and then a vet would have to reroute his normal flow of urine. Jodie went for it and the surgery was a success, stripping Bishop of his manhood drew up some questions.
“Technically, he’s not a ‘he’ or a ‘she’,” Jodie clarified on Wednesday.
After receiving negative comments for having spent $7,000 on such an old dog, Jodie challenges the negative commenters to volunteer at the rescue and look at the situation from her perspective. “Then they can determine how much money a dog’s life is worth,” she said.
[protected-iframe id=”fe1c769bc0ea423e42e9ca035f13e5ba-46934866-51331093″ info=”http://abc7chicago.com/video/embed/?pid=2652108″ width=”476″ height=”267″ frameborder=”0″]
“I’ve heard a lot of criticism,” she said. “To me, his life is worth it.”
Bishop, now called Bishy is still in recovery mode, but he isn’t quite done, there is another surgery scheduled for Friday to remove more bladder stones. Having taking care of all the necessary after care procedures, Jodie found Bishy a foster family. They are set to take Bishy to his/her new home, in after the dog is released from the vet’s office in about a week. Later on, they can decide if they want to adopt him.
Jodie gives all the props to the vet who performed the surgery for staying after hours to save the dog’s life.
“You don’t (often) find vets that care like this,” she said.
Even though he might have a more interesting story than other pooches, Hoffmann-Ruffalo said she doesn’t feel differently about this dog than any other that she’s helped.
“We save dogs nobody else will take all the time,” she said.
RELATED: Guy abandons dog for 30 minutes and flips out when owners confront him
Sarah Lauch, a friend of the rescue, set up a You Caring web page where people can donate to help Bishy. The goal is $5,000. People who want to help can donate at https://www.youcaring.com/bishopandwoofgangrescue-1010704.
