Sonny

 (1/30/00) - On a sad note, we had to say goodby to Sonny today. Information about Sonny was never posted as we got him on Friday and when I went out this morning, I found him dead in his pen. Sonny was a 5 yr. old Sorrell QH trained in Western Pleasure. Last year he got the particularly vicious strain of strangles that was going around. He underwent a month of antibiotic treatment and then was placed with a mare in a large pen in the back of his owners property. Recently, when his owner was moving horses around, Sonny got excited and blood started coming from his nose. His owner decided to send him to a feedlot. I stepped in and offered to buy him. I bought Sonny and had him taken to our vet’s office yesterday (1/28/00) for an endoscopic examination and chest x-rays. The endoscope indicated damage to his throat. Also, blood could not be drawn from the left side of his neck. The vet took many x-rays of his chest/lungs and found a mass the size of a volleyball sitting between Sonny’s lungs. Probably an encapsulated abcess. It was decided to put Sonny on 3 tablespoons of Tetracycaline for awhile and then we would have more x-rays done.

Apparently, the stress of the trailering to the vet, the exam and moving him to his new home was too much for Sonny’s system and he passed away sometime in the early hours of morning. At least he never made it to a feedlot! The vet told me that this was the worst case of strangles he had ever seen and was amazed that Sonny was still standing. He will be examining Sonny’s remains to find out more about Sonny’s condition.

I was devastated by Sonny’s death, but I know that he has crossed the Rainbow Bridge to be with his friends Socket, Bailey, Ace and all the other horses who have gone before him. We knew him briefly and loved him with all our hearts.