Giove
A maremmano, was born around 1986 and
arrived at the Shelter in October of 2009 in terrible shape.
He was malnourished and his feet and teeth were in a
deplorable state but he was mainly suffering due to a
serious and completely untreated penile infection. This
total neglect and lack of medical care had also resulted in
some behavioral problems.
At the Shelter his treatment began immediately
and a month after arriving he was taken to a clinic in
Volpago del Montello where 80% of his penis was amputated
(about 2 kilos of scare tissue). Unfortunately this didn't
solve his problems. In 2010 he began experiencing severe
urinary incontinence and abdominal swelling and at the end
of the year he was taken back to the clinic where he had
surgery to remove a stone in his bladder. This was
followed up with antibiotic therapy but even this didn't
serve to resolve all of Giove's problems. Pus continually
formed in his bladder as well as renal blood clots and mud
sediment and for all of 2011 Shelter volunteers tended to
Giove's medical needs performing bladder washes,
administering antibiotics and tending to his rear legs.
His incontinence had resulted in dripping which had
damaged the skin on his rear legs which had to be
thoroughly cleaned and spread with Vaseline to avoid
further skin corrosion. In addition, Giove was diagnosed
with a bacterial infection. His condition was termed
"bladder paralysis" which can occur in older horses and
usually results in their being euthanized. But Giove was a
horse with great spirit and so the Shelter continued to
treat him cleaning his bladder, administering antibiotics
and as a last resort with a very costly cycle of
fitoterapia, which consists of treatment with medicinal
plants.
At long last after all of these treatments Giove
began feeling better and spent a few happy years at the
Shelter with his paddock mate, Gastone.
Unfortunately the years of total neglect before
his arrival at the Shelter had taken their toll and in
2012 he was stricken by numerous bouts of cystitis and it
was finally due to a cystitis deemed incurable that at the
end of 2012 the Shelter decided that euthanasia was the
only remaining option.
He was a strong and proud horse, a true
maremmano, truly unfortunate and mad at the humans that
had caused him so much suffering. Nonetheless his
affection for the Shelter volunteers who cared for him was
palpable and his death left a void in everyone's heart but
at least after so much suffering Giove passed away
peacefully surrounded by all his friends.
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Giove December 2009
Giove February 2009
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