Thank you all so much for your answers to my questions and your support.  You've been invaluable in getting me through the panic moments.  I am very sad to say that Max lost his battle wednesday afternoon.    That morning he had been acting stronger, happier and more energetic than he's been through this whole process.  There was no more drainage coming out of the shunts but more of the skin had died off.  The vet had been holding off on going in to remove it but since he seemed to be improving so much he felt it was safe to go ahead and do another quick procedure to remove the dead stuff and stitch viable stuff together.  They were stitching him closed when his heart stopped.  They couldn't get it started again.  The vet was choked up when he called to tell me.  We all fought so hard for him but I guess it was just time for him to go.  He fell asleep for the surgery with people loving and petting him, and he passed away peacefully in his sleep.  I guess I really can't ask for more than that.  This is the first foster I've lost.  He and my boxer were instant friends, I'd had day dreams of foster failure with this one!  It's amazing how quickly we can become attached to the furry little angels in our lives.  Max was such a sweet soul. He and my boxer were instant friends, I'd had day dreams of foster failure with this one! 

Run free beautiful boy

Thank you all for your kind words!!!

grpescp said:

Oh, I am so sorry to hear about Maximus!

He was a brave boy, and was lucky to have such a caring, attentive advocate for him.

I really admire that you foster – I can't imagine what it must feel like to get attached, have to go through the loss when they get adopted, and then do it all over again (and again and again…)

Thank you, it definitely has it's hard times, good bye is always tough, but I enjoy it.  It's not the same sort of loss as when they pass away, cuz I can forever imagine all my foster babies happy and healthy in their new homes, and I go into it knowing it's temporary.  I still get crazy attached tho.  We all have to do what we can, and this is just something that I'm blessed to bhave the room and the time to be able to do it.  Sometimes I can't, I am limited to dogs that get along with cats and that my dog will tolerate.  Thankfully Brutus is mellowing these days.  He wouldn't have normally tolerated an adult male dog, but he seemed to adore Max and has done better with the past few dogs we've had.  Not sure if all my work and training is finally sinking in to his thick skull or if it's just old age chilling him out!  lol This ordeal with Maximus really has been my only experience fostering that I could call "bad" and really it's just sad not bad.  I'm not sorry we at least tried for him.  He deserved it.  Some people I know don't get it, "don't you wish you had just put him down right away?"  While I do wish he hadn't gone through the pain, I wouldn't change a thing, other than of course still wishing he could have made it.  I can look back and say we did everything we could to give him a chance at a good life.  I can't save every abandoned, neglected or abused animal out there but I need to know I did everything I could for the few that I can help.  I can't afford to adopt any new babies of my own.  Since the shelter covers most of the costs with the fosters it's like getting to enjoy another animal in the house and do my part to save them, without having to worry about whether we can buy dog food this month or what we'll do if it gets sick.  hehe  we have enough of those worries as it is!  (3 cats, a dog and a toddler)  I had a litter of orphaned American Staffordshire Terriers this summer!  Oh my goodness that was fun!  lol  I was both sad and glad when they finally all found homes.  5 puppies in the house started to get overwhelming once they got past about 7 weeks old.  Boy they get big quick.  lol  At 9 weeks another foster family took a couple of them for me and they all went to their adoptive homes at 13 weeks.  I got them at 3 weeks old.  Long tragic story about how they got orphaned, but they all found good homes.  Really, it's just fun in the end, I'm a stay at home mom and as busy as my son keeps me, it's nice to have more purpose in life.  That probably sounds lame, my son is incredible and he is my world, but ya get bored spending the day cooking and cleaning and hanging out with someone who can't even talk yet.  lol  He loves going up to the shelter with me a few days a week for our volunteer time and meetings and stuff.