# Support K9 Bushido



## Daniela Bede (Dec 5, 2009)

This is a highly dedicated and talented handler and K9 team from Boston, MA. Please consider supporting Bushido's handler to ensure his partner's long term health. This is a young dog with a good prognosis for excellent quality of life after surgery (as an active companion).

https://fundly.com/k-9-bushidonation-team-restoration?ft_src=fbshare


----------



## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

Daniela

hadn't heard anything about this story ... but that's not saying much 

anyway, what is your connection to this project ?
i went to the donation site, and if it's legit, it seems like a great cause to support.

but after reading the story of how popular this dog is, i'm a little surprised that there are only 35 donations to date and not much money has been raised

regardless, 
if :
1. the handler will join WDF directly and post that he is confident a qualified (diplomate?) vet can do this with a high degree of confidence and confirm he will keep the dog
2. the handler will post some pics and vids of the K9
3. and the donations reach within a 1000 dollars of the requested amount

I will donate 1K to close the deal to ensure the surgery can be done


----------



## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

some additional clarification on my post :

I consider myself a basic nice guy but i'm not the type who drops money in somebody's hand because they are wearing a homeless sign. And i'm a big believer in the "trust but verify" school of thought. I only pledged donations to the Combined Federal Campaign while I was in the Navy because basically I had to 

If this handler is trying hard to give his K9 a decent, well earned retirement life, i'm all for it. But if 5K will only buy it a couple more years of trying to limp along at life, i'm not at all for that. If the surgery is high risk, I would probably only consider that kind of expense if it was my own dog. Americans are well known for the generosity, and i'm proud to be one, so I think it is not asking too much for the handler to step up and introduce himself to the WDF if he wants help from the members here, whether they are Americans or not

as a side note, I'm not a fan of dogs with twitter accounts .... it's not my thing at all


----------



## Peta Het (Feb 13, 2011)

Rick, 
This is very much on the level. I will pass your offer/request on to Bushido's owner. 
I can even post some pics of the dog if that helps but I'll let Cornell do that.


----------



## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

just saw this but already sent a response to your PM Peta. 
I have no problems with you posting it here online


----------



## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

some of the things that crossed my mind when reading this story that would be of interest to me if the handler could share with it with us if he joins the forum :

- i read the ref to the twitter account, read that some celebrities knew about the dog, and a facebook page. this tells me it was fairly well known, so why only 40 donations, and if the donation web site isn't accurately reflecting the amounts donated, why use it ? or is there more than one fund being collected ?
- how much money have his fellow officers raised to help his K9 ?
- how about the club members he trains with ?
- currently, how much total money does the handler have ?
- what exactly is the condition that has been described and how exactly does it affect the dog ?
- is this procedure time sensitive ?
- is the condition hereditary or a result of an injury ?
- how definitive is the diagnosis ?
- has it been confirmed by more than one vet ?
- if it's not a result of an injury, how common is it ?
- who was the breeder and specifically what kind of health testing was done prior to purchase by the PD ?
- what bloodlines does it come from ?
- why does it respond to Japanese commands ?
- sport training background ? PSA/IPO ???
- was the dog single purpose or dual ? (i have read the dog has made some finds and recovered some weapons)
- if patrol certified, did the dog have any street bites/apprehensions ?
- was the dog kept at home when off duty or will it have to make that adjustment now that it is retired ?


----------



## Daniela Bede (Dec 5, 2009)

Hi Rick,
Sorry for the late response, had not been back on the Forum until now. Bushido has a partial compression of the spinal cord of the neck (diagnosed by MRI) which is leading to neurological signs that are worse after exercise. The spinal compression will need to be removed surgically in order to prevent development of atrophy or degeneration of the spine due to continued pressure. At this time it is hard to say whether this damage occurred merely from trauma (especially related to impact during apprehension work) or whether the dog was predisposed due to an instability (this condition is not uncommon in German Shepherds). If the surgery is uncomplicated, the prognosis should be very good long-term, although Bushido would never return to protection work (too much risk of re-injury). To answer your question, I am actually a board-certified veterinarian myself (internal medicine, not neurology though) but the surgery will be performed by one of our board-certified neurologists, once sufficient funds are raised. To be honest, I am a little surprised myself that raising the funds is taking a little longer than expected, since this dog is rather popular and quite well known in our area. 
<O</O
Bushido was a dual purpose K-9 and has retired to the care of his handler. I got involved in his care because I have known Bushido’s handler for a couple of years, as we work with the same trainer, although I am merely a sport competitor. Plus I’m a veterinarian so it was natural for Cornell to ask for a second opinion on the MRI results. I’ll talk to Cornell to see if he can join the forum. He is also looking into applying to a foundation that’s dedicated to raising funds for the medical care of retired working K-9. BTW, Bushido responds to Japanese commands due to his handler’s background; he’s been handler-trained way beyond the routine requirements, because his handler is highly dedicated, puts in a lot of extra time and sees the value in his results.
<O</O
Best,<O</O
Daniela<O</O


----------



## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

Tx Daniela
glad i looked at the posts b4 hauling ass 
and fwiw, i always thought this was a legit cause

appreciate the insight on the background, but my offer is what it is

i want the handler to join the forum and be willing to talk about his K9, and that is easy to do and should be a pleasure for him to share his thoughts 
- he could also provide some training advice for others and that is one of the reasons this forum is supposed to exist 
- plus it would be of more interest to me than threads about fish tanks ...sorry, just couldn't resist that jab 

regardless, i hope the dog gets what is needed one way or the other and gets the QOL it deserves


----------



## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Rick said:
_
"if :
1. the handler will join WDF directly and post that he is confident a qualified (diplomate?) vet can do this with a high degree of confidence and confirm he will keep the dog
2. the handler will post some pics and vids of the K9
3. and the donations reach within a 1000 dollars of the requested amount

I will donate 1K to close the deal to ensure the surgery can be done"_

Daniela, if the handler does join WDF, you or the handler might PM me so I can hustle the join-up process through.


----------



## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

I am a loss to say here why I should contribute.

I have spent hundreds of Swiss Francs over the years on my dogs but never regretted it. We have gladly forgone luxuries to ensure that our animals receive the correct Treatment when ill or injured.

A torsion operation which involved a lot of Swiss Francs but ensured that the dog (6yrs old) lived to be 13,5 and gained his IPO3 - just to say how successful it was.

An operation to discover whether a testicle could be dropped. It couldn't.

An operation to remove a tumour which was unsuccessful - the dog was not recovered from the anaesthetic.

I could go on and on.......

Maybe I am missing something here - someone please tell me, if so. I hope I am not offending anyone by misunderstanding the Situation.



When you buy or take over any animal, be it dog, cat (here there were many bills) you take on the responsibility of caring for them, nearly like a child but obviously not as dramatic by illness, etc.


----------



## Cornell Paterson (Apr 30, 2014)

Hello everyone, my name is Cornell, thank you for the. Invitation to this forum I am the current owner and handler of now retired Boston Police K-9 Bushido. I was given Bushido at 13 months and have no intentions on giving him up even though that was an option when I was given my new K-9 the day after Bushido completed his last assignment: the 2014 Boston Marathon. I look forward to answering any questions on Bushido or Police K-9, I'm also looking forward to gaining some knowledge, I have the greatest respect for civilian handlers they are some of the most dedicated K-9 people I've meet since becoming a handler, and have taught me so many things about training and reading a K-9. Mr Smith thank you for your generous offer, how can I be of assistance?





_Also posted at_ http://www.workingdogforum.com/vBulletin/f20/new-member-38065/#post575585


----------



## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

(this should probably be moved to the bio section)

Welcome aboard Cornell !
and i hope you don't feel like you were coerced into joining our forum //lol//

we have a wide range of experience here and my reason for asking you to join was to bring in someone who can contribute their experience and provide suggestions to those who ask for it and improve the overall quality of the membership.

re: "how can i be of assistance ?"
.....i've already provided a long list of Q's, that some of your friends have already commented on, but actually i intended them for you to fill in the blanks, so you could start there 

btw, we had a K9 LEO (Jim Nash?) who was an active contributor here awhile back. so don't think your expertise with PSD's won't be of value to non LEO members with working dog training issues

of course i'm interested to hear the latest update on how much you have in the pot now for Bushido. my donation will go straight to you and that can be handled in a PM

you might even get lucky and have some members toss a few bucks your way and give up a few pina coladas for a day or so 

like any forum, thick skin and a sense of humor never hurts and i would imagine you already have those prerequisites


----------



## Ang Cangiano (Mar 2, 2007)

Cornell, I follow the Boston K9 Unit Facebook page, is there a new one set up specifically for Bushido (I may have missed that post if there is), or do you have a personal one?

Ang


----------



## Cornell Paterson (Apr 30, 2014)

This is quite list. Let's take on the easy ones. To date, to my knowledge the online donations have collected $1,980. I was given $100. in cash in hand by a LE handler from our training group. I do recognize some of the online donation as coming. from handlers or their families, it's only been in effect since April 25th.

I have to say, I've. not been disappointed with the response, I was not sure what to expect, but I've been pleasantly pleased.

My dept. canines are assigned to live with their handlers so the only change for Bushido is he is now inside the house and he watches me drive off with the new k-9 and he's pissed. 

Bushido is / was a duel purpose patrol / narcotics, so his weapons indications / finds were from the human scent on any item recently discarded. He was deployed on a evidence recovery search. 

Most of the medical prognosis I believe was answered by Daniela who has alway been a great friend to the K9 community in our area. Her intuition did me give a second opinion to my department's Vet. diagnosis. 

Bushido came from a kennel in our region and has siblings from earlier, his and. later litters, working as police canines. His initial medical testing was blood work shoulder and hips. 

I've heard the department's bite ratio is about 2%, and national average is around 5%. Our canines are mostly used as a locating tool. Bushido has had two but they were unintentional and more tactically and situationally unavoidable. Bites are a regional thing in the US which is governed by departments protocol and attitude just my opinion. 

Bushido has pass the PDC in PSA

The Japanese commands and his name comes from my martial art background.


----------



## Cornell Paterson (Apr 30, 2014)

Thanks for following us on Facebook Ang. No there is no other Facebook page for Bushido, I'm using my personal FB "Shihan Paterson" to post then share to the unit's page. Please continue to share his story.


----------



## Cornell Paterson (Apr 30, 2014)

I've uploaded a few pic of Bushido, you can search them by his name as a keyword. If anyone is interested.


----------



## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

I think its a difference in approach or mentality maybe? I've never seen donation sites or things like gofundme in the netherlands or anywhere else in europe for that matter? I could be wrong tho, could be the donation sites are out there but its not something I would consider doing or ask for so I could be wrong in my views. 

In the last 2 weeks alone my FB page has been batterd by a steady barrage of gofundme requests and people asking me to share the links on my own page to show support to their cause... I don't share them tho since I do not endorse that kind of thing to begin with. Might make me a narrowminded and heartless bitch but it just doesn't feel right to me to ask for money online for whatever cause there is. Everybody is making gofundme pages left and right and I read the stories and I think to myself "When does your own responsibility kick in for owning a dog?" 

Sure, everyone falls on hard times sometimes and we all need a helping hand at times but to go out on the internet and ask for money is just to far fetched in my eyes. Now I will say, vets prices in the USA seem to be quite stupid from what I have read over the years. My old dog Kelcey had the exact same problem as Bushido has and she had all the MRI's and tests and poking and prodding that comes with it and a surgery included for under 2000 euro's.

What I don't understand is why doesn't the police pitch in to pay for the surgery? Are they really that heartless that since they feel the dogs health will cost money now they sadle up new owner of the dog with the bill? What would happen if the new owner declined taking Bushido? Would he be PTS? Why does the money have to be raised first? Is there no way to create a payment plan for the surgery so atleast the dog can get helped as he should be instead of waiting for donations from others? 

I see where you are coming from Gillian... I am probably the same way... i have spent close to 8000 euro in 4 months time on 3 dogs that decided to break down 5 years ago and it was tough but through making arangements with the vets I could have them helped and everything worked out in the end. I think what you feel is "Why not take responsibility for your own dog first before asking others to pay." and I share that feeling with you. My dog, my problem, my responsibility to create the solution and not sadle up others with it. 

I do not intentend any kind of disrespect with my post or to offend anyone! I want to state that clearly! I just have a different view.



Gillian Schuler said:


> I am a loss to say here why I should contribute.
> 
> I have spent hundreds of Swiss Francs over the years on my dogs but never regretted it. We have gladly forgone luxuries to ensure that our animals receive the correct Treatment when ill or injured.
> 
> ...


----------



## Peta Het (Feb 13, 2011)

Alice and Gillian,
I totally see where you are coming from and agree to a certain extent with your position. Having said that, I have donated to Bushido's restoration fund. Since he is a police K9 and has served the community I don't think it is right that the handler(s) should be burdoned with the costs of repairing the dog(s) in these events. Rightfully, the departments should have insurance that would cover vetrinary and rehabilitation costs associated with K9 injuries. But alas they do not. 

Cornell and Bushido have been great ambasadors to the police k9 teams in this area. Cornell is one of the most respected officers on the BPD both by other officers and the public. He often comes to our civilian training sessions and freely shares knowledge of all kinds. So with all that said, while I agree with your general positions, I was not at all taken back by the outreach for support and it was an easy decision for me to donate to his cause.


----------



## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

This post is now at http://www.workingdogforum.com/vBulletin/f9/two-working-dogs-house-38089/#post576033


----------

