Arizona

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Update 05/12/08:

Ages for MAESSR’s foster dogs are listed as best they are known. Many are estimates based upon the veterinary exams that all dogs receive. Others are known to the very date of birth and such is the case with Arizona. On May 8 Arizona turned 10 years old and his family celebrated with him, complete with a cake!

With such attentive care Arizona continues to improve in his foster home. It turns out he had a bladder infection which likely led to the accidents he had in the house. He is now finishing antibiotics for that and is fine all day while his foster family is at work. He still has a few more weeks to go on the antibiotics for treatment of Lyme disease. And lastly, on health, his veterinarian ran additional blood tests and determined that Arizona is not hypothyroid and will not need hormone supplements – all good news!!

Arizona has some hearing loss, the only evidence that he really is a senior boy. This makes it challenging to work on training but with basic techniques, he is learning. He has learned to sit and wait and will come if his foster mom asks loudly enough. Coupling this with hand signals will make all go more easily with a little more practice. Arizona’s exuberance at seeing other dogs is notably less since his neutering. His foster mom is also working on a modified “watch me” to get him to focus less on other dogs and more on her and the offered treat. He is smart and like many springers he is anxious to please, so it is not difficult to shape his behavior.

Several small children as young as three years have met Arizona and he tolerated their attention with a happy, wagging tail. However, because he gets so excited, it will be best that his forever home have only older children. He is happy to retrieve a ball over and over and knows how to trade it for a treat – we said he was smart! Arizona has so much love to give and many, many kisses to share. Wouldn’t you love to be on the receiving end of such a generous heart?!

Original:

Arizona spent about two weeks between two animal shelters in New Jersey prior to coming into MAESSR’s care. When he arrived at his foster home, he needed a good bath and vetting. When Arizona was neutered, he had four teeth extracted, two of which were loose. The vet says most of his other teeth are worn down and there is metallic residue on them suggesting he was in a crate and was biting it. Crates are a definite no no for him. 

The vet also says he has periodontal disease and wants an additive in his water. His mouth problems have not affected his appetite which is great. His only other health issue is a borderline low thyroid hormone level. Unlike most hypothyroid dogs, Arizona is lean and very active, although his coat is dull and skin dry. The vet plans some additional blood tests to evaluate this. If placed on a thyroid supplement, this will be a very low cost, daily pill that is easy to give.

Arizona will be ten in early May but he doesn’t know it, and no one who meets him believes it. He bounces up in the air and is able to plant a kiss on his foster mom’s face while in mid leap. She is working on getting him to calm down and keep four on the floor when greeting visitors. Like many springers, every person and dog is a friend of Arizona’s and he is anxious to greet them with his full tail wagging and a big smile. He will bounce up on his hind legs and bark until he is introduced, especially to other dogs. A few sniffs is all it takes to stop the exuberance. However, because of this, his foster family feels he would do best in a family with older children.

Arizona has good house manners and has free run of the house all day while his family is away. He only puts his feet on the counter to check out what is going into his bowl but is easily corrected with “off.” The same is true for the occasional foray onto the sofa or bed. Arizona sleeps on his own bed beside his foster parents at night and is never crated. He had only one accident and this is likely a result of overexcitement and excessive drinking. He loves to ride in the car and go for walks. However, getting the leash ready starts him on his bouncy routine and his foster mom is teaching him to sit and be patient in order to get to go outside. In his excitement he often pulls at the beginning of the walk and is now using a Gentle Leader with success.

Soon, Arizona will be ready to celebrate his tenth birthday in his forever home. This happy, outgoing, exuberant and friendly “senior” boy would love to share his cake and party with you.