Prince 4

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Update 09/19/11:

For a handsome senior boy such as Prince, sometimes no news truly is good news. He continues to be an easygoing guy in his foster home. His foster mom has done a terrific job of resolving the health issues that plagued Prince when he first arrived in MAESSR’s care. Now, he just needs regular maintenance ear cleaning, nail clipping, and grooming sessions to keep him looking and feeling his best. 

Prince remains ready, willing, and able to travel to his forever home. Wouldn’t you like to add this Prince to your family? No frog kissing required!

Update 08/11/11:

It’s official Prince has been a MAESSR boy for six months now and, oh, how his life has changed!! Most importantly, he is feeling so much better now!! He recently was a MAESSR ambassador at a national farm supply store in his area when it hosted its first pet adoption event. While there, Prince got all sorts of attention and allowed lots of people to pet and play with him. It was a good day and he hopes that he gets to do more of these outings. You see, Prince has yet to meet anyone that he doesn’t like!!

Prince’s health has improved dramatically while he has been in foster care. He has a pretty liver and white coat now and the thyroid supplement has helped him gain weight without going overboard. He does need to have his ears checked and wiped out every day and his toenails need weekly attention too, just to keep everything in good order. His kibble and treats are grain-free and he is doing very well with this adjustment. Other than this, all that he needs is a regular trip to the groomer and he is good to go. 

In his foster home, he now shares his life with eight other dogs of different breeds and sizes. There is another rescued foster dog of a different breed and he is helping to show her the ropes since she just arrived. Even though he is deaf, Prince can tell when his foster mom wants him to go somewhere and he follows her as if he has known her for his entire life. If she puts a leash on him, he just walks alongside her very gently and they get where they are going in due time. There is no rushing a gentle boy such as him. 

The last thing that Prince needs now is a forever home. He is a patient boy and gets along with everyone, human and canine. Cats and children don’t faze him either; he is just a happy dog. He is ready to share your life and sleep by your feet and would settle in with great ease. He would be perfect for people who are MAESSR ambassadors themselves and would enjoy having a companion at their side who so epitomizes some of the best of Springer rescue. If this sounds like you, please ask about meeting Prince today. The wait for senior adoptions is short; the payback can warm one’s heart for a lifetime!

Update 07/07/11:

Attention all!!!! Prince is about to celebrate six months as a MAESSR boy!!! Time really zips by when one’s health, happiness and overall well-being are improving so steadily!

The latest on this most fortunate foster – his mom continues to take good care of him and is giving his ears yet another antibiotic for treatment of recurrent infections. Those ears are not bad but do need daily attention. In addition, when he began to limp again, she put him on a great new supplement that helps take away the ouchies in his legs and hip. With his weight gain, his thyroid under control and good care, Prince is moving much more easily than he did in February. His foster mom recently found that he had a cracked upper tooth and now that has been taken care of too. 

At the end of June, Prince traveled with his foster parents to the last MAESSR picnic of the year and had a grand time. He loves riding in the car and the four hour trip there was no problem for him; actually, he slept through most of it. Once he got to South Park, he met lots of people and lots of other Springers too. It was a terrific day and his mom even let him have a little piece of the roast beef from her sandwich. She bought Prince some great organic treats at the traveling MAESSR Marketplace too. What a festive day!!

His foster mom just body-shaved Prince again and he looks so much better. Nearly all of the red staining and all the sunburned/stained hair that he had are gone and he has a beautiful new liver and white coat to show everyone. The latest discovery is that Prince has a few liver-colored freckles!!! His feathering has come in and even Prince can’t get over how much better he looks now! 

One can certainly see that Prince feels like a prince with his new and improved health. He looks like a happy boy and rolls over on his back in the grass, just because he can now! He’s a sweetheart who has responded wonderfully to good veterinary care and vigilant home care. His faith in people is restored as well. He’s ready for one good family to say Prince, we would like you to become a part of our family. That, and a continuing supply of those organic doggie treats, will make his senior days all they should be!!!

Update 05/24/11:

Prince is a lovely dog and so deserving of every continuing effort his family is putting into his care. His meds, weight, food, and supplements are being watched closely and tweaked carefully to accomplish the best health for him. His medicated baths are part of weekly routine for now and he is even getting vinegar spritzes! 

This easy-going senior has come amazingly far in foster care. He’s now happy and enjoying the life of a prince. Indoor living, vital veterinary care, and human companionship are much to his liking. If you have space in your castle and a love in your heart for senior springers, you and Prince could be a royal match!!

Update 05/10/11:

Prince is indeed the perfect name for this very gentle and sweet boy. Both his foster mom and vet have really enjoyed seeing his transformation over the last 3 months. During his last visit, the vet remarked that Prince no longer looks like a rescued dog, but rather like a senior pet. The vet kept calling for Prince to follow him to be x-rayed and his foster mom had to giggle, reminding the vet that he could call Prince forever and he would never hear him. The vet then walked over to Prince and patted him tenderly on the top of the head to get his attention. Prince understood this perfectly and followed him to the x-ray machine with his tail wagging. 

Most of the health issues that Prince arrived with have been resolved; the remainder have been fully assessed and are not things that will require treatment. The pyroderma is nearly resolved. His skin has responded to regular medicated baths and is now pink and healthy, instead of crusty brown. There is new shiny and soft liver-colored hair coming in all over his back and sides and the hope is that he will begin to grow white tummy hair soon. He is even beginning to show feathering on his front legs. Along with an improving coat, his ears are clear too. With gentlemanly manners, he tolerates his baths and grooming table sessions, toe nail trimmings and ear cleanings. When his foster mom used a small grinding tool to tidy his rear toe nails, he took it right in stride.

X-rays helped to diagnosis a moderate chronic bronchitis for Prince. He will probably always have a persistent cough but will not require treatment unless there is a change over time. Further examination also found he has an old cruciate ligament tear on his left side and some nerve damage that explains why he carries his left leg off the ground when trotting. On the flip side, however, he uses that leg and foot when ambulating at a walk and can go up and down stairs without difficulty – yahooooo for Prince!!

Currently Prince stands at 50 pounds, up from 39 in February, and eats well. You can’t see his ribs anymore and that is a good thing. His food intake is being watched closely and adjusted as his thyroid meds begin to work. He doesn’t need to gain any more weight and should stabilize at about 47 pounds – just enough to keep him feeling good but not enough to burden him with carrying anything extra.

With greatly improved health has come the chance to travel with his family. Recently Prince took in a huge multi-day dog show in central Pennsylvania. He got to stay in a hotel and REALLY loved trying out a human bed for some snoozing. He also met several children and, like nail trimming, he was unfazed by them too. At home he most enjoys attention from his foster mom and meal time. He is reliable in the house while she is gone all day to work and makes her life easy when she is home by using the doggie door to let himself out. 

Prince really manages quite well with a little help and a lot of love from those around him. He is a happy boy now and his very short stump of a tail wags enthusiastically much of the time when he is awake and interacting with his family. He has been a joy to rescue and will bring that joy and his own style of princely happiness to one lucky adopting family!!

Update 04/15/11:

Prince is finding that the good life agrees with him! When you’re well fed, feeling better, and have a loving home, your whole outlook can change!

Prince has gained nine pounds since his rescue, and is now at a healthy weight for him. He is still working on clearing up his pyoderma, which is a common bacterial skin infection in dogs. With weekly medicated baths, as well as quality food supplements, Prince’s skin and coat are responding nicely. Currently he is growing hair on his body everywhere except on his naked belly. His vet thinks that it might take up to six months for the belly hair to start showing new growth, but he’ s sporting new white hair on his legs, and the new hair on his back is the color of a Hershey chocolate bar. His coat needs a little extra attention right now, but fortunately Prince loves being groomed! 

The separation anxiety that Prince displayed is now virtually non-existent. He receives medication twice daily and has settled nicely into the routine with his foster family’s pack and home. He now has a happy bark as his foster mom fills everyone’s bowls for meals, and his stub of a tail wags very enthusiastically when it is breakfast or dinner time. Prince leaves no kibble behind!

Prince continues to be a low energy, low demand senior Springer. Because he has become such an easy-going guy, he is about to travel to the Welsh Springer Spaniel National Specialty dog show (as a visitor) with his foster mom. He rides well in the car, gets along with other dogs, and loves attention, so this should be a fun trip for Prince. He might even get to meet some children!

This is one special Springer who has turned the corner on his former life. All that he needs now is a special forever family to love as he basks in his golden years.

Update 03/10/11:

Prince has been in foster care for three weeks and shows improvement in several areas. Along with neutering he had a dental that included the extraction of a very rotten tooth. Several others are missing which gives him a unique expression but does not deter his appetite. With TLC and some over-the-counter supplements, he is increasing the use of his left hind leg and can now trot gently on all four. When walking, all four legs are used as well. His skin and coat is much cleaner and new growth is now evident. It will take a bit of time for it to fully re-grow, but there is definite improvement. One great thing about Prince is that he seems to love to be groomed with brushing appearing to be a very special treat for him. 

Now that Prince has learned the routine in his foster home, he is showing separation anxiety. As a previously outside dog, it is obvious that he did not receive much attention and perhaps he has decided that he wants to keep the attention coming in his foster home. At any rate, a gentle pat on the head or scratch on the ear will quiet and settle him down. He is also quiet if he is allowed to move through the house to each room as his foster parents move around. For this reason, Prince will do best in a home where he can be with his family most of the time. Medication has been started to assist with his anxiety and it is hoped that, with time, Prince will learn that his family will always return if they leave him for a period of time. 

Prince gets along with the seven other dogs of different breeds in his foster home and is pretty much content to just hang out and be comforted. He is a fairly low energy senior but does enjoy an outing and rides well in a crate in the car. He is considered fully housetrained now as he goes all night without a trip outside and has not had any accidents for two weeks. 

Prince is just that, a prince of a dog. He has been denied most of a typical pet dog’s comforts and, now that he is experiencing them on a regular basis, he wants nothing more than to hang out and be loved. Lately, he has taken to rolling over on his back on the large dog beds throughout the house and just yipping in a happy manner. The stub of his tail just goes back and forth furiously when he is happy and his eyes are so much brighter than when he arrived. This poor boy just soaks up any and all attention given to him. 

The years ahead may indeed be the best of his life. Is this special Springer senior your Prince Charming?

Original:

Prince is a sweet senior ESS who has not seen the kinder side of life for many years. Thin, dirty, matted, with a burn on his belly, he was unceremoniously dumped by his owners in a Kentucky shelter. Shelter staffers quickly called MAESSR for help in nursing this boy back to health and finding him a loving forever home. 

Totally deaf, Prince has a pronounced startle reaction upon awaking, but has never tried to bite. As a result of his age and condition, he is a very low energy Springer who wants not much more than a soft bed, good meals and treats on a regular basis and lots of attention from human companions. He seeks out human company to get lots of attention in the form of petting and ear rubs. 

Prince’s foster family has seven resident dogs and he has done fine with all of them; after meeting and greeting each one, Prince quickly settled into the pack. There are no cats in his foster home; however, Prince is pretty much a couch potato and does not seem to be driven to chase anything. Housetraining Prince is the current focus of his foster parents. As long as he is not left for too long, he is able to hold his urine until he goes out to the backyard. Prince also enjoys being in his crate as long as the door is left open and he thinks soft dog beds are great, too. His foster parents are not crating him currently due to his new arrival status and he is comfy on a dog bed or on the carpet right now. When he is left alone, Prince displays some anxiety behaviors, but he does settle down after just a short period of time. His foster parents are trying to help him realize that he is not going to be left alone for long periods of time and he is responding.

Because Prince is deaf, his foster parents make sure that he sees them and they are starting to use some hand signals to let him know what they want him to do. He is very easy to lead around and goes anywhere that he is asked to go. Prince has allowed his foster mom to fully groom him, trimming his feet and cleaning his ears without any protest. He is a very cooperative boy! 

When Prince is trotting around the yard, he uses just three legs, but is able to use all four. He is also able to go up and down stairs without any difficulty. The foster family’s vet feels that Prince has an old hip or pelvis fracture. The most likely culprit is an old fractured femoral neck due to a past trauma such as being hit by a car or being kicked. He can use the leg; however, he often goes around the yard and house holding his left hind leg up in the air and just using the other three legs. Prince had a good visit with the vet recently. He has good function of his major organs and he just needs to gain some weight in order to be stronger for his neutering surgery and anesthesia. When this surgery happens, Prince will also have a dead tooth extracted and will have a dental cleaning done. 

Prince is a very sweet and attentive senior Springer. He is primarily interested in the softer and gentler things in life now. Are you that special person for this Prince of a dog?