Entered: 12/08/2003
Status: Adopted
Age: 10
Color: Black/White
Weight:
Gender: Altered Female
Location: Medford, NJ
Health: Stable with much improvement
Temperament: Excellent
It was Thanksgiving Eve 2003 when Randy’s owner turned her into a local shelter. He had decided he no longer wanted his 10 year old, overweight, almost crippled dog any longer. Randy’s MAESSR foster family sent this update as they were preparing Thanksgiving dinner this year.Randy is now a trim 53 lbs from 70. She is stiff at times but basically pain free. She has been off her pain medicine since July with the great results of acupressure. She is warm is the winter and cool in the summer. Being an outside dog of 10 years, she became used to her new lifestyle quickly. She now hesitates to get her feet wet when it’s raining. Thinking back her foster mom can’t believe how Randy could have come so far. She couldn’t sit, scratch or lick herself. She just shifted from one side to the other, moaning in pain with each turn. She woke up every night with screams that scared the family to death. She finally stopped these dreams about 5 months ago. Her breathing was so awful for months that they would be kept awake worrying that she was dying. Now, all just go to sleep, Randy snoring peacefully. After losing their 14 year old boy September a year ago, they were terrified of loving a 10 year old dog. Being in their fifties, they realized she fit in so well with their lifestyle. Randy is loved and treated gently. She is so much a part of them now it seems like so much longer than 1 year. Randy will always have special needs, but with her life turned around, she has a home every dog should have and is a joy and a blessing to her foster family.
Update 9/30/04:
Randy is quite the slim, pretty lady. She has lost 17 pounds since coming into her foster home. Her hip dysplasia had been diagnosed as one of the worst. To help her with this, Randy started acupuncture in June 2004. She has been completely off her pain medication for a month and is doing just great. Her acupuncture treatments have been extended to every two weeks, and, she is still doing well and not in pain. Her foster parents have been taught some massage and acupressure that she seems to enjoy each day.
She has finally realized that plastic toys, tennis balls, and stuffed animals are not dinner items. They are still chewed up but not eaten. She is a great catcher and enjoys running after a ball for a short time.
Randy follows her foster parents everywhere. She gets up and down the stairs pretty quickly now, even though she “bunny hops” with her ears flying. She looks adorable.
Thanks to everyone who has supported Randy, she is living out her life pain free and very much loved.
Update 4/16/04:
Randy came to MAESSR when her previous owners brought her into a local shelter when a MAESSR volunteer was there. They picked her up out their truck by a two inch wide leather harness that she had been wearing for years. It was awful. They reported that Randy lived outside her entire life, but was used to being around lots of people as they constantly had people coming and going on their farm. Randy let the volunteer check her feet and paws and was seemingly indifferent to it and didn’t mind at all when she bathed her three times and groomed her for two hours to get all the dirt, grim and dead hair off of her.
When Randy first came to us, we knew she was having a terrible time getting around, was overweight, had kennel cough and the condition of her coat was unruly and completely bleached out by the elements and a bad diet. We discovered a thyroid condition and arthritis and some level of hip dysplasia. Randy is really a trooper though and her foster family loves her to pieces. Together they have come along way in getting her better. Randy has lost weight and is on thyroid medicine. She gets a chondroitin sulfate supplement and pain meds for her legs. With this treatment plan she is now able to get around much better.
Most dogs can sit regularly, roll on their back, scratch themselves, etc. Randy couldn’t do these things when she came to MAESSR, but with her dedicated foster parents love and encouragement and the proper treatment, she is now able do them! These little things that she can now do are such big events for her and she is a much happier to be able to do them!
Now that we have her diagnosis and care plan outlined, we would like to get her physical therapy to improve her muscle strength in her hind legs. These muscles have atrophied a bit due to years of neglect, but we think we can help Randy lead a normal senior life with a little more help. Unfortunately, our funds are finite and we have taken in and cared for an increased number of dogs this year which means a hefty increase in medical bills.
Please consider sponsoring Randy. This sweet girl was in such bad shape when she came to us, but never stopped smiling, and understanding that everything we did bathing, stretching, massaging, was out of love and concern for her even if it hurt her. We would like to see her continue to improve and with your help she will be able.
Update 12/18/03:
Randy has hypothyroid! We are very happy to find this out because we expect her to do well on the meds. We were concerned about cushing so we are really happy about the thyroid issue. Also, her first morning free catch urine sample showed her urine was more concentrated which was also good news. She is still coughing a bit but no longer sounds congested so she is not going to be on a cough suppressant and starting thyroid medicine. In a month they will retest her thyroid levels to ensure that she is on the right dosage. At that time, if she is responding well, he will go forward with her vaccinations and when she is a little thinner (though she has lost three pounds already!!!) it will be easier for us to find an incision scar to see if she was spayed as her owners reported. She should also have less pressure on her legs and we will know if we need to remove either or both of the lypomas while she is under if we need to spay her.
Original:
Randy has been in her foster home for a week now and is doing wonderfully. She even has mastered go up and down the stairs at night to go to sleep which she was unable to do the first few days. She is on a supplement with chondroitin sulfate in and it really seems to be helping her a lot! Randy loves the attention she is receiving from her foster family and is a very good house guest. Though now the length of time she can play without feeling tired is limited, Randy does enjoy playing with her new toys and bringing them to her foster mom to play. She loves her soft, comfy bed and sleeps on it while her foster mom and dad are gone at work. Randy is good with other dogs and cats and would not be bad with kids either because you can take anything from her and do anything to her without a complaint from her. She has not been tested with toddlers yet. Randy is on hold until we diagnose her medical condition and get it under control though we are certain she will need to be on some type of meds for the rest of her life. If you are able, please consider sponsoring Randy. She is a darling girl who deserves the best of care and we will do our very best to make sure she gets it.
We will update Randy’s posting as soon as we know more.