Thumper

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Update 10/04/2018:  “He seems to take comfort and guidance from the other dogs in his foster home so calm dogs and cats would be welcoming to Thumper in his forever home.”

Thumper has made great physical progress since coming into foster care.  Eating a good diet has helped him gain weight.  Also, his red blood cell level has improved to the normal range in part due to added iron and B12 coming in the form of beef liver added to his diet and other health issues being resolved.  No more anemia!

He has been started on a vision supplement, recommended by two other MAESSR members whose Springers also have PRA.  Although it cannot cure PRA, it may slow the progression of this genetic eye disease.  Fingers crossed!

Since he received good vet reports on his anemia and he had completed treatments for Lyme and whipworms, Thumper got the go-ahead to be neutered. Once he is healed from his surgery, he will be ready for adoption.

Thumper was in need of a haircut so he was taken to the groomer at the vet’s office.  He had no problem with his bath but needed to be towel and air dried since the dryer scared him.  Combing out was no problem for him either, but he jumped straight in the air when the clipper touched his body.  This was probably the first time Thumper had been to the groomer and the vibration and noise of the clipper and dryer did him in.  Rather than scaring him more by attempting to continue, the groomer had his foster mom pick him up and told her how to try to de-sensitize him to the grooming tools.  In the meantime, his foster mom used her shears and thinning shears to trim him around his head and neck and shoulders.  He was fine with this scissoring, just resting on his side while his foster mom snipped away and rubbed his tummy.  (Oh, Thumper is also afraid of the vacuum cleaner and his foster mom’s electric toothbrush.)

In the past few weeks, there has been less pestering of the resident 16 year old neutered male ESS with Thumper’s amorous and/or dominance attention.  With time and the lowering of his testosterone level, the unwanted mounting behavior hopefully will diminish. Also, the old male has learned to speak up and tell Thumper to cut it our!  Thumper will have to learn that his name is not “Thumper, leave him!” but is just Thumper. Another good thing that has occurred is Thumper has begun to play with the toys in the toy basket—especially the squeaky ones.

A few times Thumper has been outside with his foster dad without being leashed and foster dad has had to redirect him or stop him by grabbing his collar and speaking sternly. Thumper does NOT like this and reacts by putting on the brakes and growling.  Redirecting him on a leash and speaking in a light, happy voice are much more effective with Thumper. Although not knowing his total background, foster mom suspects that Thumper may have been treated roughly by a male.  Thumper does love his foster dad, though, and he gives Thumper the best ear rubs!

His foster parents are frequently reminded how exposing Thumper to new situations and places can be initially frightening to him.  He is quite bonded to his foster mom and she has an easier time managing him in unfamiliar situations and places.  His foster family’s housekeeper and dog sitter tried to take him for a walk recently and he would not leave the deck with her.  Only when his foster mom and one of the resident dogs came along would he go for a walk.  Anything new is frightening and Thumper needs lots of encouragement. He is quite reactive to other dogs he meets on walks, barking and wanting to charge towards them.

Thumper is a big boy who loves to be loved.  His forever home should meet some basic requirements. A quiet house without children may be best for him since the activity and unpredictability of young children may startle or upset him.  He seems to take comfort and guidance from the other dogs in his foster home so calm dogs and cats would be welcoming to Thumper in his forever home.  Adoptive parents who are home most of the time, have a set routine, and understand the Velcro nature of Springers would be best for Thumper, too.  For your patience and understanding with Thumper, you will have a devoted partner for life.  Thumper is a keeper!

Original: “This is one sweet dog who loves to roll over on his side for belly rubs and who wiggles his butt into a tight C to greet his foster parents, his tail wagging the whole time.”

Tied outside in the heat, matted, dirty and badly infested with fleas, poor Thumper was visited repeatedly by Pennsylvania authorities and his owner was told to provide him proper shelter.  The owner never did. To avoid being arrested for animal abuse, Thumper’s owner relinquished him to a Pennsylvania animal shelter.  Staff members quickly treated him for fleas, cut out as many mats as they could and bathed Thumper before a MAESSR volunteer picked him up.  So, Thumper’s new life as a MAESSR boy began.

Not having been to the vet since he was a puppy, Thumper had a lot of medical conditions to be addressed.  He was a very good boy when he got his vaccinations, had blood drawn, and had his nails trimmed.  Test results showed he was positive for Lyme disease and for whipworms so he was started on medications to treat these.  Luckily, he was heart worm negative so he was started on a heart worm preventative that also kills whipworms.  His feces are picked up and disposed of promptly so as not to infect his foster parents’ yard. 

Thumper’s gums were quite pale and his blood screen showed him to have non-regenerative anemia where sufficient red blood cells are not being made, perhaps caused by his prior extreme flea infestation and whipworm infestation.  A subsequent blood test a few weeks later, showed some improvement in his hematocrit and hemoglobin levels but was down in the level of reticulocytes or new red blood cell production.  His vet recommended adding beef liver to his diet and giving him a vitamin containing B12 and iron.  Then, in another two weeks, his blood will be tested again to see if the reticulocyte count has improved.  Thumper is low energy for his age which is also a sign of his anemia. 

To add to his medical issues, Thumper’s vision is impaired; something was not right, especially at night.  MAESSR had his foster parents take him to a veterinary ophthalmologist who diagnosed Thumper with PRA—Progressive Retinal Atrophy.  This is a genetic condition for which there is no treatment.  The onset of PRA usually comes in middle age and the cells of the retina gradually die leaving the dog blind.  The ophthalmologist said Thumper’s condition is advanced and he probably will have sight for only three or four more months.  He assured the foster parents that blind dogs do quite well and compensate for their blindness using their other senses.

When he first arrived at his foster home, Thumper was a trooper when his foster parents carefully cut out huge mats from his coat.  Then it was bath time again and the water ran brown from the flea dirt that was washed from him.  Finally, he looked like a shiny new boy with a clean coat!  Having his feet trimmed must have been a new experience for him and he cooperated best when he was fast asleep.  Poor guy even had mats between his pads.  Ouch!

His foster home has two older Springers in it—a 16 year old male and a 10 year old female.  Thumper was a bit too interested in both initially.  Both told him where to get off but Thumper still has to be shooed away from the male frequently. Generally, Thumper is good with these residents and with the neighbor dogs.  This unwanted attention should settle down once he is healthy enough to be neutered and his testosterone levels lower.   He has not tried marking in the house which is good!   Thumper has been very good with the resident cat and they greet each other nose to nose.  Good boy!

Housetrained and with good house manners, Thumper goes to the door to signal his need to go out.  Once he is finished up outside, he wants to come right back in the house.  Obviously, he is done being an outside dog; it’s the inside life for him now where there is nice air conditioning!  Thumper only gets on the couch when invited and he does not try to get onto the bed, but is happy sleeping on one of the dog beds at night or during the day.  He has spent time in the crate when his people are gone but he is not too keen on that.  Instead, he can be just gated in the kitchen away from the old resident male.  He is not destructive in the house at all and does not counter-surf.  At mealtime, he eats peacefully near the other dogs and he does not beg at the table. 

Thumper pulls on leash walks but then settles down.  He likes to lead the pack on their joint walks.  As to commands, Thumper knows “sit,” “shake hands,” “leave it,” and “no.”   He has been rarely off leash because of his eye condition; however, on the last call outside at night, he is not leashed and just pees and comes back in.  More work is being done on the come command.   Car rides are a breeze with Thumper.  He settles down uncrated in the back seat and sleeps.  Thumper has shown no interest in toys and only recently has been taking dog biscuit gently when offered.

Where his name came from is a guess.  It seems doubtful that his previous owner was a Walt Disney and Bambi fan with Thumper the rabbit.  It may be more likely that his name came from the thump, thump, thump when he scratches himself with his big paws.

This is one sweet dog who loves to roll over on his side for belly rubs and who wiggles his butt into a tight C to greet his foster parents, his tail wagging the whole time.  Once he regains his health, Thumper will be looking for his forever home.  Watch for more on this sweet bunny!