Post from Big Heart Rescue

"Look at Me Now"
An old soul, a sick soul, a soul devoid of the will to live was spotted by a person involved in animal welfare and she immediately put out a plea for help. This senior was in desperate need of a foster home where he could recover from the neglect of his past and live out his final days in the arms of those that would love him. So began Danny's journey into a new future....

At start of care....

Now !
A new future that would ensure he would never be alone again, that the warmth of his foster families love would keep him safe and secure until it was time for him to leave this earth.
This darling regal senior Malamute came into care weighing only 44 pounds, he was severely anaemic, in terrible pain due to nerve ending damage in his spine and a mouthful of rotting teeth. His fur was matted to the skin, he had little muscle mass on his rear legs, his vision and hearing are impaired and he wobbled terribly when he walked.
Once he arrived to be with his foster family, he soon discovered that living inside a home was filled with blessings! There was a soft bed to sleep on and though he wasn't sure at first what it was, he soon figured it out, there was food that was fresh and provided freely, there was clean water and most important of all, he discovered he was no longer alone for he had friends to call his own, friends who would stay by his side forever and he understood that he would never feel the sting of isolation again.
Danny is now on pain management control, has been bathed and groomed, is up to 48 pounds and has decided that life is very much worth living. His foster family has discovered his playful side and take great glee in hearing his "woo woo" when he is happy. He is enjoying the company of other fur friends and the broken soul of yesterday is now mending.
The entire Big Heart Rescue team wishes to send out a heartfelt thank you to everyone involved in ensuring Danny had the opportunity to live again.

We can't believe its only been 4 weeks for him to look (an act) this different!

The only thing they didn't say is that his new-found rambunctious behaviours have led to some issues, like chasing our cats as if they are stuffies that move! Grrrr! This one is definitely taking some patientce, especially with a partially deaf, untrained dog who can't even sit well. For now, we are keeping him separated from the cats unless in control and on leash and are keeping the lemon-water bottle handy.

O.G. Update (formerly known as 'Danny')

Well, not long after we have been looking after 'Danny,' Allan decided his name should be changed to 'O.G.' - according to Allan, O.G. sounds more like a cool, rapper name and stands for 'Old Guy.' As bad a shape as Old Guy is in, we had a feeling that it was more a case of mal-nourishment and not being looked after as opposed to any sort of disease he is dying from. When I took him to the vet, he was concerned and said he was in 'rough' condition. At just over 48 pounds, he is also about 10-15 pounds underweight, which is, yes, a lot!



Of course, after they did blood tests, sure enough we saw that O.G. doesn't really have anything wrong with him. A bit anemic, rotten teeth, skinny, weak back end, but no bad liver or kidney or cancer or anything like that. Mostly easy things to improve, like feeding him 'Raw' (which he loves). The vet is excited to watch his progress with us. We are too!

We take the dogs for walks every couple of days, and the first time we were shocked to see fragile, shaky old guy run! Must be that Malamute in him. Its funny how he can be so unbalanced and weak, then when we go for a walk he gets spunky and energetic. Hmmm, maybe he's just playing possum for all that food and attention :) I wonder if, in time, he will actually be able to sustain running...

Danny!

We just received our first foster dog yesterday! He will most likely be a 'foster until he passes.' Besides being old, he is in very rough shape. He came into Richmond Animal Control as a stray in such a crappy condition that they were going to charge the owners if they showed up. Danny is matted to the skin (they had to shave a portion), has rotten teeth, has sores, is emaciated (getting to the point of 'starvation'), and very weak (his back legs start to shake after walking around the back yard). Poor guy. Judging by his condition, the best guess is that he lived his life on a chain. AND they forgot to feed him. Why have a dog if you treat it like that?

Danny is very sweet and gentle. So far, he is getting along great with Baby. Even though the cats are in hiding for now, he sniffed Eva and couldn't seem to care less about her. The pound thought he was ~15 years old, but we guess that he is probably younger and just seems older because of his poor condition. Well, he came to the right house! We are good at fattening our animals up, and I have already started him on glucosamine and fish oil for his joints (and fur and skin). We fed him 4 small meals yesterday plus treats and he seemed happy to gobble everything up.

The rescue place is great! Some only help animals who are 'easily adoptable' and care about numbers, but these guys (Big Heart Rescue) are helping animals who are really down-and-out and as such, would need more time before being adoptable. They will pay for all his expenses until Danny passes - mentioned I could take him to a groomer when he feels better, will cover any vet requirements, pet sitting etc. He is getting a complete vet check Tuesday. They just want the animals to be in loving homes until adopted or, in this case, until passing away. They would rather an animal who had a crappy life have a nice ending rather than have it end in a shelter then be euthanized.

Hopefully with some good food and a stable home, he will recover nicely...