[lksdolls]

Now that we have a thread for our plus-sized and tiny yorks. Does anyone out there want to share if they have a special needs yerk?

I'm just curious since we have one. Our yerk was born Oct. 29, 2003. He was born at our son's home while we were visiting. Our son is a major Boston Red Socks fan. Two weeks later, the only thing we can figure out is that when the grandkids arrived before school and the room was dark, mom jumped out of the cage to greet them, and Bo must have been nursing at the time. Our grandson, who would have been 9 at the time, went across the room to plop down in the recliner, like he always does. Now here's where we really don't know what happened. We think that possibly he accidently kicked Bo in the head or his book back did. Poor Bo started screaming like crazy. I rushed him to the vet. He was wiggling around so much that the vet couldn't take X-rays. Nothing appeared to be broken. And since he was so small and so young there was little he could do for Bo.
That night I looked at Bo. The one side of his head was extremely swollen. I put the ice pack on his head. I hand feed him, comforted him, kept him warm then would return him to the cage with mom and his siblings. Even 2 weeks later all I could say is I don't know if he's going to make it. Bo is now 2 1/2 years old. He's not real bright but with each litter of pups that we have, he seems to learn just a little bit more. He still spins in circles but most of the time he can walk a fairly straight line across the floor. He doesn't do steps at all, unless he accidentally falls down them while spinning. And we discovered that he also swims in circles when he fell into the pool. Now he can't because I've fence a play place for him outside. He has seisures now and then, but I've learned how to deal with them, plus he has medication I can give him. He will tighten up as hard as a rock and you're really not sure if he's breathing or not. It gets very scary sometimes.
I totally babied him for the first year. Then one day I decided it was time to let him interact more with the rest of the dogs. Of course, I have to keep a keen eye on him and he freaks out very easily and doesn't like the rest of the dogs in his face. You know, kind of like cutting the apron strings. Most times I'm able to get him to calm down quickly. But those that he doesn't.......are very hard on me. Each and every little learning step he makes is like a major accomplishment. We praise him every time he comes to us and prances across the floor in his straight line. He didn't do chewy's or treats until late last year. Now he loves them. And now when the rest of the dogs go outside, he wants to be part of their pack. So I have to pick him up and carry him down the steps and outside, then bring him back in. He doesn't go very far but at least he's given the opportunity to be a real dog, even though he probably will never get beyond the young puppy stage. We ignore that he isn't house broken. Sometimes he actually uses the peepee pad which is a major accomplishment for him. He simply can't grasp the concept. Last fall when we had females in heat, he finally got the message, but his excitement would only last a few seconds and then he would become distracted and go onto something else or the female would move and he couldn't find her.
We have no idea how much permanent damage was done. I'm guessing that some breeders would not have put in so much effort with such a severe injury. With each seizure, I'm terrified that it might be his last one. I know I probably could have found a good home for him, but I couldn't let him go. In the meantime, we have such a special guy.