Update on Moose
 

Thank you everyone who has shown a concern for this sweet boy!!!

He did great with my vet yesterday - took him back this afternoon for a quick recheck to make sure he's still healing as expected, and she said she's actually amazed with how much progress he's made in just a few days. Not eating great, but we think it's from the antibiotics and pain meds. He is still eating some, and he really needed to loose a bit of weight anyway, so eating lighter for a few days is not going to hurt him at all. We've got him off fluids now or any injectable meds, just oral meds to make sure he stays out of pain and to finish getting rid of the swelling from his injuries and no infection develops. Thankfully it seems it was even less severe then we originally thought and he's healing up beautifully.

We are a bit worried that he may have an underlying thyroid problem, I clipped him down (I've been working slowly with him for the last month, him and his brother where both pretty matted when their dad dropped them off with me), and decided it was better since we had to shave around his sores anyway to just clip him all the way down for the summer. His skin is pretty dark and a bit thickened, so we think there's either an allergy issue or a thyroid problem. Could also help explain why he's overweight (weighs 12.1 lbs right now - Should probably weigh about 9 1/2 - 10 lbs at most) I'm going to talk to his dad about getting some blood work done on him as soon as he can afford it, I know with all his medical bills money is really tight, but neither my vet nor I feel it's anything that needs to be done urgently. But all in all Moose is doing great!

His brother, Skeeter, I'm trying to decide if I'm going to groom the same way to make it easier for their dad when he takes them back since he was obviously struggling to keep up with their coat care, or if I'll just offer to let him bring them back to me every week or two and I'll help him keep up the coats. Moose will be really easy since I took him pretty short. Skeeter's coat brushed out really nice once I slowly worked out all the matts and tangles. I'll probably let his dad decide if he wants me to clip him down as well or if he wants to brush him every day and maintain his coat now that I've got it brushed out and looking good again!

Glad to hear Moose is improving... nice of you to offer grooming services to their Dad... Prayers that Moose recovers quickly.

This is super news!! Yea Moose!! I would clip both these dogs down short, short, short....that will save their dad time and money, which he is apparently short on as both dogs were matted up when you got them....I would relieve him of that responsibility....cut them down and tell him you can keep them clipped short for him....you need to be cautious that this man doesn't start to depend on you for ALL his dogs needs.....grooming, babysitting, medical care, etc.....you have your own responsibilities with your own dogs, dont let someone get accustomed to your generosity and kindness, and then you find you are supporting another household!

I'm glad to hear that Moose is doing well. Moose and Skeeter's Dad is lucky that you are taking care of them for him. He must miss them. Hope Moose is feeling better each day.

Well, lets put it this way - I've been in some really hard spots in my life before as well. I know life isn't easy for him right now, and I know how upset he seemed about the matting and condition the dogs where in when he came over here to drop them off. Heck, aside from a little bit of shampoo and some time, and maybe a little upkeep on my clippers every now and then, it costs me almost nothing to groom them for him - And if they're not kept groomed, it's the dogs suffer. I really have fallen in love with these 2 boys, and want to make sure he has the support he needs to make sure they get what they need. There's always things like dentals or other such stuff that need to be done but can be put off, these boys could both use dentals - but he has kept their shots updated and made sure they got yearly checkups, kept them on a decent diet, and they where obviously not underfed - Moose is to fat, and Skeeter at the heavy side of ideal. Grooming can get away from anyone when you're having medical problems and can't do it yourself! Groomers in this town can be CRAZY, especially if it's at all matted, even very mild! He clearly loves and cares about these dogs and does his best - And that's what I care about! If helping him keep them groomed is what it takes to improve their quality of life and make his easier, then I don't mind spending a few hours once a month or so trimming them and keeping them groomed for him at all! It's a great way to get to spend some time with them after they leave here!

I know that's going to be the hard part for me! He doesn't seem to be that type, he was so so appreciative that I was willing to babysit them, he was in tears - It's always touching to see a grown man so moved and appreciative that someone was willing to give him an alternative to sending them to the shelter that you bring him to tears. I know he loves these dogs very much! I'd love to have the financial ability to support whatever these dogs need forever, but I know I can't, or I may not have the money for my own dogs if something happens!

Such good news about Moose.:)

I'm so glad to hear Moose is doing so much better.

Happy to hear Moose is on the mend! My Wylie is hypothyroid...and the plus side of it is that it's very easy to treat. Keep us posted on Moose :).

Yep - Hoping that's all it is! Hypothyroid is for sure a cheap and easy thing to treat if that's it!

Sending well wishes for Moose and hoping he is still healing nicely. A shorter hairstyle is much easier to care for and can be super cute. :)

How is Moose doing now?

To tired to post details - Moose had to have emergency surgery because as we feared from the beginning, despite heavy antibiotics one of the wounds abcessed. He's doing much better now, but is on complete crate rest and not happy - the one that abcessed was on his groin, so he'll be on complete crate rest except for leashed potty breaks for 2-3 weeks, it's a hard area to get to heal due to tension and motion in that area! He's wanting to be more active now that the access broke - and feels 1000% better, and protesting loudly about being confined. Going to talk to vet tomorrow about giving Jim a sedative to keep him quiet until he's healed enough to be allowed out of the crate again.

Ah! I'm sorry he had to have surgery. I'm sure he does feel better without that infection though. He must feel a lot better if he's protesting so loudly. I'll keep you both in my thought. It must be very hard for you right now.

I hope Mr. Moose is doing lots better now.

Me too!

Poor Moose, we've hit a number of complications, and it's becoming very clear that there's more then the obvious problem with his injuries. My vet and I are getting very convinced that he has Cushings disease - I never noticed before because I groomed him out and left his coat long, but now that I've clipped him down after his injuries, it's obvious that his abdomen is a bit bloated looking, add to that some skin issues and heavy pigmented skin, and several other big warning signs. But the challenge is with his body under so much stress already, my vet wants to wait until we get him completely recovered from this before we worry about testing for it. He's not healing nearly as well as he should be, and we both feel there's an underlying health problem that's causing that. I'm really starting to wonder if his dad is going to be able to take him back - I know his dad has very limited finances, and if we're right about Cushings, I worry his dad may not be able to afford proper medical care for him. I guess I'll cross that bridge when we get to it!

:( Poor little guy, he's just got too many troubles for such a youngster. Still Praying for Moose.

You are probably right about underlying health problems, what a sad situation for you all.

Does anyone remember the list of organizations that help pay vet bills for people that need it?

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
That would certainly be a huge help for both the owner of this baby, as well as the rescue person that is desperately trying to get this pup healthy.

Poor Moose. I hope he's feeling better. Sending good thoughts, hugs and prayers to you both.

I don't know how current this is but:

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/eme...vet-bills.html

The problem with these types of organizations (and I've contacted many before!) is most are only willing to help in emergency situations when no vet care has been done yet for that problem, or surgical problems. Basically one time things. Not chronic problems :( Most also won't fund a rescue, just give you fundraising tips - And unfortunately living in a big city, the competition for rescue fundraisers is fierce, so a small group that takes few dogs and doesn't have alot of name/publicity has little chance of doing well with fundraisers.

I'll figure things out for Moose somehow - I just hope we can get him better soon, he had a pretty rough night last night :( Doing better today - But I don't think alot of what I'm seeing now has anything to do with him getting injured. And he has gas that can clear a room YUCK! LOL

Not sure I understand...why would a rescue be looking for money if he has an owner and you are just watching the pup temporarily? Why can't the owner try to apply?

The owner can. But as I explained - These groups don't often help with chronic problems. They help for emergencies and 1 time things that once treated, it's over. I don't think alot of the things we're seeing are going to curable - Especially if we confirm he has Cushings (which my vet and I are very suspicious he does). Guess I should have explained that better - There's reasons I can't apply for him, as well as reasons he likely won't be approved himself. I've already given the owner a list of organizations that he can apply with. But after recent conversations with the owner, it's likely Moose is going to be surrendered to a rescue I work closely with if my vet determines that he's going to need life-long management and support. If it's just hypothyrodism causing these problems, the owner can manage that - But if it's Cushings or several other things we haven't ruled out yet, the testing to diagnose and monitor, let alone the drugs to properly treat it are going to be out of his reach. Right now my vet wants to focus on getting him as healthy as we can before worrying about putting him through any more testing or diagnostics. Alot of the tests can be affected by stress as well as some of the medications we have him on or have had him on recently. Best to let his body heal and recover as much as it can before spending the money on tests that could be inaccurate with his current obvious problems.

I think you have done the right thing trying to get this pup into a rescue home with someone that can afford his medical expenses...when you start running into stuff like Cushings or the "several other things" your vet is concerned about, and the owner does not have the financial reserves to treat the diseases or conditions, giving the baby up so he can get the medical care he needs. I hope he can make that decision quickly so that baby can get the help he needs.

Right :) I'm leaving that decision in his dad's hands - I can't make the decision, but regardless I hope he decides what he wants to do quickly, although it's going to be awhile before we'll be able to do the LDDT test, since as long as his body is stressed trying to recover from his injuries, the levels are going to be different then normal, it's best done when there isn't any other major stresses on the body. So for now, my focus is just to finish getting him healed up, then when we'll worry about addressing further problems.