We need extra veterinary care to restore our quality of life. With your help, we’ll get it!

We’ve had a rough start from neglect and abuse, but we’re safe, warm, and loved now. Our friends at GDFRL are going to help us get healthy too!

The medical cases below are cases for which we need help to pay for medical bills. They vary in severity from deadly heartworms to urgent injuries requiring surgery, but each dog will get their happy ending! They all will go on to live normal, comfortable lives, but the expenses to get them there can be steep. All donations are tax-deductible, and our rescue completely funded by donations.

Marley

4.25.12
Marley is a beautiful 4 1/2 year old girl who is the daughter of Hobbes. She, Hobbes, and Athena all came into rescue this week after being surrendered by their previous owner to a county shelter. All three are heart worm positive, full of intestinal parasites, and underweight. They all also have bad skin infections from obviously living in their own urine and feces, as well as lots of thick, large callouses and pressure sores from apparently spending their lives confined to some hard surface. Marley also has bloody diarrhea, and her skin is particularly bad because it is extremely raw and inflamed. She even has infected skin around her lips, probably from eating off of the urine and feces soaked ground.

In addition to all that, Marley also has a leg that has been broken in the past. It was obviously never treated by a vet, so it hasn’t healed properly, but since it’s such an old injury there probably isn’t anything we can do about it at this point. Though, we will be confirming that with a vet.

We’re expecting her veterinary expenses to be around $1000 for her treatments and spay surgery. We’ll be posting any updates on her medical condition, but we do expect to see each of these new Danes to be happy and healthy again with the help of some great medical care and nourishing food.

If you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation to help with Marley’s recovery, we would truly appreciate the assistance. No donation is too small to help, and we depend solely on donations to support the needs of all the dogs we accept into our rescue.

Hobbes

4.25.12
Hobbes, the father of Marley, is 5-6 years old. Like Marley and Athena, he came into rescue this week came into rescue this week along with Marley and Hobbes after they were all surrendered to a county shelter with a high euthanasia rate. All three are heart worm positive, full of intestinal parasites, and underweight. They all also have bad skin infections from obviously living in their own urine and feces, as well as lots of thick, large callouses from apparently spending their lives confined to some hard surface.

His skin is so badly burned from the urine that even his scrotum is cracked and bleeding. He also has a hernia that will need to be repaired when he is healthy enough to be neutered, and he has some rear end weakness that we hope will get better with proper nutrition, some good supplements, and exercise to build good muscle tone.

He is expected to have vet bills of at least $1000 for his treatments and surgery. If you’d like sponsor handsome Hobbes’ medical care, your donation is tax-deductible and no donation is too small to help! We fully expect him to be good as new and happy as can be within several weeks. Thank you for your support!

Athena

4.25.12
Athena, possibly the mother of Marley, is about 5 years old. She came into rescue this week along with Marley and Hobbes after they were all surrendered to a county shelter with a high euthanasia rate. All three are heart worm positive, full of intestinal parasites, and underweight. They all also have bad skin infections from obviously living in their own urine and feces, as well as lots of thick, large callouses from apparently spending their lives confined to some hard surface. Due to their poor condition, each dog is expected to have vet bills of at least $1000 each for their treatments and spaying/neutering.

If you’d like to sponsor Athena’s medical care, we’d greatly appreciate it! Donations are tax-deductible!

Theo

4.4.12 UPDATE
Poor Theo bloated (gastric torsion) over the weekend and had to be rushed into emergency surgery. Thanks to the quick response of our volunteers, he got there in time, and is now recovering nicely. The emergency surgery cost about $2600, so we’ve had to increase the goal for his medical donations. As for Theo’s spine, his doctor wants to continue his antibiotics for a few more weeks, so we’ll know more about how much his spine has improved after that. Want to help? See the ChipIn widget below. Theo sends wags and kisses!

3.1.12
Theo is a tall, beautiful boy who we are helping to beat a case of discospondylitis, which is an infection of the spinal vertebrae and discs that can be quite painful. He has already begun a 4-6 week course of antibiotics and supplements. Hopefully, this will be enough to eliminate the infection, but if not we’ll be following up with additional treatment and procedures. Worst case scenario, he might need surgery in addition to antibiotics, but it’s still too early to tell. Either way, discospondylitis is a treatable condition and we’ll make sure he has a great recovery! We’re committed to giving the sweet guy whatever he needs to be healthy again.

For now, we are setting his ChipIn fund for his vet bills at $500 for the current course of treatment with the hopes that he will respond well to the antibiotics and supplements alone.

Check back for updates!

Ella & Puppies!

Update: 4.24.12
Ella and some of her girls have been adopted, but there are still a couple available! Check our Available Dogs page for more info!

Ella Update: 3.6.12
Ella has put on weight and is feeling wonderful! She has now been spayed and is ready for her forever home.

2.16.12
Sweet Ella is feeling better and better every day! She actually got the zoomies and ran around the yard playfully for the first time this week! She still has a long road ahead of her, but we’re happy to say that she’s made a great recovery over the mastitis and infection and is gaining weight at a good pace!

2.5.12
Our sweet mama dog is still struggling with mastitis which most likely was caused by having to lay on the nasty kennel floors of the county shelter where she was dumped. She was able to come home from the vet when her fever went down, but by the following day one of her teats had swollen up so fast and severely from infection that it was bruised and very painful. Her fever shot back up to 105, and she had to be rushed to the emergency vet to lance it, put in a drain, and get her back on IV fluids and antibiotics.

2.3.12
Ella had to be rushed to the vet this morning because she has a dangerously high fever of 105 due to developing mastitis, an infection of her milk ducts that is also very painful. She’s currently at the animal hospital under close supervision and being kept on IV fluids and antibiotics. Keep her in your thoughts! She’s been through so much already, and now this on top of it, but we’re determined to get her well and happy!

2.1.12
Ella and eight 5 week old puppies were surrendered by their owner to a county shelter, and they are in terrible, emaciated condition. One puppy died very soon after arrival at the shelter, and the previous owner said that two more died prior to that. The puppies are so skinny you can count their ribs, and Ella only weighs 78 lbs. She should weigh about 115lbs! Now, Ella is left with seven daughters, and they are all safe and sound with our rescue in foster homes.

Given that their body condition is so poor, we are expecting it to take a while before they will be as plump and healthy as they should be. They all are being treated for lots of roundworms, they all need vaccines and spay surgeries when they are physically ready for them, and with Ella being such an extreme case of starvation, she will need some extra medical care to monitor her overall health for several weeks. So in one collective rescue, we have vet bills coming for eight dogs due to one neglectful situation. But they will never be cold or hungry again!

If you’d like to help with the medical expenses of these wonderful girls, we would sincerely appreciate any amount you can donate. No amount is too small to make a difference. Between the eight of them, we’re expecting at least $3000 worth of vet bills alone.

Miya

UPDATE
Miss Miya had her second TTA surgery at the beginning of Feb. for the torn cruciate ligaments in her knees. She is healing well, but had been struggling with some pain and favoring her left rear leg. She started hydrotherapy a few weeks ago and has made tremendous improvement over the past week – the spring is back in her rear – which is good and bad. It’s great to see her happy again, but she still shouldn’t be jumping around so much yet. Miya LOVES water and LOVES her hydrotherapy sessions. When she sees the hydrotherapy tank she will drag the vet tech across the room and jump on the treadmill – whether they’re ready for her or not. Miya’s dream forever family would have a swimming pool or lake where she would be able to swim every day – yep, she’s a water dane!

With all of the handling and people Miya has met over the past 6 mths., she has really made great strides in meeting new people. As her knees heal more completely, we will begin working more on her socialization with other dogs. Miss Miya will also be having refresher courses on all that she had learned from Lena Skov, the trainer, last summer. She still knows sit and down, but has gotten a bit jumpy since she’s been feeling better – but wouldn’t we all if we’d been on crate rest for months!

Miya does already have arthritis forming in her knees, even at only 3 years of age, so she will need to be on a quality joint supplement for the rest of her life. She also has some fears about being in pain and being hurt when moved, so she has gotten a bit snappy since her surgeries. Her foster mom is cautious when she reacts like this, and hopeful that with more pain-free days, Miya will get over this fear over the coming months.

2.1.12
Miya had her second surgery today to repair her other ACL injury. She did just fine during surgery and will be able to come home from the vet hospital tomorrow. Since her first surgery, she’s healed very well, and get around just fine. She’s a little bit stiff when she first gets up, but otherwise is able to run and play without issue.  She’ll be ready for her forever home soon!

10.17.11
Miya had her surgery today, and it went well, but her surgeon discovered that her other ACL is also torn. Given that both are torn, we know that her bone conformation is the reason for the tendency for this to happen to her to begin with, so it’s better than ever that she had the type of surgery she did to correct the shape of her tibia at the knee joint to prevent future tears and give her a very strong joint. In a few weeks, she’ll need to have a second TTA surgery on her other knee. This will more than double the cost we initially thought we needed for her vet bills, to around $4500. She’ll be on meds for a longer time now, and will require some physical therapy in the mean time. Please consider helping Miya by donating to her medical fund!

10.12.11
Miya recently tore her ACL and is scheduled to have surgery to repair it on October 17. In the mean time, she’s on medication to keep her leg comfortable. There are a few types of ACL surgery options, and her doctor feels that she would benefit most from a TTA (tibial tuberosity advancement) which means that the shape of the tibia bone will be altered to create a more stable joint than she had even before surgery. Miya is an active girl, so we plan to have her good as new as soon as possible! Her medical expenses will total around $2200 for meds, surgery, and aftercare. If you’d like to contribute to Miya’s vet bills, you can make a tax-deductible donation through our ChipIn widget. No amount is too small to help, and we greatly appreciate it!

Jackson

Jackson is special needs Dane. He has wobblers disease and hip dysplasia, and he will need ongoing medical care for the rest of his life. Wobblers disease is a spinal condition that affects the ability to walk and get around normally. In Jackson’s case, we do not know if it is congenital or a result of past traumas.

Jackson’s family couldn’t care for him, and he had a hard time with stairs and would fall and trip down them. They live in a three story house and had had him since he was a small puppy. We aren’t sure if his Wobblers disease contributed to the falls or is a result of the falls.

He is one of the sweetest Danes we have ever met. Jackson has been going for acupuncture treatments and has gotten such a good report from the vet that he doesn’t have to go back unless his condition deteriorates. This makes us happy! We will care for Jackson until someone very special adopts him or until we can no longer keep him comfortable with a good quality of life. There is not much we can do for his knees and hips. A dog with Wobblers is already unstable on their feet and doing surgery on either just would not be fair to him and his recuperation time would be extremely difficult. We have put him on high quality grain free food and joint supplements along with weekly Adequan injections.

A word from Jackson (June 9): “My vet said I can start reducing one of my herbal supplements and come completely off of it! That means I’m only taking one herbal supplement! Wow!! If you’ve come out to meet me then you know I’m feeling good because I am always on my feet ready to greet the next person who comes by with some talking and some loving! I just get so excited to meet new people! Sometime, if my foster mom isn’t close enough to the person I want to see, I get down on the ground and do a sort of spider-crawl to try and get near them!! I think people think it’s very funny! I love ALL dogs and I even like the cat at my foster house-although I don’t think she likes when I bark at her to try and get her to play with me! Kids are awesome too and as long as I can have some space on the couch, I am set! I’ve got some amazing tricks! I’m very stealthy at sneaking food if you leave it too close to the front of the counter (hello people, I’m a Great Dane-push the food to the back of the counter) and I LOVE to drink out of people’s cups! I’ve also figured out that if I stand in front of you while you are watching TV, you are bound to scoot over and make room for me on the couch!! Now I don’t know about you, but I think those tricks are better than the typical sit and down (which I can do too!)”

MORE INFO:
Did you know poor breeding (back yard breeding) can contribute to hip dysplasia. We also know his owners fed him puppy food with too much protein content which caused his growth plates to close too soon and caused abnormalities in his knees. Great Dane puppies should eat adult dog food!

Please consider donating to Jackson’s fund. He is truly one of the gentlest souls we’ve ever met! All donations are tax deductible and GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Jackson has his own Facebook page! “Like” him on Facebook to join his page: Friends of Jackson the Great Dane