 Skippy
8 years old
Red Male
Skippy is an example of why we don't adopt dogs out as gifts. He was given as a gift, but another family member wouldn't allow him to stay, so off to the shelter he goes! And we're pretty sure that he has already been around the block a few times. His teeth have a pattern of wear that indicates that he has been chewing on bars, as in cages. How sad is that? But his luck is about to change. He is neutered, current on his shots, heartworm negative and on prevention, and we have cleaned his teeth. He weighs 17 lbs and is the perfect weight, and is about 8 years old. Now he just needs a PERMANENT family! This guy is so easy going and happy-go-lucky! He likes everyone and constantly wags his tail. He takes one day at a time and nothing seems to bother him. He likes leisurely walks out in the grass. We just can't imagine why anyone would give him up.
 Winston
12 years old
Red male
Winston's health was severely neglected by his previous family, and when he wound up at the animal shelter he had severe dental problems, an ugly black growth on the top of his head, heartworms, and something that had caused his skin to darken and his coat to be very sparse and coarse. Our vet thinks that it may be sunburn, or perhaps malnutrition. At any rate, he made it to CTDR, has had his teeth fixed, the growth removed from his head, and is now in a loving foster home where he gets along with everyone, including the cats. Recently, Winston participated in the Northwest Austin Civil Association Fourth of July Parade and had a great time marching along and meeting people and dogs and kids. He loves people and just wants to be by your side all the time. On the advice of our vet, we are
treating his heartworm with Heartgard, which takes longer than more
aggressive treatments, because of his age and physical condition. This will
take longer, but will be safer for him. With good food and pampering we are hoping that his coat will return to normal and that he will live a few more years while enjoying a comfortable home.
 Cosby
10 years old
Red Male
Cosby is the type of rescue that just pains your heart. He was picked up as a stray in one of the swankiest areas of Austin and had to serve his time at the shelter in the sweltering heat before he could get relief and come to us. What a sad, sad picture he is and what a terrible, unloved life he has obviously led. He has open sores on all of the pressure points of his front and back legs, indicating that he has spent years sleeping on cement. One sore goes all the way to his tendon. The skin around his mouth is raw. His ears were bleeding on the inside. His eyes are weeping. Oh, and of course he is heartworm positive. Right now he is just exhausted and grateful, and trying to soak up the first TLC he probably has ever received. He is now current on his vaccinations and has been neutered and had his teeth cleaned.
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UPDATE: 12/06/06
We found out that Cosby has an auto-immune disease, so we had to find the right antibiotics to heal his skin. He is now looking much, much better. He still has some ulcers on his eyes, and is seeing an eye specialists to treat those. His nose and mouth get quite dry and he needs to be nebulized, but we hope that will decrease as his immune system gets stronger. We have not started his heartworm treatment yet, but months of Heartgard have at least killed all of the microfilaria. X-rays show that his heart and lungs do not show any adverse affects from his heartworms. He absolutely ADORES his foster mom and follows her around like a lovesick teenager. It really is cute to watch. She is a vet tech at our clinic so he gets the very best of care around the clock - lucky boy! He is so happy when she is around and snuggles in her arms. Simple love and kindness is going a long way to help healing all of his wounds.
 Scooter
4 years old
Black and Tan Mini Female
Scooter is a petite 9.5 lb, 4 year old girl. Her family
gave her up because they did not have the money to pay
for back surgery and requested the Emergency Clinic
euthanize her. The clinic felt that little Scooter would
have a good chance at recovery if she had surgery right
away, so they asked Scooter's owners to sign her over
to them. One of the vet techs at the clinic follows
our website and called to see if we could help with
Scooter. As soon as I saw her precious face I just knew
that she deserved another chance. She still had deep
pain sensation in her back legs so she was a good candidate
for surgery.
When I brought Scooter home Sunday she was overwhelmed
by all of the changes and scared by what was happening.
Her eyes were big, her head rigid, and her body shaking.
She had, afterall, lost her family and the use of her
legs, and she was understandably terrified. But, after
gentle words of encouragement and caresses, the kisses
started coming. Once she knew that someone was on her
side and would make the pain stop, her body relaxed
and she settled into her crate. She ate a large dinner
and slept well.
Unfortunately, by Monday morning when the back surgery
was scheduled, most of the sensation in her legs was
gone, but Dr. Caplan felt that she might have success
because the injury was so new. Again Scooter had big
eyes and was afraid, but I gave her lots of encouragement
and she in turn gave me lots of kisses. We went ahead
with the surgery with all fingers and paws crossed.
Late in the day Dr. Caplan called to say that there
was indeed alot of swelling and bruising of the spinal
cord which is why Scooter had lost her deep pain sensation.
It wasn't the best news we could have received, but
Scooter made it through the surgery fine and the docter
cleaned the disk material around 3 disks. So now, we
need to wait and see how she does. We need everyone
to send healing rays and prayers for Scooter.
UPDATE: 06/01/05
It has now been more than a month since Scooter's surgery.
Although she still can't walk and can't go potty on
her own, we see progress every week. She has acupuncture
each week and we have now started water therapy, which,
in true doxie form, she HATES! How could I possibly
put her in water??? A couple of weeks ago, during her
weekly checkup, when Dr. Caplan pinched her tail she
whipped around and tried to bite her! She has feeling
back in her tail. This week she started wagging her
tail. She does make the walking motion with her legs,
but she can't support herself yet. Dr. Caplan already
feels that she has come farther than she ever anticipated,
and that because of the extent of her damage she will
need at least 3 months for her full response. She is
full of energy and desperately wants to play ball! And
she is definitely one heck of a vocal gal - just ask
her foster mom - she is called Her Royal Highness, Queen
of All Things Demanding, The Screaming Screeching Scooter
Pooter!
UPDATE: 07/12/05
Physical therapy, and especially water therapy and the
underwater treadmill, has made a world of difference
in Scooter's recovery. She now "walks" most
of the time. It is very jerky and it isn't pretty, but
it is walking. This girl is always on the go - busy,
busy, busy. She just moves all over her foster home
now. Not bad for a girl who was only given 25% chance
of ever walking again! Patience and hard work have definitely
paid off.
 Brogan
3 years old
Red Mini Male
On Saturday, October 30
we got that dreaded phone call - the shelter had just
received a paralyzed doxie from his family, and they
were requesting euthanization. Could we help? Unfortunately,
right now we have an extremely large outstanding vet
bill, so paying for surgery wasn't an option. But this
guy is only 3, and it seemed like such a waste to let
him go. So, we contacted the wonderful people at the
Disabled Dachshund Society (http://www.ourdds.org/)
and they immediately agreed to fund his surgery. The
shelter put him on steroids and pain medication to get
him through the next few days.
On Sunday I picked him up and reviewed his paperwork.
It seems his family took him to the EC after his injury,
and when they found out he needed surgery they decided
to euthanize instead. But, they were unable to pay to
have him euthanized, so instead took him to the shelter.
That decision saved his life. You see, this shelter
doesn't kill dachshunds - instead they call CTDR. When
we took him in, not only was he paralyzed, but he had
no bladder or bowel control. But he sure was sweet and
we hoped that surgery would help him live a normal doxie
life again.
Monday morning we got him in right away to our wonderful
surgeon of choice, Elaine Caplan (Capital
Area Veterinary Specialists). He had his surgery
that day. They found that he had 2 ruptured disks at
T11/12 and T12/13, his spinal cord had pulled through
and he had significant bruising. The doctor didn't expect
him to walk for a couple of weeks, but his prognosis
was good. By the next day he was already walking! They
were so pleased and shocked with his progress. He had
also already regained his bladder and bowel control.
He was doing so well that he could be released on Thursday.
By then he just wanted to run, run, run, but of course
crate rest is the order of the day.
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Brogan's stiches from back surgery. |
Since his surgery, one of the first things we felt
obligated to do was to give this little guy a more suitable
name — his family had named him 'Mouse' but we
felt it didn't fit with his fighter personality so we
re-named him 'Brogan', which means strong and sturdy.
We have confidence that Brogan will live up to his name.
This little boy is an extremely loving dog and shows
his affection with abundant kisses. He also gets along
well with other dogs. He is going to make a wonderful
companion for some very lucky family once he is fully
recovered.
Please show your appreciation to the Disabled Dachshund
Society by visiting their website (http://www.ourdds.org/)
and making a tax-free donation, sending them an item
on their wish list, or checking out their eBay auctions.
Without them we would not have been able to give Brogan
the surgery that he needed.
UPDATE: 01/18/05
Over the past month Brogan has been drinking a significant
amount of water so we have been running several tests.
Urinalysis and blood tests were all normal, so finally
last week he had an ultrasound. We were shocked to find
that his liver is half the size that it should be. A
major shunt wasn't found but minor shunts were suspected.
Bile acid tests were run and we got those tests back
today. While they were high, they weren't super high,
so tomorrow he will have a biopsy. He's been through
so much, this is such a blow. Please send positive thoughts.
UPDATE: 01/31/05
The biopsy came back, and it has ruled out cirrhosis
and colangiohepatits, but it hasn't totally ruled out
the micro shunts. It could also be a psychogenic polydipsia
or diabetes insipidis (which is not the "normal" diabetes
we think of). Psychogenic polydipsia is more behavioral,
where the dog drinks excessive water as a nervous type
reaction, which is a very simple explanation. We have
a plan to narrow the problemt down even further over
the next couple of weeks. This sure is taking a long
time and I wish that it was much easier! Please keep
sending him positive rays because he is such a sweet
boy.
UPDATE: 03/29/05
After undergoing further testing and a more complete
biopsy, Brogan finally has a diagnosis - microvascular
displasia. This is basically microshunting of the liver.
It is managed with a low protein diet. Since he has
gone on this diet we have already seen a new Brogan.
While we thought that he wasn't affected by whatever
was going on, we were wrong - we now have a very active,
very playful dog - almost like a puppy! He and Pete
are like 2 whirling dervishes from the minute they get
up in the morning. And he just loves to race around
the yard with the other dogs. He truly is a super happy
boy, completely oblivious to the fact that he has gone
through some major medical procedures over the past
few months.
UPDATE: 01/04/06
Brogan has been diagnosed with hepatic microvascular
dysplasia, commonly called microshunts of the liver.
This condition cannot be cured, but is managed using
a low-protein diet and medication to reduce and absorb
the ammonia in the digestive tract that is normally
processed by the liver. One of the outward signs of
his condition is that he thinks he needs to drink alot
of water, which can be managed by controlling his access
to water bowls so that he doesn't throw off his electrolytes,
which can then cause seizures. Brogan is such a good
boy and willingly takes his medication. He is so happy
and loving, and just loves to run around the yard with
his foster brothers and sisters. He has no idea that
he is any different from them!
 Ellie
8 years old
Red Mini Female
Diagnosed with cancer
Ellie is a beautiful 11.5
pound sweetie who had a rough life before
she came to us. She has a tattoo in her ear with a
huge notch, indicating that she came from a puppy mill.
When they were done using her to pump out puppies,
they discarded her, and she ended up at the pound.
Despite all of this, she has such a winning personality
with incredible charm. She would love to spend all
of her time in your lap, looking up at you with those
big brown eyes. She also loves to wag her tail. When
she first came into her foster home she picked up a
stuffed toy and started to play. It was probably the
first time she ever had a toy!
She had her vaccinations and was luckily heartworm
negative. She needed major dental
work, but bounced right back after that. Then she went
on to be spayed and have mammary tumors removed, which
is very common in dogs that have been used as breeders.
After a rough couple of days she was back to her
charming self, enjoying the sun, napping, and begging
for attention. We thought the future was looking brighter
for Ellie and that this Southern
Belle might finally find her forever home, but soon
after Ellie started coughing and we knew something
was very wrong. One of the mammary tumors
that was removed from Ellie was malignant, and now
we feared that it had metastasized into her lungs.
Ellie's foster mom took her into the vet for x-rays,
and our worst fears were confirmed.
Life before CTDR was not easy for Ellie. But since
coming here she has been so happy, and her tail never
stops wagging. She is such a doll - a real sweetheart.
We will keep her comfortable for as long as possible,
and be sure that her last days are happy.
Hospice dogs who have found forever homes
Hospice dogs who have crossed to the Rainbow Bridge
- Georgie
- Sophie
- Ballpark
- Hazel
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