3/15/2014 “Will has been adopted!”
12/20/2011 
Will’s visit with Dr. Sullivan of Animal Eye Clinic went very well and the result was a good new/bad news type of answer to our question. The good news is that Will had not sustained an injury to his left eye and he has no pain. The bad news is he was born with a congenital problem that has resulted in blindness of that eye and the eye literally being a bit smaller than his right eye. This will result in debris tending to collect in that eye which can make him prone to mild eye infections. In fact, he had one that day so Dr. Sullivan gave us eye drops for it and it cleared up quickly. This explains Will’s tendency to run into doorways and objects located to the left of him.
Will continues to be a happy boy. He has learned to use the dog door on his own to come into the house so now we’re working on getting him to go outside on his own. He LOVES mealtime and does his happy dance sometimes jumping with all 4 feet off the floor! He is gradually learning to sit to wait for his bowl to be put on the floor.
Will wishes you all a very happy, fun filled and safe Holiday Season!!
Will continues to show improvement and settle in at his new foster home. Now that the antihistamine has been almost eliminated and he is taking Chinese herbs instead, he is more alert and interactive with the people in his life. His legs are getting stronger and he now occasionally accompanies his foster “pack” on a 30 minute walk on leash in the woods. He wags his tail the entire walk so he clearly enjoys it as much as everyone else. He has an appointment with the Animal Eye Clinic in early December to have his eyes checked and hopefully determine just how much vision he has. His facial tic occurs less often and usually when he’s excited like at meal time. Overall, he is a happy guy.
10/10/2011
Will continues to pull at our hearts with his gentle demeanor & undemanding behavior. Repeated vet visits show, finally, that his ears are improving & perhaps remain typical of a dog with allergies, requiring the usual maintenance that comes with this situation. He seems to be happy and is gaining strength while continuing his physical improvement.
9/15/2011
Well it’s been a 4 week journey for Will since he came into rescue. Let’s begin by saying how much he is improved in that time. There have been several vet visits & procedures, & mainly we have concentrated on his badly infected ears & starting him back on seizure medication.
To date Will had dental cleaning & ears flushed with several Xrays taken while sedated. His ears have improved a lot though we continue to clean daily & apply antibiotic drops. They bother him less, though he does still react, allowing us to wonder if he still has pain when we clean them. It might just be his association that allows him to react when the procedure is done since we know there is GReat improvement. His very abnormal facial movement & head shaking is greatly reduced since he has been started back on seizure meds. We now believe them to be a part of his seizure activity, suggested to be partial seizures by our vet. It’s possible the seizures are also the consequence of a head injury from the original trauma as a very young pup. His coat is vastly improved & growing in nicely. Frequent bathing has helped & we’ll continue to scrub him down regularly. Throughout this time, part of the protocol has been that Will has been on Prednisone. Now that we are reducing & weaning him off this, he does seem to be back to chewing at his dewclaws. Further trial & error treatments are being used to see if we can stop him from doing this.
We were able to learn more of Will’s history from his previous owner. The X-rays that were done by our vet were viewed by an orthopedic vet. Though Will has had surgery in the past, the results were far from satisfactory & we know Will has repercussions from that surgery. We have been advised that nothing will be gained by intervention to the original surgery to repair what was a fracture of his femur at age 8 weeks. That he has a neurological sign apparent in the left hind leg causing him to drag the foot occasionally, (which causes the abrasion of the nails & toes) this will unfortunately be a permanent consequence of the original trauma since it has likely caused permanent nerve damage. It still remains that he may have a partial tear to tendons in his knee, & we’ll wait to see if we may consider addressing that issue at a later date.
For now he is much more alert & has a spring in his step….some days more apparent than others. His mental acuity is somewhat less than one would assume to be normal, but I suppose it bothers us more than it does him. Will suddenly will have a spurt of energy & charge around the yard or even chase our dog briefly, then, just as suddenly, he will become the Will we usually see……. His nose & acuity apparently know exactly when it is feeding time & he is so very typical GR by being VERY food motivated. We aren’t sure who is being most clumsy, the person prepping the foot or Will, with Will being very much under foot during this time.
We expect to check back with our vet in another couple of weeks & report again on the progress in Will. He’s a very sweet boy who’s very content with his lot in life despite the apparent limitations.
8/14/2011
I guess he had a good night in as much as we were not disturbed. No mess in the xpen. He did go out & p&p which was normal at the start but did become loose, possibly the medication or even the food change.
I have to say, even last night as I potties him, I wonder if he has a neurological issue. He is REALLY…. disconnected. His being ‘vague’ is a consequence of the neurological issue I believe. Question is why….. It could be trauma from falling out of a truck as a pup, or lack of meds with seizures causing brain damage. Since he has not (apparently) had a seizure for a while, does he have them due to brain damage has crossed my mind. I think I will call the original vet also to get some feedback.
This morning he again showed he does not ….. comprehend things, is the best way I can explain it.
To have him go out it’s necessary to put him on leash to take him to the door, also to come back in. He lays down on whatever ‘mat’ he finds first, even if it’s the one right inside the door which does not allow one to close the door & I don’t believe it’s because he is weak or fatigued. He went out on leash while my other dog was out, & once taken off leash ignored her completely….its like she was not there even. I kept throwing her the ball so she too ignored him.
Now he is back in the kitchen & he is whining quietly almost constantly. He is shaking his head so much that I wonder if he won’t create a hematoma…… Also, he’s trying so hard to get rid of whatever in his mouth. I think this is because of the sensation the mouth gives with the state of it. I believe it to be equally infected with yeast as the rest of him. Thankfully he is eating. He does want to lick at himself a lot which is not a good thing with all his skin issues. However I really don’t want to put a collar on him right now. A T shirt might work some, though it’s his feet & legs that he pays attention to most. We’ll just be vigilant & distract him as best we can…even that is not easy due to his….disconnect. He does hear & see, though both may be compromised.
We plan on bathing him again today, as I seem to remember that happened as a course of action with Star with his skin condition.
I hope that all I asses now with his mental state is hogwash & he’ll perk up as he gets more interaction & stimulus & care. Time will tell I guess.
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8/13/2011
Weeee’ll he is bathed & nails cut even minimally as that’s all one can do due to the length of the quick. Where to begin….
He reminds me a lot of a somewhat lesser version of how Star was when he first came in. Black skin everywhere in his rear, top & bottom indicating a skin infestation probably bacterial. Possibly started as a flea allergy but no fleas seen now. Prepuce is very inflamed & raw, much like the rest of his under belly & thighs. One dew claw is bitten red raw as is the inside of that front leg . He has a red skin area all around his neck area where there might have been a collar at some time. Back left rear foot has sores at the nail bed area where nails are absent from being worn down on 2 or 3 toes. ALL his nails are like talons, especially on the ‘good’ front foot, & dew claw included that was almost in a compete circle.. His ears are comparable to Oliver’s though not quite as swollen, black skin there also & they stink. From his behavior they really bother him, & I can see why!
He does have a bum back foot though he does walk on it. What is also very apparent is that he has a very arched back which I suspect is a giveaway of having pain…..where being anyone’s guess! His gait is totally abnormal, both from his top line shape to the way he throws his legs around both rear & possibly one in front. As best I can I have looked in his mouth as he seems to keep trying to get something out of it often & he does have a few sore looking sots on his tongue. His teeth are very bad with tartar & possibly decay. I don’t see any areas of pulp being exposed, though a couple has chips off them. He is a total mess physically.
What is GReat is his temperament. He is so very gentle & very sweet.
The records show a blood draw was done last 11/5/09.. Notes say “he has been having seizures a lot , 5 today, not on any meds since Jan. He has had 3-4 month period seizure free this summer.” Noted also that he does indeed have a cataract on his Lt eye & a corneal scar. Owner said old wound from falling out of back of a truck! Rear foot scarred & malformed from old wound.
He has woofed down his supper which is the grain free food…..nice to see.