DRIFTER
 The lines on his saddle are his ribs, the white specks paint |
| This handsome young guy was found as a stray in poor condition. When his Good Samaritan learned that we didn't have immediate accommodations for him she held on and took him to a vet. He is currently being treated for Valley Fever..just two pills a day...and looking much better.
We are awaiting the lab printout from his vet visit; he was negative for all but Valley Fever.
Drifter is getting along well with another GSD, is well mannered inside and has been left loose in the house with a doggie door. About the only thing he has done is get into the garbage which was left out.
He is scheduled to be evaluated on May 18th...please check back for more info and photos. He still needs to be neutered and is desperately in need of a foster home. UPDATE 5/18: Drifter is emaciated, in fact, he's so thin that if you look at him head on, one cannot see his body at all. He's in very poor coat and we think needs further medical evaluation. Unfortunately he's far away (just north of Casa Grande) so we must get him into foster care in Phoenix in order to do what he needs; for starters...a chest film, blood test and fecal which we would like to do right away.
Drifter was very interested in a group of dogs about 75 yards away so it was difficult to get his attention. He is very approachable, no aggression, alert and responsive to light corrections. He knows sit, will walk very well on lead with an experienced handler, will pull a pushover. We don't think going for walks was in his previous repertoire. He appears to be between two and three years of age. We couldn't get a real good look at his teeth..he was OK, just pulled his head away. The usual socializing and training is all that it will take to make him a Canine Good Citizen. It will take a lot of resources and a little time however, to get this boy up to snuff physically. We're waiting for a print out of his initial labs along with his titer in order to make sure the low dosage of meds he'd been prescribed is correct. He weighs only 55 pounds.
Drifter is friendly and fine indoors and while we will only place him with a female or solo, he's getting along well with another male GSD where he is right now. He will chase but not hurt a cat that can take care of itself. Job one: a safe haven Job two: whatever help with his care our friends are able to provide. Drifter will be be microchipped, neutered and vaccinated prior to adoption. If you are interested in fostering Drifter, please read about OUR FOSTER PROGRAM and submit a Foster Application (found on the Foster Program page). UPDATE 5/24: Drifter will be transported to his Phoenix foster home tomorrow. He will see our vet next week. Please stay tuned for updates.
UPDATE 5/28: Drifter had his exam, blood test, fecal check and chest film today. His previously untreated Valley Fever has heavily impacted his lungs and caused his heart to work harder. He's been wandering around with it for quite some time. He will likely be on long term medication. He has gained five pounds but it's hard to see as he is still looks a bit like a furry skeleton. His temperature was normal and his fecal negative for parasites. He's been eating and playing well. We'll have the results of his blood test by Friday. He had been under medicated for his condition so we had increased his dosage to twice a day upon his arrival with which our vet concurred; hopefully it will be more effective now. Drifter's foster Mom says that he's close to perfect. He's been a model citizen in the house and on walks. He crates willingly and happily and always has an abundance of kisses to share. He was even cooperative on the X-ray table and his vet tech fell in love with him. We will not be doing any neuter surgery on this boy until a considerable weight gain and after his next chest film; we're simply looking for improvement with his lungs. Drifter doesn't know he's sick, he's a cheerful outgoing and friendly guy who just tires easily and has a raspy throat. We're hoping that having been a victim of neglect for so long that it has not done irrepairable damage. He certainly deserves better. UPDATE 5/30: As suspected, Drifter's enzyme levels were low..borderline EPI -- Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. He will be started on Prozyme, a supplement which will help him to absorb his food and we will be watching closely for weight gain to see if he needs more than Prozyme. Come on Drifter....fatten up dude! UPDATE 6/3: Drifter is currently on the "back burner" so to speak. We're holding off showing him until we know if and how well he is responding to his treatment protocol. We are accepting inquiries; however, we cannot provide a prognosis for him until he's been on his current medications for another two weeks or so and he's had a follow-up chest X-ray. Right now he's showing signs of improved food absorption but it's too early to know the long term benefits. His progress will be chronicled here. FOSTER'S UPDATE 6/6: Steff: Just a quick note to let you know that Drifter weighed 61.3 this morning. That's up almost two pounds from last week when he weighed 59.6 on those scales. Not a huge amount but it's going in the right direction. To me, he just plain LOOKS better. I might just be getting used to his bony body but I asked a neighbor if he thought Drifter looked like he had gained and the neighbor said yes. I believe he's starting to rebuild lost muscle mass and his stamina is slowly improving. Our walks are now 20-30 minutes and he's recovering faster when we get home. Also, left him loose in the house for about 7-8 minutes and he didn't get into anything this time. (I emptied the recycle basket before I left.) He appears to have just waited by the back door until I got home. I have left him uncrated the last two nights and he's not done anything wrong. Elaine FOSTER REPORT 6/13: HPD (High Plains Drifter) is doing fantastic! I just got back from the vet's office and, either last week's weight was incorrect or this week's is incorrect. According to their scales he has gained exactly 12 pounds in one week! This week he weighed 73.3. Twelve pounds seems like an awful lot in one week but he's looking 'gooder and gooder' to me. Even one of the neighbors made the unsolicited comment this morning that he looks like he has gained. She said she can still see his ribs but they don't stand out like before. The alone time is going very, very well. Left him alone yesterday while I went to Lowe's. Was gone about an hour and still haven't found anything wrong. I think last time when I was out, there was a package of Fig Newtons on the floor. I'm thinking now that he probably wasn't counter surfing - probably chasing the cat and she knocked them off the counter. Elaine Adoption fee to be determined.
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All that aside, it's apparent that he will be a beautiful black and red studly looking fellow once his health is restored, probably a German/American cross, or all West German.
This lovely creature needs our help and we need yours. It's that time of the year when we will be seeing lots of neglected and sick German Shepherds in need.
The gratitude we feel and that these dogs show us is immeasurable.
UPDATE 5/25:
Drifter arrives and plants a grateful slurp on new foster Mom Elaine. We can't wait to get him healthy.