When Behavior Problems Aren't So Simple: Raja's Story

Five years ago, Raja was found as a stray, a beautiful giant running through West Philadelphia. At 16" tall and 90 lbs he was a stocky little monster. Raja was lucky enough to avoid cars, other dogs, people who wanted to hurt him, and all the other perils of the city streets, AND was lucky enough to be found by good Samaritans who pulled him off the streets and, not knowing what else to do, dropped him off at a local veterinary emergency room. As "those vet students who run a rescue", we were the first to be called. He didn't have a microchip, ID tag or any means to find his owner. We called the local SPCAs and shelters, and we posted fliers, but no one was looking for poor Raj.

This sweet dog, who never met a person or animal he didn't like, wasn't in foster care long until a young couple applied and were approved to adopt him. He settled in quickly and was happy addition to their family. He had a great 5 years there (making him about 7 now), before we received a disturbing email. Raja had started urinating in their house shortly after they adopted a kitten (a few months ago). They were at their wits end; they had tried babygating him away from the kitten, crating him, taking him outside more frequently, in short, everything they could think of, and yet poor Raja kept peeing in their house, ruining their carpets and floors. The sad, frustrated email stated that they just didn't know what else to do and wanted to return him to us so that we could find him a home where he would be happier.

To our surprise, when we arrived to retrieve Raja, he seemed much the same as when we left him: happy, wagging and giving kisses. They reported that he and the kitten seemed friendly, there was no fighting, chasing or other issues between them, just the urination, every day, in the house. Since they were sure that Raja's new behavior wasn't medical (he seemed normal to them in every other way, and they were sure he was just upset about the kitten), he had not seen a veterinarian since the problem started. To make sure we had a complete history, we started asking the medical questions that they might not have thought of. It turns out that Raja had lost some weight recently and also seemed to be hungry all the time, both of which they didn't think much about until we started asking (they had put him on a diet and attributed the weight loss and hunger to this).

In order to think about placing a dog as old as Raja in another home, we needed to do a complete medical work-up for him first. Since old dogs take a long time to place, we didn't feel like it would be fair to ask him to adjust to a new foster home and then a new adoptive home if there was something medically wrong with him. There are lots of serious diseases that are associated with frequent urination and weight loss, including kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes, cancer, and more. We wanted to rule all of these things out right away. We took Raja to our vet office for some routine testing on the way home, doing a urinalysis (to rule out diabetes and look for kidney disease) and x-rays first, then planning to do bloodwork to look for systemic problems like kidney or liver disease. To our dismay, Raja had a very large tumor growing in his abdomen, potentially associated with one of his kidneys, liver or spleen, and it had already spread to the lymph nodes in that area, meaning it was virtually impossible to cure. Based on his prognosis and the fact that he was already showing severe signs of kidney disease, we elected to euthanize Raja rather than allow him to suffer any longer.

We didn't want Raja to have died in vain, so we thought we could share his story in the hopes that his story will help other pet owners to recognize early signs of disease that may be easily mistaken for other things. A lot of the time, especially in older dogs, acute behavioral changes can be associated with sickness. And a lot of the time, it's easy to attribute these behavioral changes with the changes that happen in every day life; the new pet, the new baby, moving, etc, and to convince ourselves that what we're seeing is due to anxiety, spite, jealousy, or fear. Raja's poor owners went through weeks of trying to help him feel more comfortable in his home, getting more frustrated as each attempt failed. The first step to working through behavior problems should ALWAYS be a medical exam, especially in older animals. Routine vet care (including screening tests like wellness blood work) can go a long way to early detection of problems like Raja's, hopefully to identify medical problems BEFORE owners are at their wit's end and the animal is too sick to be treated. If Raja's owners had taken him to the veterinarian when he started urinating in the house, could they have saved him? We'll never know; it very well may have been that it was already too late. But at the very least, they wouldn't have watched their relationship with the dog they loved deteriorate until they had no recourse left but to ask us to come pick him up.

Raja is still luckier than many dogs that die on the streets every day; he had owners that loved him dearly, and rescuers that held him while he took his last breathe. He will not be forgotten...

To Be (Four-Legged) Or Not To Be: Fritz's Question

Last weekend was a busy one for rescue! One of our intakes was Fritz, a schnauzer/poodle mix with a tibial fracture (the tibia is the larger bone below the knee). After (likely) being hit by a car, he was brought into the PSPCA in early February, where the vets there did X-rays and decided to try to splint his leg, hoping that the break would heal properly. Unfortunately, Fritz was so painful from his broken leg and so overwhelmed by being in the shelter, that the staff contacted us to see if we had the room and the care to take him on.

Our first stop after picking Fritz up was the veterinarian. Because he had been splinted the weekend before, at the very least he was due for a bandage change! Poor Fritz was sweet with all of us, but didn't want anyone touching his leg, so our veterinarian sedated him so that he could be neutered and his bandage changed.

She first noticed that his bandage had slipped down his leg a little bit. Hind legs are notoriously hard to bandage, as they like to slip down the leg and create more pain and problems in bone healing. Even though we can sometimes get away with changing bandages only once a week, oftentimes hind legs need to be replaced more frequently. Fritz's break was also near the top of his tibia (basically at his knee) so it was very important that the bandage stayed put!

Fritz stayed at the veterinary hospital overnight and went home with his foster mom in the morning. By that that night, his bandage had already slipped again, much to our dismay.

We had a long conversation about the best thing to do for Fritz. Continuing to splint his leg for another 6 weeks, especially if the bandage continued slipping every day or every few days, was becoming a more troublesome plan. Sometimes animals let us re-splint their legs awake, but for Fritz, who was scared and very painful, that wasn't an option. Sedating him every 2-3 days was also not a good option.

If we had thousands of dollars at our disposal, we could contemplate having his leg pinned by an orthopedic surgeon, but that would still involve 5-6 weeks of cage rest after yet another surgery for Fritz.

After a long discussion, we unanimously decided that the best option for Fritz was to amputate his leg. Three-legged dogs, especially small dogs, do really well. Instead of going through bandage change after bandage change in a vet clinic that was scary to him for 6 more weeks, plus another 2-4 weeks of limited exercise, Fritz would undergo one more surgery and come out of it without any restrictions whatsoever. The other really nice aspect of amputations is that since the broken bone is removed, the healing process is much faster and much less painful overall.

Fritz had his surgery on Thursday and went home to his foster home today. Already his foster mom is reporting that he is doing so much better than when he had his splint on; he's less worried about her touching him and much more willing to walk around the house and interact with the other animals.

Finally, instead of being in our care for another 6-8 weeks, Fritz will be able to start looking for a home soon, and it's always in their best interest to go to their forever homes sooner rather than later!

Old Dogs Need Homes Too: Stella's Story

Although we end up finding and placing a lot of puppies, kittens, and young animals, they aren't the only ones looking for homes. Sadly, many older dogs and cats find themselves in shelters or on the street, and finding adoptive homes can be challenging. While we usually have a lot of success placing older small dogs (Fred, from an earlier blog post, is a perfect example, as is Walter, the pug that just went a home last weekend), bigger dogs, for whatever reason, have a much harder time finding homes.

Take Stella, for example. Stella is a mastiff (maybe boxer mix) who was found along Kelly Drive, completely confused as to where she was and which direction would take her home. A kind Samaritan (and veterinary nurse) picked her up off the street. Since the nurse didn't have the room to take Stella home, she contacted us to see if we could help. All of us at Cares4pets are suckers for older dogs, especially when they are as cute and sweet as Stella!

First order of business with any older animal is to run some bloodwork (to make sure they are healthy) and to get them spayed/neutered. Stella has clearly had A LOT of puppies in her life, and definitely deserves to not have any more! She did great under anaesthesia, but our veterinarian noticed another lump on her shoulder while she was asleep and took that off as well. We biopsied the lump, and found that poor Stella has cancer.

After doing some chest radiographs, we were able to determine that her cancer had not spread to her lungs, hopefully buying her some real time to enjoy the rest of her life.

Stella is any dog-lover's dream come true. She is housebroken, great with people, great with dogs, and wants nothing more than to curl up beside her foster mom. She's calm and quiet, and has been through enough to know a good thing when she sees it.

Although she's in a foster home where she is in good hands and loved, what Stella really deserves is, for the first time in her life, to be someone's pet. She may not have a ton of time left, but she's ready to make the most of it. All she needs is someone to share it with!

Remember, when you're looking for your next dog (or cat), that older animals need homes too. Even if Stella isn't the right match for you, there might be another senior that is.

Casey (Regan)

My story starts back in October 2006. Our world was turned upside down when our beloved dog Murphy was diagnosed with bladder cancer and could not be treated and was put to sleep. Heartboken,i started the search for our new "Baby". It was there on Petfinders that i found this sweet face which is now my baby Casey. I read her sad story of being on the streets of Philadelphia only 9 months old and how nervous she was to be at the pound ,so the Philadelphia Humane Society asked Cares4 Pets if they could take her . We looked for days at other websites, but there was something about those big brown eyes that just melted my heart. We set up the appointment to see "Regan" (that was her name - it means Queen and a Queen she is ). She was living in a dorm room with Casey Lynch one of the volunteers for Cares 4 Pets .She had a Kitten and Cat as well..When I saw "Regan" playing with the kitten and how she would follow it around only to be smacked constantly in the face , she would ju
st sit there with a confused look we knew immediately we wanted her. We were interviewed and 2 days later we received the call that she was ours pending a home inspection.We picked up Casey on October 7th,2006. We changed her name to her "Foster Mom" Casey Lynch.
Now she is the QUEEN of the house (hmmm..maybe i will change her name back to Regan).
She is my " BABY"

Happy Holidays Everyone !
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Jack's Story

We were fortunate enough to adopt Jack from Cares4Pets a little over a year ago. Cares4Pets truly is a great group of folks who really guided us through the adoption process, as Jack was our first rescue, and helped us to welcome Jack into our home. Now, Jack's doing great! He recently completed his Canine Good Citizen exam after progressing all the way though Advanced doggie classes. He's the absolute love of our lives and we don't know how we ever managed to survive without him! He's even made his pilot's wings as our favorite co-pilot and loves to take leisurely rides in the plane! He's such a loving and intelligent little guy, which makes the thought of him shivering and mistreated in that horrendous Lancaster Puppy Mill all the more difficult to imagine... But thanks to Cares4Pets, he's in a warm, safe, and forever home with a family that couldn't love him more! And we're so thankful to have him!!!

Thank you, Cares4Pets, for giving us our Jack...

Joe

Just wanted to say thanks for pulling Joe out of the shelter so he could find his way to us. It's been about a month now, and he's fully settled in and doing great. My daughter was thrilled with the news as well when I told her I found the perfect dog for us, and he's been just that since day one. He loves to take walks , has a favorite ball that he could chase all day, and although he started out on the floor, now sleeps at my feet on the sofa while I watch tv before heading up for the night. We're all looking forward to enjoying a nice long life together. :)

Saving Park Dogs and Cats: A Collaboration with Stray Animal Rescue

As rescuers with small budgets, limited resources, and huge hearts, we are always looking to find the most efficient way to save more animals. One of the key ways of doing this is by building connections with other rescue groups and rescuers to share expertise and knowledge.

Over a year ago, Buzzy (from Buzzy's Bow Wow Meow in Narberth PA) introduced us to Janice Strawder, who runs "Stray Animal Rescue". Janice is committed to helping out the stray dogs and cats that live in the parks surrounding Philadelphia. Many of these animals may have been dumped in the parks by owners that no longer wanted them, or just ended up there as they traveled in search of food and shelter. Janice spends her time feeding and trapping these animals to get them off the streets (and out of the park!).

Since meeting Janice, we've collaborated on a number of projects, and together have saved and placed quite a few wonderful animals. Next weekend (October 17th) we're having a fundraising event with "Stray Animal Rescue", and in celebration of our work together, we wanted to highlight some of the special animals we've saved, together.

Because our skill sets are so very different (Janice specializes in finding, befriending, and trapping stray animals while we are especially good at treating medical needs and finding animals homes), the collaboration works well. Over the past year, we've placed four park animals with Janice's support; Vivian (a momma cat), Leon (now Monty), Teddy, and Stewart. We're currently doing our best to place two more; Pablo (in one of our foster homes) and Amy (being fostered by Janice). We also have done our best to provide medical care when we can; Itsy, a kitty with a broken leg, was fixed by our vet and has now been adopted by Janice. But we also often call on Janice's expertise as well. A few months ago, when we were contacted about a dog tied in Fairmount Park (Brooke), Janice graciously joined us to help get this dog out of the park. Brooke is now in her forever home.

We are excited to keep building our relationship with "Stray Animal Rescue" and can't wait to join Janice on October 17th from 2-6 pm at the Dawson Street Pub in Manayunk for a wonderful fundraising event to benefit the animals that we both love to save! We hope that you will be able to join us for this event. More event details can be found at: http://www.phillynokill.com/No-Kill/Events.html and you can RSVP on the Facebook event page at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=126567697395889. We hope to see you there!