Brain-Damaged GSD from MTL SPCA Puppy-Mill Raid

[canine14]

Hello,

There is a brain-damaged German Shepherd puppy at the SPCA from the puppy-mill raid that was done a few months ago. Apparently, this little guy has a constant head wobble. He also appears to be a bit "slower." Despite this, I was told that he has a wonderful personality and is not aggressive in the very least. Because I have so many special-needs kittens right now, I can't take a chance with this guy in the house. The kittens already freak out when they see my mellow dog, Ava. I have arranged with Pierre Barnotti to put a 24 hr. hold on this poor fellow.

Can anyone PLEASE help? Any GSD rescuers out there? Any groups who would be willing to take this guy into rescue? I could pull him and then we could arrange transport. I know that this is a horrible time of year, but can anyone please open their hearts? Any individuals willing to adopt him straight out?

I have a puppy-mill GSD myself whose leg was shattered (through abuse) in 5 places at a few days of age. Her leg has since been repaired and it is short and crooked but she uses it like a champ. There is speculation that she may have come from the same mill that this puppy is from, which is why I feel so driven to help him.

Please resond to Lisa at harryis21@yahoo.com.

THANK YOU.

[Luba]

Thx for posting I'll cross post and share

[canine14]

Turns out this puppy vomits daily and has severe diahrrea. This guy is only 6-8 months old. If anyone is willing to take on such a project, please let me know by tomorrow 5 PM. If not, which is understandable, maybe it would be kinder to let him go.

Argh. I hate calls like this. No wonder I have an ulcer.

Lisa.

[poodletalk]

Why is this dog sick? Is there any chance the diaheria and throughing up would stop? Or is this a full time thing for the rest of his life? Poor little guy!

[canine14]

Poodle,

I have no idea. Barnotti claims that he has been like this for three months, since they acquired him, with no improvement. I can't help thinking though that they are not expending tons of veterinary resources on checking this guy out. Maybe his symptoms can be controlled. It's probably worth getting him checked by my vet. If my vet, who goes the extra mile for all creatures, finds the dog does not have good qulaity of life, then he would compassionately and humanely euthanize him. If the puppy's symptoms could be controlled, I would need him to go into rescue or foster immediately upon his release from the vet as my boyfriend is at the point of walking out!

Lisa.

[Luba]

I'm trying all of my contacts!! Lets not lose hope!

[Lucky Rescue]

The SPCA will not treat any animals for anything. They kill them - even for rhino - and I"m amazed this puppy is alive, but I guess after all the newspaper stories about these dogs, it wouldn't be good PR to kill them all.

This puppy could have something easily treatable, but that wont' be known unless someone takes him in.

[canine14]

GSRT in Toronto might be able to take him if I have him evaluated first. I will pull him tomorrow and bring him to my vet. If he can be stabilized, he will be sent to TO. Yay!

NOW, depending on the outcome at the vet, I may need a foster for a few days until I can get him to TO.

Any takers?

I hope we can save this guy. I know that there are so mant healthy ones looking for homes. I just can't help feel that it's not fair that this guy not get a chance.

Thanks,
Lisa.

[Golden Girls]

******* *******

[canine14]

Whole thing makes me sick.

I just want to help the little guy. It's not his fault.

[Luba]

OH that is FANTASTIC NEWS

[maddoxies]

If the vet does feel that he has a chance, please keep me in the loop when he goes into foster. I have been doing some research on physiotherapy, etc, that can be done by the foster home, perhaps to help with the head wobble, and better neuron pathways for him to have better control over his body. I will be in Toronto and do know someone from GSRT, if he goes into foster there.

[canine14]

That's wonderful Goldengirl!

It seems like he has the equivalent of CH (Cerebral Hypoplasia) in cats.

Okay, I STILL need a local foster ... paws crossed that we will need it ...

Lisa.

[Luba]

He may just need a neck brace/collar to help support the nerves in his neck. This could be an easy fix, like how they fix wobblers.

Oh this sounds like a very special boy who needs all of our prayers for his exam!

Foster wise, he may be better off as an only dog so he doesn't get too hyper possibly making the condition worse. But that may be a dif thing to find.

I'm a thinking...I'm a thinking and have many feelers out there

[canine14]

UPDATE

I am only going to be able to pull him tomorrow because of the overload at my vet at present. I will have him treated and tested and will take a photo. It sounds as though he has either vestibular sydrome or cerebellar dysfunction. The vomiting fits in because nystagmus, which occurs in vestibular syndrome, causes the eyes constantly to shift back and forth and make the puppy nauseous or "sea sick." The diahrrea I am sure is from some parasite that he has picked up in the crowded kennels, especially as he has been there for three months. Everything I listed above has treatment options.

I still could use a local foster on Thursday or Friday for a few days.

Thanks,
Lisa.

[happycats]

I wish I was closer!! :sad:

[Luba]

Tx for the update Lisa

Shameful he's having this problem at such a young age, it affects mostly older dogs UNLESS he was injured either deliberately or accidentally maybe during birthing.

Poor baby, I can't wait to see his picture.

If these things are 'episodes' and not on an on going basis, see if you can take a video of the episode when it haps to show the vet....may have to watch him for awhile.

I hope they have a nice comfortable place for him to lay, as this ataxia can cause them to fall over and injure themselves.

If you're looking for a foster home it would be best if they didn't have a lot of stairs or could block stairs off, and carpeting would be idea..so as to catch his balance.

I had a dog go through this in his senior years, we made many accomodations for him.

[Princesss04]

Poor baby! I hate this, I hope he finds a home soon!

[canine14]

Turns out he is a she. I named her Grace.

She has been severely abused and as a result has extensive brain damage. She is basically very slow and has a palsy-like shake to her head. Also, she has no nerve reflexes in her upper face so she can't really blink. She does use her third eyelid though to hydrate her eyes. She was kicked or otherwise injured because her trachea has been crushed. When she barks, she sounds like a de-barked dog thanks to the damage to her vocal cords. Her jaw was dislocated, probably at the same time, so she has an undershot bottom jaw. She can eat but she has a hard time grabbing things like cookies. As well, she is emaciated.

My vet deemed her unadoptable but refused to give up on her. He said despite the damage to her brain stem, she should have a chance at life. She could go for a lot of testing, like MRI's etc., but there is no point.

She suffers from obvious puppy mill behaviours. She cannot climb stairs and is scared of them. She circles tightly.

By the way, the first thing that she did when she saw me was kiss my entire face. I am in love. She is in boarding now thanks to THE most fabulous kennel/daycare on the planet. I am hoping that she can come to the farm with me.

She should be THE poster-child for puppy-mill dogs.

Lisa.

[Luba]

Lisa, I am greatful SHE has a chance, an opportunity to see human love and compassion.

She is in boarding but does she need a foster home now?

I'm happy but so sad all in the same....sweet innocent little life.
Sigh, I have no more words right now.

[lezzpezz]

Grace is so lucky to have found you and apparently, she has let you know this, with all of the kisses!! :love:

I hope she comes to live with you at the farm and gets to experience what a great caring relationship is and learns to trust people. You are awesome and your story has certainly started my day off right! I'm sure she will thrive under your care

[Duchess]

That poor puppy has gone through too much in her short life!! I'm always amazed by the cruelty of some people. :sad:
Great news that she's out of the shelter. I'm a bit confused though -- I thought she was going to GSRT, which already has a foster home waiting to welcome her. Change of plans??

[canine14]

Grace will stay with us. She is coming to the farm. We are going to start a fundraising campaign to have her crushed trachea and undershot her jaw treated, if possible. It's heart-breaking to hear her rasp and gasp when she gets excited. She can't catch her breath and falls over.

She is truly special. I found the story of the puppy mill she comes from on the SPCA site.

http://www.spcamontreal.com/english/...whats_new.html

It's just sick, sick, sick.

I will keep everyone posted on Grace's progress.

Lisa.

[Luba]

Can you take some pics and show me her I would love to see, esp her undershot jaw. My dog had braces (incline plates) to force the teeth away from imbedding into the roof of her mouth. It's much much better now.
After we adopted her we paid for it all ourselves.

[doggirl]

Originally Posted by canine14

That's wonderful Goldengirl!

It seems like he has the equivalent of CH (Cerebral Hypoplasia) in cats.

Sounds more cellebellar to me.

[Toonces]

Hi Canine14,

Glad she has a home with you she must be so much happier and I am sure you have many days of sweet doggy kissses ahead of you!

Do you think maybe you should get a MRI done anyway? one of GSRTs dogs was thought to have brain damage and that was not the case at all. Sheba has some inner ear damage which is causing the head tilt and imbalance and this can cause vomiting.

[canine14]

It is definetly not Vestibular Sydrome like Sheba has. The fact that her C7 cranio-facial nerve is compromised indicates brain damage as this nerve originates in the brain stem and her symptoms (inability to blink, etc.) point to the fact that the nerve was damaged at the source. Also, one pupil is larger than the other (anisocoria). She does not have nystagmus. She does not vomit, but rather regurgitates when excited. Again, this has to do with the nerves to her esophagus. Regurgitation is what people what acid reflux have whereby the valve to the stomach doesn't work properly and lets the food/bile back up.

I will try to have an MRI done but right now, there are no real treatment options as she has been stable for three months. In other words, she does not appear to be deteriorating. There is nothing that any vet can give me that will improve her brain function where it has been damaged. So little is actually known about the brain. What the scan will give me is knowledge.

More pressing is her trachea and her jaw. Since all of these tests will be very expensive, I have to prioritize. She will have her trachea fixed, if possible, to allow more air intake and less pressure on her throat. She will also have her jaw realigned, if possible, to allow her tongue to fit into her mouth properly and not to block the back of her throat so that she gasps when she gets excited because of the limited mobility of her jaw to open enough so that she can pant properly.

Lisa and Grace.

[Lucky Rescue]

Agree that her breathing and ability to keep down food is most pressing.

Many animals learn to compensate for things like head tilts, etc.

Once again, thanks Lisa for giving hope to the hopeless!!

P.S. Do you want to bring any of your cats to our July 2nd event?

[Toonces]

Oh please give Grace a kiss and belly rub from me (love the name btw), must be so hard for her to eat with her jaw like that, I know when we got Hank his mouth was full of ulcers and eating was very painfull for him but they are almost all cleared up now and he eats fine, just being with you now I'm sure she feels better, thankyou for giving her a chance and taking on the challenge of a special needs baby.

[canine14]

It's Grace because it' s only by the Grace of God that she's still alive. Also, even if she seems "wobbly" or "deformed" to others, she is GRACEful to me.

I can't wait to go and see her this morning. I am truly blessed that Blue Ribbon is boarding her for me. They are absolutely wonderful and one of the co-owners is an expert in Shepherds. I hope to take her home soon. Today, though she will meet one of my dogs, Ava, who is an SPCA Laval rescue. I think I'll wait a bit to see how she does with Emma, my other abused puppy mill Shepherd rescue I got from Rosie two years ago.