Golden Bond Rescue Special Circumstances Huckleberry 1497

Golden Bond Rescue of Oregon, Inc.
Golden Retriever Rescue
For the Love of Goldens

Special Circumstances: Huckleberry (#1497)

Update: March 23, 2007

Huckleberry is now in Sacramento at the Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue and Sanctuary. He has had his first hip surgery and is doing very well. Huck's recovery time is approximately eight weeks. After that time, Huck will have his second hip surgery. The sanctuary, known as the ranch, is a fantastic place for rescued goldens. The many volunteers are wonderful. Even though it was tough delivering Huckleberry to Homeward Bound, he is in the best of care. They will continue to update Golden Bond on his recovery.

Thank you for the donations to help this little guy with his medical expenses.

Update: February 28, 2007

Huckleberry will soon be receiving his final medical procedure with Golden Bond Rescue, and will be moving to Northern California in early March! Huck has had a remarkable recovery from his severe case of mange, and is now ready to be neutered. With our beloved Huck, nothing seems to be easy — he has a "retained testicle" so will require a more extensive surgery for the neutering. But, once he has recovered from surgery, he will be packing his bags and hitching a ride with his foster mom all the way to Sacramento, California! You can honk and wave at Huck and Linda, as they drive down I-5 on March 9th!

Through the wonderful golden internet community, the word got out about what Huckleberry and Golden Bond Rescue were facing with his mounting Veterinary bills. In what can only be described as the true meaning of rescue, and doing what is best for the dog, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue (Sacramento, CA) contacted Golden Bond and offered to bring Huck to California for his hip surgeries. This offer was met with much relief and appreciation at Golden Bond, where we had been faced with making some very tough decisions about using so much of our resources on one dog's care.

Needless to say, Huck's care is a huge financial hit for both groups. All donations received in Huckleberry's name at Golden Bond Rescue will be used to pay our medical bills for him while under our care. The remainder will be sent with Huck to Homeward Bound, to start the fund for his new hips.

If you would like to follow Huckleberry's story, his progress will be posted on Homeward Bound's website.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed toward's Huck's medical fund, so he can eventually be the happy, active pup he is meant to be! And a huge THANK YOU to Homeward Bound for working cooperatively with Golden Bond to make this happen!

Update: February 13, 2007

Huckleberry had x-rays on Monday, February 12. The results were disappointing. It has been determined by Dr. Munjar that both hips will need hip replacements. Golden Bond was hopeful that a TPO could be performed on one hip at a cost of $3500. Rebuilding one of the hips (TPO) is not possible due to arthritis that has formed on the hip. Therefore, the more costly hip replacements will need to be performed on both hips. Because Huckleberry's care is a financial hardship for one rescue to take on, Golden Bond is working with a sister Rescue organization to share in his expensive treatments. Both organizations are raising funds on Huck's behalf, and he will someday be the healthy, active boy that he was meant to be! Details to follow. In the meantime, Huck still really needs your help!

Huckleberry's Journey

I first met Huckleberry (#1497) when he was presented to Murrayhill Veterinary Hospital as one of my afternoon appointments. Having worked with Golden Bond Rescue for some time now, I was well aware of the medical and social care that many of these rescue golden retrievers desperately need.

As I started my appointment, which usually begins by obtaining a medical history from the Golden Bond foster, I saw in front of me a dog that was stricken with severe itchiness to the extent of having open wounds on his face and legs. In addition, both of Huck's eyes were inflamed, crusted and half shut and the skin surrounding his eyes was swollen and red. Both of these problems were likely secondary issues caused by self-trauma. Many of the wounds were oozing, infected, and crusted with patches of bacteria laden fur. A short way into Huck's medical history I stopped myself mid sentence and remember sayin, "This is breaking my heart. Let me just begin by taking Huck to the treatment area so I can give him some pain medication."

Huckleberry had previously been diagnosed as having a condition called demodectic mange: A dermatologic condition where mites inhabit the hair follicles. Demodectic mange often causes a vast assortment of clinical signs including fur loss, dry, patchy areas of skin and often severe pruritis or itchiness. The clinical signs can be mild to severe. That afternoon I would categorize Huck's as the most severe case I had ever seen. My initial physical exam revealed a dog that could only be described as miserable. Miraculously, Huck still managed to wag his tail and genuinely seemed happy to be around people.

With a case as severe as Huck's, it is often difficult to know where to start. That afternoon was the beginning of a long agenda of wound cares, medications, medicated baths and devising a protocol to not only deal with Huck's primary presenting complaint of demodectic mange, but to manage his comfort level so that this poor guy could finally have some quality of life. Since my initial meeting with Huck other issues have come to light. It was noticed he appeared to be lame in his hind end. Radiographs were taken and Huck was diagnosed with hip dysplasia.

Since my first meeting with Huck two months ago he has been living in foster care. The ultimate goal of any dog that arrives at Golden Bond rescue is to find them a permanent home. With so many issues at this time, Huck is not really a good candidate for adoption and will remain in foster care until his medical and surgical problems have been addressed.

Huck is now under the care of Dr. Darryl Leu at The Animal Dermatology Clinic for his mange and Dr. Timothy Munjar at The Veterinary Referral Center of Oregon for his orthopedic issues. Looking at recent photos it is encouraging to see a vast improvement in his mange and with that improvement naturally comes a new quality of life. Unfortunately, Huck's orthopedic issues cannot be medically managed and need to be addressed with surgery. The recommended procedure for Huck's hip dysplasia is called a triple pelvic osteotomy (TPO). The estimated cost of this surgery is $3,500.

In dog years Huck is still an adolescent, and therefore, has many years ahead of retrieving and playing ball. Without the TPO the arthritis already seen in Huck's hip joints will progress possibly to the point of him being unable to walk. Since one dog year of life is 6-7 human years much can change quickly. With the recommended surgery Huck will have significant improvement not only in his comfort level but will be able to run and jump, like most dogs of his age.

Huck needs your help, because in this case, Golden Bond Rescue cannot do it alone. He has already incurred numerous vet bills, which we do get at a discounted rate, but he needs more help. It is difficult to justify two hip surgeries so we are asking for help with one of them. Would you please consider a special donation to give this boy his chance to be just a normal dog? Huck says he would be most grateful for a new chance in life.

Sincerely,

Michele Zawadzki, DVM
Murrayhill Veterinary Hospital
Board of Directors Golden Bond Rescue of Oregon

Donate to Huckleberry's Fund

If you would like to make a donation to help with the expenses for Huckleberry's medical care, please choose from the following options:

By Mail
Let us know that you want your donation to be used for "Huckleberry's Medical Care Fund" and please send a check to:

Golden Bond Rescue of Oregon, Inc.
PO Box 25391
Portland, OR 97298-0391

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