This angelic face belongs to L’il Red (#4274), a fox red Labrador Retriever. L’il Red is now six months old and weighs 37 pounds. He is a happy puppy with a calm demeanor. L’il Red has been diagnosed with megaesophagus so will need to be part of a family where his special needs, which include being fed in an upright position, can be met.
7/29/25 UPDATE:
This handsome 5 month old
Lab has been in foster care with Golden Bond for a few months. L’il Red was surrendered to the rescue by a breeder when he was suspected to have megaesophagus and was the runt of the litter and weighed 13 pounds at 3 months old. Megaesophagus (ME) is a condition whereby the esophagus, which is essentially a big muscle, isn’t properly developing owing to incomplete nerve development, and food does not travel down to the stomach the way it should. Consequently it is easy for food to come back up, and the risk is that a dog with it could aspirate and get pneumonia. There are many causes of ME, and L’il Red has been undergoing a series of tests to figure out the cause because depending on the cause it can be corrected. In L’il Red’s case all the tests point to this being something he was born with and it can’t be surgically fixed. A small percentage of dogs outgrow ME, but only time will tell.
The good news (and yes there is some good news!) is that with proper care, dogs with ME can live long full lives. Indeed, L’il Red is thriving and his last checkup had him weighing a healthy 32 pounds. He has to be fed a soft food diet in a Bailey chair (which keeps him upright) and he is being trained to stay in it for 20-30 minutes after he eats to give the food a chance to travel down into the stomach. Otherwise he spends his day like any other dog- playing, sleeping and going for walks.
All descriptions above are what we know about this dog when it was first released to GBR. During the dogs first few weeks in foster care, we will discover more of its true personality and behavior as witnessed by the particular foster family. The dog’s personality traits may change as it becomes accustomed to its new foster home and surroundings.
