Many of you already know that I have in my care, 2 special dogs- Josh and Jade. Both dogs are rescues from Yuma that were carefully delivered into the waiting hands of Arizona Golden Retriever Connection with hopes for a better life, a better future. Both dogs have have had surgery. Both dogs have been in physical rehab. And both dogs will hopefully spend their lives together.
 
Josh is the stray that was likely hit by a car somewhere around the tender age of 4 months old. Broken, hungry, alone, and hurt, he survived. Fast forward 6 months. Josh now naps on the couch, barks for attention and ... limps. A forever reminder of one moment in time.  Did tires screech? Was there a thud as his body was flung from in front of the vehicle? Did the driver see him? If so, where was the offer of help? Or was Josh too scared, too much in shock, too untrusting of people to accept that offer? Sadly, it likely wasn't offered. Not then. Help would come, but not until much later.

Jade used to have a home, a family, and even a canine companion. But something changed. Something didn't work out the way anyone wanted. Jade was left at the shelter. She couldn't use her front leg - her paw wouldn't straighten so she could stand on it. She needn't more help than the shelter in Yuma could provide and so she was delivered into the waiting hands of Arizona Golden Retriever Connection as well. In a short period of time, Jade lost her home, her family and her friend. Everyone she loved left her. Fast forward 6 months. Jade is the princess she was intended to be. She found love again. She can use her front leg again, although she limps too. She has a new best friend, Josh.

I like to think that sometimes, at night, when we are all asleep, Jade and Josh "talk." Maybe Josh tells stories from the streets, of searching for food, of the night he was injured. Maybe Jade tells hims about her lost doggie friend and the family that she used to have. I prefer to think they talk about how they were rescued, how happy they are to have found each other, and how excited they are to have their very own family someday soon.

Many of you know Josh. And many of you have heard of Jade too. The names are often together when I discuss them. Jade is another Yuma rescue dog, another one in the care of Arizona Golden Retriever Connection, another one in my home receiving physical therapy.But Jade has her own story thats just as unique as she is. Care to hear?

Jade once had a family to love her. She had a canine companion she shared her family and home with as well. She had a disability - we'll never know how or why it happened - but she wasn't able to straighten out her front paw to walk on it. Her "wrist" was permanently bent. Despite her diability, she was quite functional and she was loved.

But that changed one day. Without knowing why, Jade's family surrendered her, and her doggie friend. Her doggie friend  was humanely euthanized, the story goes. I don't know why. If Jade knows, she's not telling. She doesn't ever mention her friend, or the family she used to have. She lived at the shelter in Yuma for awhile, with hopes of being reunited with her family. It wasn't meant to be. She was sent forth on the Yuma Rescue Express to try for a better life in Phoenix.

When Jade arrived in my home, she was nervous. She didn't like being alone. She was desperate for love and clingy. She found solace in Josh. Maybe they shared stories from Yuma, I don't know.  Fast forward 3 or 4 months. She's had surgery to straighten her paw. She is learning to walk again. She still enjoys a good romp on my kitchen table (turns out most Goldens do!), She knows she's not alone though. She's settled into this new life.
 
And she loves her fellow Yuma rescue Josh. Like 2 peas in a pod, Josh and Jade were made for each other. An unlikely pair from Yuma indeed but both with physical issues and in need of love. They complement each other. They share food. They play together. They belong together. Both had uncertain beginnings, both had surgery, both had physical therapy, and both will have some special needs in the future to accomodate. Both are looking for their forever home. Who can help them be together forever? Any takers? (If interested, please contact Arizona Golden Retriever Connection for more information.)

So, its been awhile since I last blogged on my broken little foster dog, Josh. To bring any newcomers up to speed, let me recap Josh and his history.

Josh was a stray found roaming the streets of Yuma. He was malnourished and injured, but ridiculously cute.
Presumed to have been hit by a car, he had a broken elbow and hip on his right side. Barely able to walk, he was rescued by the Yuma shelter. There, it was decided he might have a better chance at life in Phoenix. So he was sent on the Yuma Rescue Express north where the rescue goup Arizona Golden Retriever Connection agreed to care for him. A phone call, an email, a sad looking picture later, and after a trip to the vet for x-rays and bloodwork, Candy Ziemer delivered a scrawny golden retriever ish pup to me. He hid under the table in my therapy room with no noticable personality.

Fast forward several months, full of life and fully recovered from the intestinal parasites and malnutrition, he raced through my yard, the elbow fracture nearly completely healed, but still on pain medication from the hip fracture that would need surgery. Hip surgery, an FHO procedure, is done the next day. They had to remove more bone than anticipated so there is significant shortening of his right back leg compared to the other legs. He stays the night with the orthopedic surgeon then home to start his physical therapy.

Fast forward to today. Josh doesn't wear lifts or special shoes to even out of his gait with his short leg. He stands with that one leg just touching the ground- its too short to make full contact. He uses it when he walks. He is quite functional and is no longer in pain. He will eventually get arthritis in the elbow - you can't take an injury like that and not expect it to have an impact. He will need lifelong weight control and supplements to keep his joints happy as long as possible. But he has a personality now. He is growing into his own. Cameras scare him, as do vacuums. He loathes going into his kennel at night while his best friend Jade sleeps in the hall nearby. He barks to let me know he wants something. He has taken the liberty of confiscating the ottoman as his personal dog bed and he frequently is rebuked for taking my spot on the couch. He likes to lick toes, mine or anyone else's he can reach. He loves to roll in the grass.

And now its time for Josh to prepare for his next journey - finding his forever home. Interested?  Go to Arizona Golden Retriever Connection's website to check him out. His best friend and fellow Yuma rescue Jade is also available for adoption. Is your heart big enough for an unlikely pair from Yuma? More on Jade's story next time.

Three weeks ago, my little broken foster dog Josh had his FHO hip surgery. I posted the x-rays on Facebook for all to see. Physical rehabilitation started the very next day for him, and hasn't stopped since.

Immediately post-op Josh was on activity restriction. This is hard for an 8 month old puppy who had learned to compensate for his injuries and was running and jumping! Remember the videos? Josh was only permitted outside to go potty and he had to be on a leash. He wasn't allowed to play with his best friend and fellow Yuma rescue, Jade. He had to wear an E-collar. Did I mention he was neutered at the same time? He was. Life was rough for him for a few days. He had passive range of motion exercises to do twice daily and slow leash walking to encourage him to use the affected leg. At the one week mark, he was permitted by his surgeon to "return to normal activity." No longer restricted to the leash, Josh took the opportunity to run and jump as before. As a result of so much "normal activity" he developed a seroma at his incision site - a fluid filled pocket that grew to roughly the size of a tangerine! Many warm compresses and laser therapy sessions later (and back to some restricted activity), it finally reduced in size.

As far as his therapy goes, he  has been doing slow leash walks to encourage weight bearing on his affected leg,
uphill walking, passive range of motion exercises and 3 legged stands. We have added in cavaletti rails - he must step over them - and standing with his front feet elevated to encourage hip extension among other exercises. I've noticed that he seems to "work" better at home and when his friend Jade is around. Every pet is different and motivated by different things! Jade prefers to have him around too so their therapy sessions are usually done with the other dog nearby. Both are mproving, albeit at different rates. And so, physical rehabilitation continues!

Well, for all those following Josh, let me tell you how he is doing. In a word, fabulous!! Josh has gained over 10 pounds, and most of it is muscle. He runs, he plays, he jumps. Yes, he jumps. He has developed an obsession for dirty socks.No dirty sock in the reach of Josh is allowed to live! He believes that the ottoman in the living room is his personal dog bed. And on his way to and from the kitchen, should the ottoman be in his path, he will go over it, not around it. In the pack of dogs at my home, 3 of which are much taller than Josh, he will make his presence known by jumping up and grabbing my hand with his mouth. Repeatedly! Watch his video to see his current antics.

He currently is thriving on a good quality, high protein puppy food. He is on a whole food supplement to provide the building blocks for healing his bones and ligaments. He will stay on this for his surgery and through his recovery. He no
longer needs his wrist brace. He has gotten much stronger and no longer suffers from nutritional deficiencies. He still has a bit of pain in his elbow and I continue the laser therapy. His elbow will always be a source of discomfort for
him, but he doesn't ever let that stop him!
 
Apparently, no one told him he was broken and close to death.  No one told him that it was only by the grace of the Yuma Rescue Express, seeing something in him that no one else saw, that his life was spared. No one mentioned to him that it would take thousands of dollars in fundraising and a huge committment of time and energy by the Arizona Golden Retriever Connection  to pull him back from the brink of death to see if he could walk and be functional. Nobody sent him an email, a memo, or a text. No one tweeted. No one blogged. No one posted on Facebook telling him that he should feel sorry for himself or hate those who hurt him and left him to die. Without a voice of his own, he quietly waited for his rescue. And it came. Now, as his voice, I say thank you. Thank you Loma and the  Yuma Rescue Express. Thank you Arizona Golden Retriever Connection. Thank you to the doctors who have cared for him and
continue to care for him. It is a real thrill to be a part of Josh's story and I look forward to the next chapter, hip surgery next week followed by intense rehab!

Many of you may know of Josh. He's my little broken foster dog. He belongs to Arizona Golden Retriever Connection (AZGRC).He was a scrawny little guy from Yuma. He barely used his right front leg and limped significantly with his right  back leg. With 2 bad legs on one side, his back twisted as he contorted himself into a position in which he could stand and hobble around. 

The humane society in Yuma pulled him off the streets. Looking sad and pathetic, but still pretty darn cute, it was decided that he would get a second chance in the hands of AZGRC. Arriving on the Yuma Rescue Express (a shuttle that brings shelter dogs from Yuma to Phoenix area rescue groups for a better chance at adoption), he was tenderly handed over with hopes of a better future. From there he was taken to the doctor for x-rays and bloodwork. He weighed in at a tiny 18.2 pounds, and an estimated 6 months old. From the x-rays everyone suspects he was hit by a car. He suffered a severe fracture involving his right elbow and a severe fracture in his right hip. This was probably 2 months ago. Try to imagine, little Josh, at only 4 months old being hit by a car, breaking bones, in pain, and receiving little to no medical care, left alone to fend for himself. And he survived.  

This is the beginning of Josh's story. The first chapter of his life was written before I met him. A few details, like being hit by a car, we can guess. The rest will remain a mystery. But the next chapter is being written now, and its a happier story for sure. More to come on Josh, my little broken foster dog, soon.