UPDATE 8/29/12 ADOPTED!!!!!!
UPDATE 6/26/12
Great News!! T-Bone’s blood work has finally leveled to normal. So he is now ready to go to his new home but with the understanding that he will need to continue the treatment for another 2 weeks and then get retested 2 weeks after that to make sure the levels are holding.
T-Bone has a little different type of personality. He is very loving and cuddly, but can get snotty when there is a lot of excitement with the other dogs like when we arrive home. He gets into a fight with our Bruno and holds his own. He does not do this to the females we have had, so it mat be best that he go to a home with a female dog companion. He has also gotten a snappy a few time when we pushed him off because he was trying to climb up when not invited. He only did this a few times and we were not sure if it was related to pain or not as it was a few weeks ago. For this reason we want a home without small children. He is about 70 pounds and we expect he will stay about that size, so he will be a small Berner. We believe it may be from being malnourshied for so long. He is nicely marked. He has learned to play with toys and his best buddy is our Golden. He had a great time when we too him on vacation. Not a swimmer but learned that the water was nice to wade in.
UPDATE 6/11/12
T-Bone got neutered today and is doing well and up to 65 pounds. We have x-rays done and his hips look good. His spine looks better as the vets thing he has some sort of a spinal infection, and his reactions are mimimal now. He will have more bloodwork done Friday to see if we are making progress.
UPDATE 5/17/12
T-Bone will not be available for awhile. His medical issues will require long term treatment, up to 2 months. Feel free to contact us for more information as we will still be interviewing for potential homes.
T-Bone as we are calling him was found starving and turned into the pound. He weighed 38 pounds. It was thought he was 1.5 to 2 years old but we think he is more like 10 months.So we are picking his new birthday as Cinco de Mayo, May 5th, 2011. He still has puppy hair on his head and is not lifting a leg yet and not too developed. He is a very small Berner for a male. This may be due to malnutrition for an extended period of time. We don’t think he was on his own for log, so the neglect must have started in the old home. He knows sit,shake, speak and some other commands.
He is an affectionate boy and likes to crawl on our lap. He then falls instantly asleep as he finally feel safe. He is crate trained and seems to be housebroken. He was good with a small child but with his reactions to being startled or stepped on, small children might not be the best choice for him. Because of his being on the loose, he knows about running around, he he will require an above ground fence.
T-Bone likes other dogs but again if they touch him unexpectedly, he screams. He does not know how to play yet. We are hoping that he will relax with our gang and learn to enjoy himself. We got his medical reports back and he has Giardia and some sort of major infection. So we are getting him medication to start him on his treatments. His white count is very high, so we need to see if that comes down or find out why it is not coming down. He will need to gain about 10 pounds before we can neuter him, so we expect he will be here for a month or so, before he can go to his new home.
Update 3/20/12
What a difference 10 days make, His hips are feeling mush less boney and his spine is not so pronounced. He is a snuggler. We think because he has never had much attention, he loves getting on our lap. He is a wiggle worm though. He is still acting starved at feeding time. He has had a few accidents but is usually in front of the door as we missed his asking. He last few days he has even scratched on the door to go out.
UPDATE 4/6: Mr. “T” is improving and his blood values are getting better but still not right. We are hoping hey will continue to improve. He was negative for heartworms and negative in a tick panel. We will repeat his treatment for Giardia starting next week and then after about 1o days, have his blood done again. Because of all these tests, T-Bone will have a larger than normal adoption fee. But when done he will be set for a while on vet care, hopefully. He is learning to play with toys more each day. He will need a home that will let him come up on your lap and nap with his head under your chin, he loves that. We think he my be younger than first thought as he has gotten taller here. Plus he has gone from 38 to 51 pounds in less than a month, but he had a lot of catching up to do.
UPDATE 4/26/12: T-Bone has gained more weight and is over 55 pounds now. We also believe now his is younger than first thought, so we think he in just now about 10 months old. He has grown several inches since being here and just yesterday started lifting his leg. So we are changing his birthday to July 4th! What a better day to have a “T-Bone”! His blood levels are still off showing some sort of infection still. He is getting another blood test and other tests Monday 4/30. Due to his poor condition at arrival his vet bill are more than most. So his adoption fee will be more than normal. That amount is still unknown as a total as once we get the blood issues identified and resolved, he will need to be neutered. We feel we need to know what potential issues health wise before he is placed. We want his new home to be aware of any potential expenses in the future.
