Cady is settling in really well to our home. She took a little break from our place last weekend while we had some activities that kept us too busy to hang out with Cady. She was able to stay with another foster and her resident dog. It was a little rough at first because Cady was quite nervous and the resident dog wasn't sure if she was okay with Cady hanging out in her home. She barked a bit after I left and paced until the fellow foster put her in her crate and that made things feel much better and comforting with Cady. The two dogs ended up playing a lot in the back yard. She slept through the night with no issues as well. When I picked her up on Sunday she gave me a very happy greeting.
Walking Cady now is greatly improved. She seems more comfortable on the leash in addition to the gentle leader. Without it is a whole different story. We continue to help her not to jump on people coming through the door. She still shows very nice 'sits' before eating, going outside or simply to get a treat. She and resident dog Sid continue to play in the yard and are becoming good pals. They don't really pay attention to each other inside the house. Sid prefers one chair while Cady perches herself on top of the couch --it seems to be her favorite spot.She has also been playing a lot with the black lab from next door. They played for one hour the other day and she slept pretty hard after that. She still favors her leg after a good play, but seems to limp less and play more. We are really enjoying this sweet girl. Her foster brother likes to pretend he is riding her as seen in the picture. Sid and Cady are also great at sitting for treats! 
Cady 12-268
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| A portion of Cady's medical care was paid for by a generous grant from the Golden Retriever Foundation's April Fund |
To our favorite silly little puppy! From Michelle and Cadence
HAPPY 1st Birthday, Cady, on 7/21/12! I can’t think of a better birthday gift than becoming a member of the RAGOM family!
Cady was hit by a car on Tuesday, 7/17, and her family rushed her to the emergency vet. Not only did she suffer multiple deep lacerations to her right front leg, but radiographs showed that it was broken as well. Other than some road rash on her body, her leg appeared to be the only injury she sustained. Her owners were unable to afford the surgery that she needed to fix her broken leg, and unable to dedicate the time to keeping her on strict cage rest if the doctor just splinted the leg and let it heal. They decided to euthanize her, but luckily the doctor offered to have the owners sign Cady over to her so she could find a rescue willing to take Cady in and get her the surgery she needed.
This was when Cady’s luck began to change! I work for the vet who saved her, and called RAGOM to see if they would be able to take her in to the rescue. RAGOM said “yes!” and surgery to repair Cady’s broken leg will be on Tuesday 7/24! She will also be spayed at that time. We did chest and pelvic radiographs in addition to cbc/chem bloodwork and all of it looked great, so it appears that Cady’s leg took the brunt of the force of the car. She is currently on antibiotics and 2 different types of pain medications. After surgery, Cady will need strict cage rest for around 6 weeks in order for everything to heal properly.
As you can tell, Cady doesn’t look like your typical Golden. She is a black Lab/Golden Retriever mix, though she looks more like a black Lab. Her heart is pure gold and she is one of the sweetest, most loving dogs I’ve ever met. She is 58 pounds, and is smaller in size. She is great with kids (I have a 7 year old daughter), completely ignores my two cats, and is great with dogs. Cady loves car rides and doesn’t seem to have any anxieties. She did try to jump up and counter surf a lot the first few days, but has learned that we don’t allow that, especially with a broken leg! She does need some obedience training, but she is a very smart dog and will learn commands and manners quickly. She won’t be able to get much training while she heals, but as her leg gets stronger she will be able to do more training activities.
The first few days here she didn’t want to go in her kennel, but now she goes in willingly, which is good since she will be spending a lot of time there while her leg heals. Most of the time she is willing to rest in her kennel, sleeping on a very comfy dog bed. Cady is current on her vaccines and heartworm test and we will continue to use heartworm and flea/tick prevention.
I want to send out a huge THANK YOU to RAGOM for helping this wonderful girl and giving her a chance! Her surgery will not be cheap, so if you’ve ever considered sponsoring a dog, now’s the time! How can you resist those puppy dog eyes?!
At a Glance #12-268
| Mixed Breed | Born: July 2011 |
| Female | 58 lbs |
Status: Adopted
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| A portion of Cady's medical care was paid for by a generous grant from the Golden Retriever Foundation's April Fund |
To our favorite silly little puppy! From Michelle and Cadence
HAPPY 1st Birthday, Cady, on 7/21/12! I can’t think of a better birthday gift than becoming a member of the RAGOM family!
Cady was hit by a car on Tuesday, 7/17, and her family rushed her to the emergency vet. Not only did she suffer multiple deep lacerations to her right front leg, but radiographs showed that it was broken as well. Other than some road rash on her body, her leg appeared to be the only injury she sustained. Her owners were unable to afford the surgery that she needed to fix her broken leg, and unable to dedicate the time to keeping her on strict cage rest if the doctor just splinted the leg and let it heal. They decided to euthanize her, but luckily the doctor offered to have the owners sign Cady over to her so she could find a rescue willing to take Cady in and get her the surgery she needed.
This was when Cady’s luck began to change! I work for the vet who saved her, and called RAGOM to see if they would be able to take her in to the rescue. RAGOM said “yes!” and surgery to repair Cady’s broken leg will be on Tuesday 7/24! She will also be spayed at that time. We did chest and pelvic radiographs in addition to cbc/chem bloodwork and all of it looked great, so it appears that Cady’s leg took the brunt of the force of the car. She is currently on antibiotics and 2 different types of pain medications. After surgery, Cady will need strict cage rest for around 6 weeks in order for everything to heal properly.
As you can tell, Cady doesn’t look like your typical Golden. She is a black Lab/Golden Retriever mix, though she looks more like a black Lab. Her heart is pure gold and she is one of the sweetest, most loving dogs I’ve ever met. She is 58 pounds, and is smaller in size. She is great with kids (I have a 7 year old daughter), completely ignores my two cats, and is great with dogs. Cady loves car rides and doesn’t seem to have any anxieties. She did try to jump up and counter surf a lot the first few days, but has learned that we don’t allow that, especially with a broken leg! She does need some obedience training, but she is a very smart dog and will learn commands and manners quickly. She won’t be able to get much training while she heals, but as her leg gets stronger she will be able to do more training activities.
The first few days here she didn’t want to go in her kennel, but now she goes in willingly, which is good since she will be spending a lot of time there while her leg heals. Most of the time she is willing to rest in her kennel, sleeping on a very comfy dog bed. Cady is current on her vaccines and heartworm test and we will continue to use heartworm and flea/tick prevention.
I want to send out a huge THANK YOU to RAGOM for helping this wonderful girl and giving her a chance! Her surgery will not be cheap, so if you’ve ever considered sponsoring a dog, now’s the time! How can you resist those puppy dog eyes?!
Updates
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Cady got the 'thumbs up' for her X-rays and now she is off her restrictive play. She still favors her leg a bit when she plays too much so we try keep an eye on it and settle her down. Sid and Cady are playing really well. Sid usually ends up on his back and she just jumps around him usually going for his neck, but in a gentle play sort of way as you can see from the picture below. Cady has gone on a few walks now. The first day was crazy. We are pretty sure she has not walked on a leash before and it was pull, pull, pull. We use a harness which helps and may experiment with a gentle leader as well. I could see her chewing that off, but we will give it a go. Cady is strong on the leash and will need plenty of patience to work with her to lessen the pulling and walk nicely. I have to say that there was some improvement however from walk on day 1 to walk on day 3. She is still happy as ever learning the ropes around the house.
Unfortunately, Cady will not be at Goldzilla. We think it would be too exciting for her with all of her puppy love that she wants to share. If you are interested in meeting her please contact your placement advisor.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Cady continues to be a great dog full of sweet happiness and energy. She seems to be a little more comfortable in her most recent foster home. She barks if she needs something, but this doesn't happen very often. We are learning that sometimes it means she is ready to eat or go outside. If both those needs are met we are guessing she wants to play and we still have to keep that to a minimum. I know I am repeating myself, but I think once she has a place to let out her puppy energy things will shift in some of her less desirable behaviors. That is not to say she won't require some training. She is a ready and willing participant if she can keep all 4 paws on the ground for more than a few seconds.
She is finding her favorite hangouts at our house. One is on the couch watching the people and cars go by outside. Below in the picture she is standing to see, but typically she is sitting with her paws resting on the back of the couch watching watching watching. She doesn't bark at people or cars going by. That is great because we live on a fairly busy street so there is lots to see. The other photo shows her interest during my daughter's clarinet practice. Her nickname could be 'Curious Georgia'.
One of those hot days last week she decided to take a snooze on the walk-in shower floor, but of course when I left to get my camera she got up to follow me.
We continue to use the word 'off' when she jumps up and that occurs whenever anyone comes through the door. If she doesn't stop I hold her back and try to distract her with a belly rub until she calms down. We are working on having Cady 'sit' and 'stay' before she comes out of her crate, before she eats or drinks, before she goes out the door. She is making some progress but needs to lengthen the 'wait' part. She is a counter surfer so all food is best left in a cabinet or a fridge. She has helped herself to a snack or two out of my kids' hands, so they are learning not to walk around with food in their hands. She loves to see what is in the garbage can so that is also something that is best left out of reach. She has tons of chew toys and stuffed animals, but also likes to find pencils on the floor or kid's toys that are left out, so she needs a house that is fairly picked up to keep her safe. She is still a puppy but with tons of puppy love to go with all of that!
When our house is quiet, she is happy to snooze just about anywhere. She does love our bed and sometimes needs a little help getting off. She continues to be in her crate when I am gone and races to it when she sees I am getting her treat ready. She also sleeps in the crate in our bedroom and seems to be ready to get up around 7 which is when I need to get up anyway.
We will go to the vet on Monday for her next set of x-rays and hope that the report is a good one, so we can let up on some of her play/walk restrictions. It will be little by little until she can leap and bound until her heart is content, but we will take what we can get until then. Cady has a lot of love to share with her future furever family. If you are interested in her please contact your placement advisor.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
We want to let you know that Cady has changed fosters and is now in Minneapolis. The change in foster had nothing to do with Cady, just that her original foster stepped up to help her out temporarily until a permanent foster was able to take her. Cady was so fortunate to have someone in veterinary care taking such great care of her during the first several weeks after her surgery. We are grateful for that. Cady had no trouble meeting and greeting her new foster family including another RAGOM 5 year-old dog 3 kids and the neighbor kids who were also anxious to meet her. She is full of excitement and clearly wants to play. I have to echo her first foster in everything that she said. She is loving, sweet, eager to please and full of energy that she soon will be allowed to release in a few weeks (we hope!) She did beautifully the first night in the crate and each night since. We also crate her during the day when we are out. She can't wait to get out of the crate so it has been a learning experience to help her out as safely as possible so she doesn't hurt her leg.
She has also demonstrated to us that she can jump pretty high and so we too are working on that to help her stay as calm as possible. She is taking a little snooze on the floor behind me while I write, but I am pretty sure the second I stand up she will be right by my side sniffing out whatever it is that I move onto next. She will be a wonderful playmate and companion for both adults and kids. I agree that she certainly will need (her forever family too) obedience training to help her channel her energy at the right times in the right places. The photo below with fellow foster brother Sid gives you an idea of her size.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
We had some strong thunderstorms come through early one morning, and I think it’s safe to say that Cady does not have any storm anxieties. She doesn’t love going out to do her business if the grass is wet, but does listen most of the time when I tell her to “go potty.”
We decided to discontinue the sedation medication about 10 days ago to see how Cady would do. She doesn’t understand that she has to be calm and quiet, so it has been a little more difficult this past week. I still take her out on a leash, and her newest game is to see how high she can jump when we go outside. I usually just end up grabbing her as she’s jumping up and carrying her back inside to her crate. I don’t blame her, she is a 1 year old puppy who wants to play, run, jump, and have fun; not sit in a crate and then walk calmly and quietly on a leash when she gets to go outside. We only have a few more weeks of crate rest to go. Once Cady is done with her crate rest, we are really going to work on training. She knows “sit” and we are working really hard on “off.” She’s also doing well on “down.” She is learning both verbal and hand signals, and responds to both, except when she’s excited. She’s a very smart dog, and I think she’ll do very well with learning new commands.
Some of the pictures make Cady appear larger than she really is. Her Golden foster brother is 3 days younger than her, weighs about 5 pounds more, but is around 3 inches taller than Cady. She is certainly more petite than she looks in pictures (the camera adds 10 pounds, right?!) I think she’s a great size; doesn’t need a huge crate, doesn’t eat a lot of food (currently getting 2 cups of food per day), and is light enough to pick up if needed.
If you are interested in meeting Cady, please contact your placement advisor! She is an absolute sweetheart and everyone who meets her falls in love with her!
Monday, August 13, 2012
Cady spent a week at a fellow RAGOM foster’s house while we were on vacation.Though we would have loved to take her with us, we didn’t think that we’d be able to keep her quiet while camping and spending time at the lake. Thank you Kay for taking such great care of Cady!
Cady got her staples out from her spay this week, and the road rash on her leg is healing very nicely, which means that Cady doesn’t have to wear the dreaded “cone of shame” anymore! Everyone in the house is happy about that! The redness on her leg in the pictures is the road rash. Only a small spot has is left, and that spot was over 4 inches long and 2 inches wide just 3 weeks ago. We are very happy with how well everything is healing! Cady uses her leg very well, though she will occasionally limp on it still if she bounces around too much when I take her outside on a leash. She is completely done with her antibiotics and one of her pain medications, but will continue to be on a pain/anti-inflammatory medication for now. Cady is also on a mild sedative to keep her calm; the same one often prescribed by vets for dogs during travel. She is still able to walk around and function, but it does calm her down. One of the side effects of the sedation medication is that her third eyelids are visible, which are noticeable in some of the pictures. As soon as the medication wears off, her eyes go back to their normal appearance. We are using the sedation medication less and less as she recovers and her leg is able to take more abuse from her. Cady doesn’t understand that she has a broken leg and can’t play like she did before she got hit by a car, but she has done great with her exercise restriction and cage rest. Since she’s doing so well, we’ve been letting her have a little more freedom. Cady now gets to be out of her kennel, gated in a room with me, as long as she remains quiet. She still goes outside on a leash, and cannot go on walks yet. The hair is coming in nicely on her leg where she was shaved (shoulder to toes) and is starting to come in on her abdomen where she was shaved for her spay surgery.
I gave Cady her first bath after her staples came out. Cady stood quietly in the bathtub and seemed to enjoy it. Her black coat now has a gorgeous shine to it! She also let me wipe out her ears and trim her toenails. Cady is fed a high quality, grain free dog food and doesn’t appear to have any food or environmental allergies. Cady is a little thin, so we are working on getting a few more pounds on her. She is a petite little girl, even though she doesn’t appear to be in some of her pictures. She takes her time, and is sometimes picky, when she is eating. I’ve found that adding a little warm water entices her to eat a little better, and I have been hiding her pills in a small amount of canned food.
We have gotten to know Cady better, and we also have learned more of what she would like in her forever home:
· A fenced yard – We don’t know the exact details of how she got hit by a car, but her recall isn’t 100% and if she saw something she wanted, she would certainly take off after it. She does not show any interest in our fence, so I don’t think she’d try to jump it. I would not trust her off leash in an area that wasn’t fenced in.
· An active family – Cady has a lot of energy and needs a family who is not only dedicated to giving her daily exercise, but that will also include her in activities. She loves going for car rides and spending time with us. She is definitely a Velcro dog and she is always curious to see what I am doing. She loves to “help” with laundry, cooking, watering plants, etc.
· Training – We are working on training with her, but she will absolutely need to do obedience training with her new family. We are currently working on “off” (no jumping up) and “sit.” I will add in more commands once she’s able to do more. She does go into her kennel willingly when I say “Cady, kennel.” Cady pulls when I walk her out to go potty on a leash, but is doing well with a gentle leader. I really think that once her restrictions are lifted and with more training, she’ll catch on to new commands very quickly.
· Dogs/cats – She does great with both. She would do fine with another dog in the home, but it’s not necessary. She would rather spend time with people than another animal. We have 2 cats, and she completely ignores them.
· Kids – She is wonderful with kids and loves to cuddle with my 8 year old daughter. Kids aren’t required for her forever home, but she does enjoy playing with them!
· TOYS! – Cady LOVES toys, especially ones that she can chew on! She isn’t picky about what toys she plays with, but her favorites are nylabones, Frisbees, balls, and fleece rope toys. She tries to fit as many toys in her mouth as possible. Cady has yet to destroy a stuffed toy, which is a big deal at our house! Though we haven’t allowed it, she would love to play fetch. So far she hasn’t chewed on anything inappropriate at our house, but she’s also been in her crate a lot due to her restrictions. I think that as long as she had enough toys to chew on, she’d leave household items alone.
· Cady would do fine if her adoptive family worked outside of the home. I work full-time, and she does very well in the crate for an entire work day.
Overall, I think Cady would do great in almost any home. She is a very sweet and loving dog that loves to curl up with me on the floor for belly rubs and a body massage. Don’t let her broken leg scare you off, as she is doing very well and it is healing very nicely. In 3 weeks, she will go for a follow-up x-ray, and will be able to resume normal activities at that time. She should not have any long term complications from any of her injuries. If you are interested in meeting Cady, please contact your placement advisor!
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Cady had surgery to repair her broken leg and she was also spayed at the same time on 7/24/12. I’ve included radiograph images of her leg when she came in to the emergency vet and after it was surgically repaired. Also pictured is Cady after we brought her home from surgery. Typically the vet would have kept her overnight, but since I work at the vet’s office I was allowed to take her home. She was so sleepy that I didn’t have an e-collar on her right away, but now she wears one constantly except when I take her outside or when she’s eating. She wants to lick her leg wounds and her spay incision very badly! We kept her leg bandaged for the first few days after surgery. Her leg didn’t need the support of a split, but her road rash needed to be covered. Most of the wounds on her leg are healing nicely, but she still has one that is about 1 inch wide by 3 inches long that will take longer to heal. It looks great and shows no sign of infection, so we are confident that it will heal without complications.
Cady is on complete exercise restriction. I take her out to go potty around 4-6 times per day on a leash, and the rest of her time is spent in a large dog crate in the living room so she can still see what we are doing. Cady does not like to be on the leash when she goes potty, and because of this she has had a few accidents in her kennel. Cady’s adoptive family should have a fenced in yard so she can run around and do her business off leash once she is completely healed (in about 5 more weeks.) I don’t think she’d be happy being on a tie-out or leashed walked to do her business in her forever home. Cady doesn’t have great recall, so a fenced yard would be the best and safest option for her.
Cady stays at home in her kennel while I am at work and has done fine. She is always very excited when I get home! She really loves car rides and would love for her adoptive family to take her places on a regular basis. She would love a family with kids to play with, or at least an active family to keep her busy once her leg is completely healed. She is great with cats and dogs of all ages and sizes. Cady is always happy and often forgets that she’s supposed to be calm and quiet while her leg heals! She loves to roll over for belly rubs and groans with pleasure when I brush her. She cannot get wet because of her wounds and spay incision, so we don’t know how she is for a bath or if she loves water, but we are hoping to find out as soon as she’s medically cleared.
I want to send out a HUGE thank you to Dr. Joanna Mangold from Eastern Iowa Veterinary Specialty Center and Heartland Animal Hospital for rescuing Cady, Dr. Nathan Hein from Heartland Animal Hospital for donating Cady’s spay and chest/pelvis radiographs, the staff (my coworkers) at Heartland Animal Hospital for taking such wonderful care of Cady during surgery and whenever she’s at the clinic, and Dr. Brent Reimer, a board certified veterinary surgeon, that gave RAGOM a huge discount and did a wonderful job repairing Cady’s broken leg.
