Leo 19-162K
Profile
At a Glance #19-162K
| Golden Retriever | Born: September 2015 |
| Male | 73 lbs |
Status: Adopted
Profile
Updates
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Day 150 and Leo is doing great! He had his neuter surgery and was adopted today. I see only good things in this boy’s future. We are going to miss him very much, but we know he is in good hands and we will see him at all the RAGOM events!
Congratulations to Jane and Leo!
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Day 125...
Leo had his vet visit and everything is going great for this boy! Adult female heartworms release their offspring, called microfilariae, into the dog's bloodstream. Leo’s blood was clear and they did not find any microfilariae.
Leo will need to get a heartworm preventative 12 months of the year. His body is still healing, so we will give him a few more weeks of crate rest and then I will get him scheduled for his neuter appointment. While we are waiting for his neuter appointment we will start looking for his forever home!
Here are some things to think about if you are interested in adopting Leo:
- Leo does great with other dogs, but can be the only dog in the house.
- Leo is used to having a fenced-in yard and he is a bit of a door dasher, so he will need a physical fence to keep him safe.
- Leo is strong and has not had much leash training, so this is something his adopted family will need to work on. He does pull hard when on a leash. A few training classes would be great for this guy.
- Leo is young and still has some puppy behaviors. He will pull things off a table or counter and chew them up. A few things he has chewed are the end of a dog brush, a fly swatter, a pair of garden gloves and a hand towel. I do keep a close eye on him and when I am not watching him he is crated.
- Leo likes his crate and will go into it and chew his bone. He sleeps in his crate with the door closed each night. His forever home will need to be on the tidy side without a lot of things laying around for him to get into.
- Leo is good with kids. He is a big boy and very strong, so kids should be a bit older, as he would knock down a toddler.
- Leo is a sweet boy and full of love. He asks for pets and talks to me when I give him attention. When I ask him to lay down, he is happy to lay by my feet and chew on his toys or just rest.
- Leo is treat motivated and listens well when asked to do something.
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Day 100 and Leo continues to do well. He did much better with his last round of shots. He did not have much pain and bounced back quickly.
He was put back on Prednisone for a week and then we started cutting him back. We are in the second week of that drug and he has been cut back to half the dose. Just a few more days and he will be off of that drug.
Our next step is to get him a checkup in January, which will include a heartworm test. My hope is that it will be negative. At that appointment we will also find out if we can move forward and get him neutered.
Today at our house was spa day! All the dogs got a good brushing and a pre-holiday bath, so they're much more presentable for Santa's visit.
Leo spends his time in his crate or at my feet. He is such a sweet boy and his future's looking bright. I see great things for this boy in the new year!
Friday, November 29, 2019
Day 81 and Leo is doing great! He enjoyed the snow we had the other day. I don’t know if he has ever seen snow, but he sure liked rolling in it and eating some of it.
We are looking forward to next week when Leo gets his last two shots to treat his heartworms. We know he will have a few "ruff" days. Our hope for him is that this will put an end to those pesky worms and he will get the ok to be neutered. One step closer to finding his forever family.
We are very thankful for this sweet, loving guy!
Friday, November 8, 2019
Day 60 -- Leo spent the day at the vet. He was given his first shot of Melarsomine to kill the adult heartworms. He was a bit upset at the vet and did not like the crate there. He used his nose to try and get out and gave himself a little sore on the tip of his nose. Other than that, he did very well today.
He is a bit tired tonight, and was happy to get back into his own crate and take a nap.
Today, Leo is at the halfway point of his treatment. We are both looking forward to getting through the second half. To see Leo run and play with other dogs will be a joyous day for both of us!
The other good news is, Leo is up to 73 pounds!
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Day 43 and Leo is doing great! He will be getting his first shot of Melarsomine on day 60 and will need to spend the day at the vet so they can monitor him closely. This medication kills the adult heartworms. We also give him a monthly Heartgard chew to kill the juvenile heartworms.
Leo is taking his treatment well. Our biggest challenge is keeping him crated and calm. He is a young boy and really wants to play with the other dogs in our home. We do try to give him his own special time. On Saturday I took him to my friend Marsha’s house. We sat out on the patio and Marsha took him on a few slow laps around the yard. Leo really likes Marsha!
Leo really likes all people! He also likes all the dogs he has met. I have not cat tested him yet, but I do not think he will be able to live with them. He is showing signs of a high prey drive. I will cat test him when he is done with his activity restriction.
Leo is still getting car sick. We have found if we give him a little food an hour before we leave, he does a little better. He will get sick, but only once and it is a smaller amount. We will keep working on this.
We would like to thank Leo’s sponsors!
- Lisa Ramsay & Jim Nelson
- Lisa
- Joan & John
Thank you so much for sponsoring Leo! His treatment is expensive and sponsoring a dog really does make a difference in a dog's life. Sponsoring a dog gives RAGOM the opportunity to say YES to more dogs like Leo.
Hugs and kisses from Leo, to all his wonderful sponsors!
Monday, September 23, 2019
Day 14 and Leo is doing great! He has settled into our routine and is tolerating the crate restriction very well. He chews on his bone and is very quiet most of the time. The only time he barks is when the other dogs get excited or if he can see us outside.
He loves his people and gets along well with the other dogs in our home. He wants to play with them, but we can not allow that while he is on crate restrictions.
Leo went to the vet today and had his blood rechecked to see if his anemia was any better. We are very pleased to say that it has straightened itself out and his blood work looks wonderful. His ears are also looking much better.
Leo traveled with me down to the Twin Cities this weekend for a three plus hour drive and became carsick. We didn't think too much about it at the time. Then we went to my grandson's football game and thought it would be a good break for Leo to get out and get some fresh air.
Leo also got carsick on the way to the game. At the vet we asked about it. They think the medication he is on can give him an upset tummy. We will start him on some Prilosec to see if that will help him feel a little better. He is not eating very well either, so our hope is that this will also help increase his appetite. The vet would like to see Leo gain about 10 pounds. So far, he has only gained one.
Leo really enjoyed himself at the football game. He met lots of kids who wanted to pet him and he did very well with all the attention. The game went into double overtime and Leo decided a nap was more important.
Leo is such a sweet boy and we are grateful he landed in RAGOM's care. We will update again soon as we take this journey together.
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Leo is such a wonderful boy! His world has changed so much in less than a week’s time.
On Thursday, September 5, he boarded an airplane from Seoul South Korea and landed in Chicago more than 15 hours later. He had a sleepover with a wonderful volunteer.
On Friday, September 6, he was back on an airplane—a private plane this time—that flew him to Eden Prairie, Minnesota. This was about a 2½-hour flight.
He was picked up by another RAGOM volunteer, and she brought him to her home where I picked him up. He rested and was introduced to my resident dogs. Everyone met nicely with no problems.
On Saturday, September 7, Leo rested most of the day and got used to his crate. He was doing so well I decided he could go to Goldzilla!
On Sunday, September 8, we headed to the park. I am on the Goldzilla team and arrived at the park before 6 am. While I was setting up Leo napped in the car.
Leo met so many nice people on Sunday. He didn't seem to mind the rain. His tail was wagging all the time. He rested his big block head in so many people’s hands and laps. He is such a love bug. He was getting very sleepy by the time he walked in the foster parade, so I sent him home shortly after that.
On Monday we had Leo's big vet appointment to see what we would need to treat him for heartworms. He had blood work, a urine test, recheck of the heartworm test, a physical exam, a microchip inserted, and an x-ray. Through it all he was a perfect angel.
Leo does have an ear infection and was having a little diarrhea. He was given medication for both. His teeth are not too bad. He is also a little anemic; that will be rechecked in a week or two. He was also put on an antibiotic. They did not find any other health problems.
On Tuesday, September 10, Leo's second heartworm test did come back positive. Day 1 of his heartworm treatment: I dropped him off at the vet and he stayed there for the day.
He was pre-treated with Benadryl and steroids and they kept him on a monitor while he was given his first treatment. They wanted to watch him very closely to make sure he didn't have a reaction to the medication. He did great and I was able to pick him up in the afternoon.
The treatment for Leo will be long:
- Day 1: He gets a dose of medication. Done
- Day 30: He gets a dose of medication.
- Day 60: He gets a dose of medication plus he gets his first Melarsomine injection.
- Day 90: He gets a dose of medication and a second Melarsomine injection and he is started on Prednisone. He will spend the night at the vet.
- Day 91: He will get the Third Melarsomine injection.
- Day 120: He is tested to see how effective the treatment has been.
Throughout these months of treatment Leo needs to be kept very calm. He will be on crate rest or tethered to me. No walks, just short trips to the yard to take care of business.
Leo is not neutered yet. He will need to get a clean bill of health before we can get that done.
The vet thinks Leo is just 4 years old. I think we will give him a birthday of September 5, 2015, since September 5th was the date his new life started in the United States.
Please check back; I will update Leo's progress as we take this journey together.
Saturday, September 7, 2019
Leo comes to us from Korea. He was found as a stray and is estimated to be 3 years old.
Leo is a large boy with big feet and a blocky head. He is as sweet as can be and loves everyone. He met the resident dogs with no problem. He wants to play with them and also likes a tennis ball. When Leo was found he was tested for heartworms; that test came back positive.
He will be heading to the vet on Monday morning to start treatment. Leo is unavailable right now until we find out more about the plan for his heartworm treatment. We will update again soon.
