Max 09-386

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I would like to introduce you to Max, the newest member of the RAGOM family.  Unfortunately, Max came to us from a shelter as a heartworm positive dog.  RAGOM has seen too many of these dogs in the recent months.  This is where I would like to make a friendly reminder to give your dog their monthly heartworm preventative pill.  It is so important for these dogs.

Well, back to Max.  Yes, he’s heartworm positive, so he will undergo the treatment in the near future.  We went to the vet on Monday for his wellness exam and for the most part did great.  He is not neutered, so we will tackle that once he gets the “all clear” after his HW treatment.  He is estimated at 4 ½ years and weighs 72.6 pounds.  He is a BEAUTIFUL dark golden with crimped hair and a little spot on the very end of his tongue.  He is a very sweet dog and wants to be around people all the time.  He’s been in our house for 4 days now and is still a little anxious.  Hopefully time will help with that.  Transitioning dogs to a new environment doesn’t happen overnight, so we will continue to give him the guidance and love to help him feel “at home”.  While at the vet, they did x-rays and blood work to help determine the severity of his heartworm.  It turns out his heart looks great, but they could see some worms in the arteries.  The blood work came back today and in the words of the vet “it came lovely and perfect!”, which is really good news.  That means he is strong enough to begin the treatment.  His treatment will consist of 30 days on a medicine that will weaken the adults so the injection shots will be easier on Max.  After the 30 days of meds, he will have his first injection shot.  We will then wait 30 more days and at that time, he will have 2 more shots 24 hours apart.  After that we just wait for the injections to kill the adult worms that have grown inside him.  This is a really painful procedure and some dog don’t make it through.  Please keep your paws crossed that Max will.  The prognosis is good, so we are thankful for that.  Max could really use some sponsors to help him through this time.  The heartworm treatment is not cheap, but as you all know, RAGOM does what it can for these dogs.  I’m just glad they are here for Max.  Max said, “Woof to that!” 

So you would think that having heartworm would be bad enough, but it turns out Max has a really bad ear infection in both ears which we are currently treating with ointment in the ears and a pill in the mouth.  Only one problem, Mr. Max really doesn’t like the insides of his ears to be touched.  Giving the medicine has not been fun for either of us!  And we haven’t even attempted the ear cleaning yet.  I’m sure he doesn’t want me to touch because they probably hurt.  Poor guy.

Let’s talk about what I know about Max so far.  Like I said, he is beautiful.  If he didn’t have this ucky disease, he would not be in foster care long…I mean beautiful purebred golden.  He just wants to give you love all the time in the form of nudges and kisses.  Even as sweet as he is, he still needs to learn some manners.  We are working on doing things only when invited.  He has picked up quickly “stay” when it comes to getting fed.  I make him wait until I say “okay”, then he can go into the kennel for his food.  He eats in the kennel to try to get him to enjoy it more.  He will go in, but doesn’t really like it.  He hasn’t messed in the kennel and just had his first accident tonight.  We were doing so well…oh well!  He came in not house trained, so at the age of 4 ½ it is going to take some work to change that behavior.  He is well on his way (with the exception of tonight).  He did get a bath when he came in and we tried to cut out some of the mats.  He had lots!!  He did pretty well with all of the water.  So far, he knows his “name”, “come”, and sometimes “stay”.  We are working on “sit” and “down”.  He walks pretty well on the Gentle Leader, which is really nice.

Max won’t be able to be at the picnic, but hopes everyone has a wonderful time.  He has to rest up for his treatment.  I hope you continue to follow his story and maybe one day you’ll be able to meet him.  Hugs and Kisses from the newest member of the RAGOM family…welcome, Max!

Gimme my food!

At a Glance #09-386

Golden Retriever Born: March 2005
Male 63 lbs

Status: Deceased

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I would like to introduce you to Max, the newest member of the RAGOM family.  Unfortunately, Max came to us from a shelter as a heartworm positive dog.  RAGOM has seen too many of these dogs in the recent months.  This is where I would like to make a friendly reminder to give your dog their monthly heartworm preventative pill.  It is so important for these dogs.

Well, back to Max.  Yes, he’s heartworm positive, so he will undergo the treatment in the near future.  We went to the vet on Monday for his wellness exam and for the most part did great.  He is not neutered, so we will tackle that once he gets the “all clear” after his HW treatment.  He is estimated at 4 ½ years and weighs 72.6 pounds.  He is a BEAUTIFUL dark golden with crimped hair and a little spot on the very end of his tongue.  He is a very sweet dog and wants to be around people all the time.  He’s been in our house for 4 days now and is still a little anxious.  Hopefully time will help with that.  Transitioning dogs to a new environment doesn’t happen overnight, so we will continue to give him the guidance and love to help him feel “at home”.  While at the vet, they did x-rays and blood work to help determine the severity of his heartworm.  It turns out his heart looks great, but they could see some worms in the arteries.  The blood work came back today and in the words of the vet “it came lovely and perfect!”, which is really good news.  That means he is strong enough to begin the treatment.  His treatment will consist of 30 days on a medicine that will weaken the adults so the injection shots will be easier on Max.  After the 30 days of meds, he will have his first injection shot.  We will then wait 30 more days and at that time, he will have 2 more shots 24 hours apart.  After that we just wait for the injections to kill the adult worms that have grown inside him.  This is a really painful procedure and some dog don’t make it through.  Please keep your paws crossed that Max will.  The prognosis is good, so we are thankful for that.  Max could really use some sponsors to help him through this time.  The heartworm treatment is not cheap, but as you all know, RAGOM does what it can for these dogs.  I’m just glad they are here for Max.  Max said, “Woof to that!” 

So you would think that having heartworm would be bad enough, but it turns out Max has a really bad ear infection in both ears which we are currently treating with ointment in the ears and a pill in the mouth.  Only one problem, Mr. Max really doesn’t like the insides of his ears to be touched.  Giving the medicine has not been fun for either of us!  And we haven’t even attempted the ear cleaning yet.  I’m sure he doesn’t want me to touch because they probably hurt.  Poor guy.

Let’s talk about what I know about Max so far.  Like I said, he is beautiful.  If he didn’t have this ucky disease, he would not be in foster care long…I mean beautiful purebred golden.  He just wants to give you love all the time in the form of nudges and kisses.  Even as sweet as he is, he still needs to learn some manners.  We are working on doing things only when invited.  He has picked up quickly “stay” when it comes to getting fed.  I make him wait until I say “okay”, then he can go into the kennel for his food.  He eats in the kennel to try to get him to enjoy it more.  He will go in, but doesn’t really like it.  He hasn’t messed in the kennel and just had his first accident tonight.  We were doing so well…oh well!  He came in not house trained, so at the age of 4 ½ it is going to take some work to change that behavior.  He is well on his way (with the exception of tonight).  He did get a bath when he came in and we tried to cut out some of the mats.  He had lots!!  He did pretty well with all of the water.  So far, he knows his “name”, “come”, and sometimes “stay”.  We are working on “sit” and “down”.  He walks pretty well on the Gentle Leader, which is really nice.

Max won’t be able to be at the picnic, but hopes everyone has a wonderful time.  He has to rest up for his treatment.  I hope you continue to follow his story and maybe one day you’ll be able to meet him.  Hugs and Kisses from the newest member of the RAGOM family…welcome, Max!

Gimme my food!

Updates

Saturday, February 13, 2010

 

It is with a heavy heart that I write to inform everyone that Max has been sent to The Bridge.

He was adopted in early December to the most wonderful family. I knew they were PERFECT for Max. Despite giving him the most love that an owner can give, something in Max snapped. He bit his adoptive mom. After much debate and talking with several professionals, it was decided that it was in the best interest of Max to let him go. As a rescue organization, we often don’t know the background of our sweet pups. We take them in and love them the best that we can, but sometimes that isn’t enough. Max went through so much with his heartworm treatment and I truly thought he was on his way to a better life.

To Nick and Meagan, I thank you for giving him a chance. You gave him the best two months he could ask for, and for that I know he is eternally grateful.

Good bye sweet, Max-a-million. You will always be in our hearts. We love you.

Love, FM, FD, and Savannah

 

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Well it has finally happened for Mr. Max…he went to his forever home on Sunday.  Although it’s always hard to see these sweet babies go, it comforts me to know that he has found such a wonderful family that will love him forever!  I want to say a big “thank you” to Nick and Meagan for opening their hearts and home to that sweetie pie.  I know it wasn’t easy having met and fallen in love with him so many weeks ago then having to wait for him to finish his heartworm treatment.  I’m so happy that part is over and that you are finally together.  I will anxiously wait March 2010 to hear if the test comes back negative.  I hope all of Max’s fans continue to keep him in your thoughts.  

Poor Max is probably wishing he went to his new home much earlier because he had to endure his last photo shoot and this was no ordinary photo shoot…this is the holiday one with the antlers!  He was surprisingly a pretty good sport about it.  The antlers stayed on…most of the time.  It is with these pictures that I wish Max and his new family a wonderful holiday and I’m so glad you get to spend it together.  Max, you will always have a special place in our hearts.  Love always, FM, FD, and resident-Savannah  

Oh yeah…Max told me to send a special shout out to his buddy, Millie (09-291)…she is such a rock star for donating money to RAGOM!  Thanks for thinking of me…so sweet!!  Glad you found your forever home too…your new mom’s so awesome!  Love, Max

Max with antlers below head

 

 

 

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Millie 09-291

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Well, we did it!  Max’s treatment is complete.  He took the injections like a champ.  The vet was so impressed with how relaxed Max has become with going to the vet.  Of course, I guess that must come with the number of times Max has been to the vet—back and forth, back and forth!  Anyway, I am really proud of the progress he has made too.  He actually looks happy to go to the vet now!!  As far as his ears, he has a clean bill of health, but he will probably always be prone to ear infections if he doesn’t have them cleaned regularly. 

Max had a great weekend…his new mommy came to visit him and check on him after his treatment.  He was so excited to see her.  I had to keep reminding him that he needed to calm down and not let his heart rate get too fast.  Max didn’t seem to care.  It was like he was thinking, “Hey!  This is my Mommy.  I can give her all the tail wags I want and you can’t stop me!”  If all goes well, Max will go home with his new family in a couple of weeks.  Max is thankful to have a new family and FM is thankful to have had a wonderful time with Max!  He will truly be missed.  We want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!  Here’s a picture of Max in the harvest holiday spirit and one of him helping FD read!  I just love this guy...


Happy Thanksgiving!


I love FD!!

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Well, it’s me, Max!  I wanted to let everyone know that I’m doing great.  My foster mom takes my temperature every morning and evening.  It really isn’t my favorite if you know what I mean, but FM says it’s to make sure I’m doing okay with my treatment.  Two weeks in, we are so far, so good.  I’m spending more time than I would like in the kennel, but I know it’s for my own good.  One day, I’ll have a family of my own and yard to run free.  I can’t wait for that day! 

Anyway, enough about me.  It turns out today is Halloween and FM says kids dress up in all sorts of costumes and we’re going to pass out candy to them tonight.  When she first told me about this crazy holiday, I thought she meant kids dressed up, but it turns out I got the crazy FM that puts headbands for every holiday on her dogs…how lucky can I be?  So here’s a picture of me with that festive thing on my head.  Thank goodness I’ll be out of here by December, my foster sister says Christmas is even worse!  FM also carved a pumpkin that looks like me…well I guess you could say it could be any golden retriever, but I like to think it’s me!  Until next time, I hope you enjoy (aren't I cute?) the pictures and have a safe holiday.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Well, he did it!  Max got his first HW shot today and they said he did it with flying colors.  They said he didn’t squirm at all when they put the very long needle in him.  I don’t know that I could say the same if it was me going through it.  Bottom line, he is well on his way to recovery.  Now we wait 30 days, then go back in for shots #2 and #3.  While at the vet today, they went ahead and did another check on his ears.  They are STILL infected, but are much better than they were.  They hope that within the week, he should be cleared up.  He will probably be one of those goldens that is proned to ear infections.  I asked how the infection gets in there and this is just a little FYI for all you dog owners.  Apparently the worse culprit is water!  They said the water gets down inside the ear canal.  It turns warm and breeds yeast, which will turn into the infection.  The best prevention is to make sure your dogs ears are completely dry after a bath, rain, or rolling around in the snow.

I know everyone was really wanting to hear about Max’s treatment, but we have even BIGGER news to share.  Max had a family come meet him yesterday and they want to adopt him when he is done with his heartworm treatment!  Isn’t that awesome?  They would totally take him now…if they could!  They brought Max a toy which he LOVES—so thank you Nick and Meagan.  We will try to make it last as long as possible, but no promises!  After all, he’s a golden retriever and it has tennis balls!  I couldn’t be happier for this family and Max to come together.  We will continue to monitor Max’s progress and I will continue to keep you updated.  If all goes well, Max will go to his new family in about 1 ½ months—just in time for the holidays.  That’s probably the best present of all—for both the family and Max!!  Thank you to RAGOM for paying for Max’s treatment.  If anyone would like to help offset the cost, Max would love a sponsor.  He promises he would give you a big, sweet kiss!!  Until the next time…I leave you with a picture of Max and his new toy and another of Max watching the Vikings game yesterday.  Apparently Max’s new daddy loves the Vikings, so we were just practicing sitting around on a Sunday afternoon watching football!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Hello Everyone!  It's me, Max.  Not much has changed with me, but I wanted to say "hi".  I have been a busy bee the last little bit.  My FM and FD had a party this weekend with a lot of people and I did so great...some of them were even tiny little people.  FM always tells me how sweet I am and I think that's pretty much true.  I seem to get along with everyone.  I don't even growl at anything (at least not yet)!!  I love my foster sister.  She's so good to me.  She shares her toys...really I kind of grab them, but then sometimes FM has to remind me about that whole sharing thing.  I just say "okay" and go back to my own toy.  I love those raw bones and raw hides.  I can chew on those for a while! 

No more howling for me in the middle of the night!  FM moved my kennel up into their bedroom and I don't make a peep anymore.  I tried to tell them that I just wanted to be wherever they were...and that included at night time!  I'm going into my kennel so nicely.  FM is so proud of the progress that I'm making.  I now know "sit", "down" (sometimes I like to do those two as one command!), "come" (if you say it in a really fun, high-pitched voice!), "kennel", "stay", and "easy".  I don't get on the furniture and haven't eaten anything inappropriate.  FM says I'm right near perfect, except sometimes I lift my leg in the house.  I'm really trying to stop.  FM says it's just going to take some time and maybe getting neutered might help me too.  I think it's just I've always been allowed to do that and since I'm 4 1/2, it might take me a little while to learn what is correct.  Do you think you can help me?

As far as my medical stuff...I went to the vet again on Monday to get my ears re-checked.  The infection wasn't clearing up like FM had hoped.  The vet did a good cleaning and gave us some new medicine to try.  FM said I have to get dropped off on October 19th for the day.  She said that's when they will do my first heartworm injection treatment.  She will get to pick me up at the end of the day.  I'm a little scared about this heartworm stuff.  I really wish I didn't have it, but FM says the treatment will make me feel better.  Please keep your paws crossed for me.  I'm gonna try to be brave...cause I'm so sweet! 

Any-hoo, I guess that's all I have for now.  FM took a couple new pictures.  I just love her, so I had to put my head in her lap and look up at her as if to say, "Thank you, RAGOM."  The other picture is of me and a water bottle.  It turns out I like to play with empty ones.  I didn't chew it, just threw it up in the air and rolled it around.  That was super fun! 

Well, until next time.  I hope everyone is doing well.  I won't be able to be at any RAGOM events until after my heartworm treatment, but if you want to meet me and think I might be a good fit in your home, just contact your placement advisor.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Well, well…sweet Maxie has really adjusted to our house.  I’m pretty sure he thinks he is here to stay!!  He gets along famously with our resident.  Not one growl over anything…of course, she lets him have whatever he wants (that’s just the way she is!).  But also, he allows me to take things from him without any issue.  He waits to get his food.  He’s really done a great job with that.  Even just a week ago he was very impulsive around food.  We have been working on that and he has improved a lot.  He knows “sit” and “down”, but sometimes merges them into one command, but he is always attentive in doing so.  He loves to be around people.  Sometimes it’s a little much.  When I am watching TV, he will come and put his face in my lap constantly.  We are working to only come for pets when invited instead of being so pushy.  All this boy wants is love!  Can you give him that?

I still have him attached to me with a leash because otherwise he will go “tinkle” in the house.  He is getting better, but I still have to take him out often and praise when he makes the right choice.  We did have a breakthrough this week.  For the first time, he went to the sliding glass door to signal to go out.  It was an “ah-ha” moment!  Yeah, Maxie!!!  I truly think he has just never had boundaries so all of this manners stuff is completely new to him.  He is picking it up, but his forever home will have to work with him and it will take time. 

Max came in two weeks ago really dirty.  He has had two baths and did great with both.  He still has some mats in his hind feather area and his tail.  I am slowly trying to cut those out.  I’m trying to be really careful because I accidentally cut his chest while trying to get one out.  FM felt REALLY bad for that one—like this guy doesn’t have anything else to worry about with the HW and the ear infection.  The good news is that boo-boo is healing nicely.  The ears are also looking better, but he still doesn’t like to have them cleaned.  Even though I don’t think he has a mean bone in his body, I do put the muzzle on him while I clean and put ointment in his ears.  He tolerates it then.  I just don’t want to put him in a super uncomfortable situation.  I also am trying to desensitize him to having his ears touched by playing with them when I don’t have the meds around.  He does allow me to massage them inside and outside, but has put 2 and 2 together when it comes to the medicine/cleaning time.

As for the heartworm update, he is about halfway through the meds and will go in a couple weeks for his first injection.  From there, we will wait 30 more days to give injections #2 and #3.  It will be SUPER IMPORTANT that he stays completely calm during those few months.  This means he will have to go out on a leash to relieve himself, then back into the crate.  It’s not a fun time for the dog or the human taking care of the dog—but it’s the best thing for him.  It’s hard, but humans just have to remind themselves that after all of this is over, hopefully he will be an active, wonderful golden that I know he is.

Max has gotten much better about going into and tolerating the kennel, which is good for his upcoming treatment.  I do feed him in the kennel and always give him a filled Kong or a treat when I leave.  He has even started going in and turning around on his own.  I praise him when I see that so he will eventually make a connection to the kennel as being a relaxing place to just chill-with the door open or closed.  At night, he sleeps in the kennel and goes in fine.  A few times last week, he woke us up in the middle of the night with about 10 seconds of howling.  I don’t know if he is dreaming or if he wakes up and freaks out that no one is around.  He hasn’t done it for a few days and hopefully that will completely stop once he feels more secure.  It’s weird because it really only lasts for 10 seconds then, it’s off to bed again. 

As I leave you with some new pictures, I have to tell you a funny story.  I recently noticed that when he poops, he does it in a circle-clockwise every time.  It’s pretty funny to see.  Most dogs stay still to do their business, some dogs “walk” and poop, but not our Maxie…he does circles!  Crazy Max.  I hope you enjoy the new pictures.  Max was out with me today while I moved rock from one place to another.  He had some toys out with him.  He loves to chew on raw bones, found Savannah’s (our resident) deflated green ball, and enjoyed just rolling around in the grass.  He met a couple of neighborhood kids (6-8 years old) and did great.  He tries to get pets from anyone and he’s not picky on age!  He did see the neighbor’s cat and really tried to go after it.  Of course, he was on a lead so he didn’t get very far.  My first instinct is that he has never seen a cat before.  I would have to do some more testing to find out if it’s something to be concerned with or not.  Well, I think that pretty much updates you on the past week’s events.  If you would like to meet Max, please contact your placement advisor.