Sponsored by:
Dennis and Joanne M.
Happy Spring to the Golden Seniors from Anonymous
January 29, 2011
Meet Tucker! Tucker is a PB male Golden. He is 8 and a half years old and is about as sweet and easy as they come! Tucker was surrendered by his family because they could no longer care for him. They really didn't want to see him go and loved him very much, but made the right choice in handing him over to RAGOM so he can get all the care and attention he deserves!
Tucker is completely housebroken and has free roam. He has fit into our household seamlessly. In fact, he's so easy to have around that I often forget he's my foster dog! He gets along great with everyone. Tucker loves people of all ages. He also gets along great with other dogs. We have a resident female who is a little touchy with other dogs, but he has won her over :) He has also met all of the dogs within our extended family and had no problems. He has never been around cats, but he does not have a high prey drive, so I am guessing he would be fine with a cat. Tucker is definitely more interested in his humans than other animals, but would definitely make a nice companion for your dog if you are thinking of adding another pet to your home.
Tucker is 100 pounds and the vet said he needs to lose about 30 lbs. He has a thyroid problem and was not being medicated for it. We immediately got him back on his thyroid medication and the vet thinks this will help him over all ... he has some issues which have made him unavailable for adoption at this time. In addition to getting his thyroid and weight back in check, he is also fighting a staph infection on his belly that was caused from an allergy breakout. Poor Tucker is on antibiotics right now and his foster mom and dad want to make sure he gets rid of the allergy symptoms and staph before we find his forever family. We have had him on his meds for about a week now and he seems to be improving. We also have him on a limited ingredient diet from Natural Balance. Right now he is enjoying bison and sweet potato along with some added green beans. Since he is on a major diet, we have decreased his kibble and added the green beans to make him feel fuller. Treats consist of carrots and he LOVES them! So now he is eating very healthy (foster dad thinks Tucker eats better than he does!) and enjoying healthy treats. He is also getting daily walks. Because of Tucker's allergies, we are pretty sure he will need to be on a grain-free, limited ingredient diet for life. We are still waiting to see if this dietary change will make all the difference for him, though. Time will tell! Naturally, we will keep everyone posted on this wonderful, sweet, easy going senior boy! Keep your fingers and paws crossed for him!!
| Golden Retriever | Born: August 2002 |
| Male | 100 lbs |
Status: Adopted
Sponsored by:
Dennis and Joanne M.
Happy Spring to the Golden Seniors from Anonymous
January 29, 2011
Meet Tucker! Tucker is a PB male Golden. He is 8 and a half years old and is about as sweet and easy as they come! Tucker was surrendered by his family because they could no longer care for him. They really didn't want to see him go and loved him very much, but made the right choice in handing him over to RAGOM so he can get all the care and attention he deserves!
Tucker is completely housebroken and has free roam. He has fit into our household seamlessly. In fact, he's so easy to have around that I often forget he's my foster dog! He gets along great with everyone. Tucker loves people of all ages. He also gets along great with other dogs. We have a resident female who is a little touchy with other dogs, but he has won her over :) He has also met all of the dogs within our extended family and had no problems. He has never been around cats, but he does not have a high prey drive, so I am guessing he would be fine with a cat. Tucker is definitely more interested in his humans than other animals, but would definitely make a nice companion for your dog if you are thinking of adding another pet to your home.
Tucker is 100 pounds and the vet said he needs to lose about 30 lbs. He has a thyroid problem and was not being medicated for it. We immediately got him back on his thyroid medication and the vet thinks this will help him over all ... he has some issues which have made him unavailable for adoption at this time. In addition to getting his thyroid and weight back in check, he is also fighting a staph infection on his belly that was caused from an allergy breakout. Poor Tucker is on antibiotics right now and his foster mom and dad want to make sure he gets rid of the allergy symptoms and staph before we find his forever family. We have had him on his meds for about a week now and he seems to be improving. We also have him on a limited ingredient diet from Natural Balance. Right now he is enjoying bison and sweet potato along with some added green beans. Since he is on a major diet, we have decreased his kibble and added the green beans to make him feel fuller. Treats consist of carrots and he LOVES them! So now he is eating very healthy (foster dad thinks Tucker eats better than he does!) and enjoying healthy treats. He is also getting daily walks. Because of Tucker's allergies, we are pretty sure he will need to be on a grain-free, limited ingredient diet for life. We are still waiting to see if this dietary change will make all the difference for him, though. Time will tell! Naturally, we will keep everyone posted on this wonderful, sweet, easy going senior boy! Keep your fingers and paws crossed for him!!
We have news! We have decided to officially adopt Tuck! He fits in so well with our family and we just can't let him go. We knew he was special right away because our female, Nellie, really loves Tucky too! And when she loves another dog ... we know they are a keeper! It is a happy ending for all of us!
Tucker wants to send a GREAT BIG thank you to RAGOM and to his generous sponsors, Dennis and Joanne M. again for helping him get healthy! He is feeling like a million bucks!
Hi Tucker fans! We had a great weekend with Tucky! We spent a lot of time outside and as long as we were out there with him, he was enjoying himself. Tucker is the kind of dog that just wants to be with you, so if you are not going to be outside, he doesn't want to be either ... unlike our resident girl who loves sitting outside as much as she can!
I think we are ready to start looking at potential forever families for Tucker. If I am being honest, I have to admit that we were not very excited about this day because we really, really love Tuck! However, getting him healthy again and finding him the right family was/is our mission and we are committed to doing that for him.
Here is what we are looking for:
Tucker is a wonderful, happy, friendly dog. He is very much a Golden and has that personality. He is good with everyone and anything!
He loves to snuggle with his people and will be happy to join you on the couch or lay in bed with you. He is very much a people dog, so it is very important that he is able to have a lot of time with his forever family every day.
If you are interested in talking with us more about Tucker, please let placement know.
Good news! We went to the vet last night and Tucker got rave reviews on his health. The vet is very satisfied with his weight loss and said we can keep him at his current weight of 74 pounds. She said that she would like him to take two more weeks of antibiotics just to be absolutely sure we have cleared up the infection. His skin looks great, but there are two spots that are very small that she said look like they haven't quite healed all the way. They are so small, we didn't even see them! So, we will have him on two more weeks of antibiotics. She said that it is clear that a grain-free diet is working on Tucker and in the future, all he will need is a thyroid pill twice per day and a grain-free diet. We are currently feeding him Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Venison and Sweet Potato and he likes it very much! Just to be clear, his skin condition was not something that he has dealt with his entire life. It was something that came about last October. The vet feels that it started from an allergy and couldn't heal because he was not taking his thyroid pills. Apparently, those are very important for a guy like Tuck! ;) During our first vet appointment with her two months ago, she told us that once we got him back on the thyroid pills, everything will improve and she was right! So for now, we have two more weeks of antibiotics, then we will start the process of finding Tucker his forever home.
I feel like I talk so much about his health status, that I forget to update you all on who Tucker is as a dog! He is a wonderful dog! Very happy and very friendly. He can often times be rather lazy too! We walk our female resident twice per day. Once before work and once after work. In the morning, Tucker would rather take it easy and sleep in! He is not eager to go on a morning walk like our girl Nellie is. Tucker stays back and watches me make his breakfast instead. He likes to ease into his mornings. He does like his afternoon walk; however, he does not really like wearing his Gentle Leader. He does pull quite a bit if he does not wear a Gentle Leader. It's not bad for my husband, but if I am walking him, I have him wear the leader. If he sees it, he goes and sits by the door to go back inside the house and we have to coax him out to go for the walk. Once he is out walking, he couldn't be happier though! He isn't trying to constantly get out of the leader or anything like that. He just sees it and thinks "perhaps I'll just stay back and let you guys go with just Nellie."
Tucker loves food and loves to beg for food. We tell him to lay down and he usually listens. Sometimes we have to try more than once to get him to lay down, though. He also loves to carry a ball around in his mouth, especially if you are just getting home from work and he is excited! He runs and grabs his ball and makes this funny noise like a seal or something. It's very cute!
The pictures I am sending for this week's post are so cute! This was in the morning and Tucker was being lazy and not into going for a walk. He had his paws up on the arm of the couch and his face peering over. It was so adorable! I didn't have my regular camera and had to take them on my phone, so they aren't the highest quality, but they are still adorable!
Hi Tucker fans! This week is a big week for Tucker. It is his first week off of his antibiotics. As I mentioned before, the vet wanted him to finish his antibiotics and monitor him for one week after. That means right now he is only taking his thyroid medication twice per day. If all goes well this week, Tucker will be available for adoption very soon! Please keep your fingers and paws crossed that Tucker will do well off of his antibiotics. His skin looks great, his hair looks great and is growing back. Everything is looking good right now, so let's hope it stays that way!! Tucker is a great dog and will be a great addition to a lucky family!
Oh and I almost forgot! I think we have him down to a good weight. He is looking like a new dog!! He doesn't like sitting very long for the camera, so I did my best to get some shots to compare from previous weeks.
Stay tuned ...
| Hi everyone! My apologies for being late with an update on Tucker. I have been sick and out of commission for the past few days. Tucker was a great comfort to me, though! He laid by me with his paw on my arm :) Such a sweetheart! As for his health, things are looking great!! We are pretty sure that he has lost even more weight, but will confirm that at our next vet appointment! His skin and hair is also looking great! The hair is starting to grow back quickly and his skin no longer has sores or redness. He is still on his antibiotics, so we still have another week or so to go before we are 100% sure we have solved the problem, but things are looking good! Once he is finished with his antibiotics, we will monitor him for one additional week with only his thyroid medication. We are crossing our fingers that he'll remain healthy without the antibiotics!
We can tell that Tucker feels like a new dog. He has his energy back and seems very happy! He also looks like a new dog with all of the weight he has lost! He can now run and walk without limping and can even jump up on us ... I know! Bad manners, but he doesn't do it often! Only when we get him all excited and our female golden starts doing it (usually before a walk). When he was 100 pounds he could barely get his feet off the ground when he tried to jump up. It was more like a tiny hop. Now he can jump up, which is exciting to us because it shows how much of a difference a healthy weight can make for your pet! Fostering Tucker has been a very rewarding experience and watching him regain his health and spirit has been such a blessing! Thanks for checking in on Tucky! |
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Hello Tucker fans! We got some GREAT news this weekend at the vet! First, Tucker lost another 6 pounds!! That's 12 pounds total! The vet was also very pleased with the way his skin is looking and said that we should finish up our bottle of antibiotics, which will be about another 2 weeks or maybe more. Then we will have to monitor him for one week once he is off the antibiotics to see if he has another flare up without them. If he does not have a flare, then we can assume that his allergies were probably food related and will remain under control with a grain-free diet. That means that he will be available for adoption in the next few weeks if all goes well! We are getting closer to being able to find him his forever home! Yay Tuck! The vet also said his ears and eyes are looking great. She was very happy about his progress and we were thrilled to know we are making huge strides in getting him back to a healthy state. So let's all continue to keep our paws and fingers crossed for Tucker!
Pictures from this week include one of Tucker riding in the car. He's really adorable in the car and tries to be co-pilot. He likes to stick his head up over the dog barrier to see out the window. It's pretty funny. He's a good boy!
Thanks for checking in everyone! Until next week!
Hello Tucker fans! We got some very exciting news this weekend! Tucker has sponsors! Thank you Dennis and Joanne M. for your generous support. You are one of the many reasons that RAGOM is able to help wonderful dogs like Tucker get healthy again! Thanks so much for thinking of him! It is very much appreciated!
Next weekend will be another update on Tucker's health. He going to the vet this Friday for his third progress check. They are going to be testing his thyroid to make sure we have the right dosage and also determine if the antibiotics are doing their job. We are not vets, but FM and FD think Tucker is really starting to improve! To our untrained eyes, he looks much better, but we will have to hold off on confirming that opinion until we hear what the vet says. We thought he was doing great the last time we took him in and she was hesitant to agree with us, saying we'll be able to tell more in another couple of weeks. So, again we wait! I have said it before, but this is a long process and we are committed to doing our best to help Tuck out! Please continue to keep your fingers and paws crossed for Tuck!
We have some new pics to share! We took advantage of the great weather yesterday and went down to the park for a walk instead of walking around our neighborhood. Tucker had a great time! I also busted Tuck and Nellie getting cozy together again! They weren't holding paws this time, though. I am pretty sure they were playing it cool because last time they were caught holding paws, they were all over the Internet like celebrities or something! ;)
Hi Tucker fans! Tucker is doing well. Not much to report on his behavior and personality -- he's still sweet and he's still the perfect house guest! He's just a wonderful boy!
As far as his health, he still has a long way to go. We brought him into the vet on Friday and he did lose 6 pounds, so that was great news! The vet is very pleased with the rate at which he is losing weight, so we will keep doing what we are doing. She was a little mixed on how she felt about his progress on the antibiotics for his skin infection, but since he's only been on them aggressively for two weeks, she wanted to give it another two weeks until she made a decision about changing them. The skin culture we had done did show that these antibiotics were helping the infection, but sometimes adjustments are still needed as time passes. It has improved a little, though. So that is good. She tested his skin for yeast because despite giving him a bath, a good high-quality diet, regular ear cleaning, etc., he is still quite smelly and has been very itchy. We thought it was a "yeasty" smell and the vet agreed. She did a skin test (on the house! Thanks Doc!) and found yeast. She was very surprised because she said she rarely finds yeast when she does these tests, so he must have it pretty bad. We are pretty sure this is also contributing to how itchy he is lately. So we have him on some medication to clear that up. He is also on Benadryl for itch, redness and inflammation. We have noticed a huge improvement in the few days he has been taking these meds. Fingers crossed!! In addition to those meds, we are also adding fish oil to his meals for skin and coat.
He is still unavailable because he has a long ways to go until he will be completely healthy. Our hope is that when he goes to his forever home, he will only require his thyroid meds and a limited ingredient, grain-free diet. In my most recent pics, you can see that his tail is bald on top. He is also bald on the left side of his neck and has a patch of missing hair on his hind quarters. The doctor said that his hair should start to grow back now that he's been taking thyroid meds. So far it looks like it is starting to grow back, but we'll know more in a few weeks. Sometimes figuring these things out take a while and we want to be sure we are on the right track with Tucker before he finds his forever home. Each week he seems to make progress, but it hasn't been long enough to really know for certain. Thanks for checking in on our boy Tuck!
p.s. How sweet is the picture of Tuck and our resident gal Nellie!? They are holding paws!
