Meet "Rusty" (may change as he can't hear it and doesn't seem to know his name)! Rusty is a rescue from the National Brittany Rescue. He is my current foster baby. Rusty found his way to me from an owner surrender and 2 previous foster homes.
Rusty came to Texas from Oklahoma. He was owner surrendered. We are unsure how long the previous "owners" had him as we were told they found him on a road, opened the car door to shew him off the road and he hopped right in. We do not know how long they kept him before surrendering him nor where he came from before that. However, he only weighed 42.4 lbs the initial intake.
Initial intake vet exam vet said 12 years old, secondary vet exam said 10 years old). His initial intake vet reported he has dental issues (guess I'll be brushing his teeth). He has moderate atrophy of hind limbs (Muscular atrophy is a weakening or wasting away of muscle mass. It can be observed as a loss of muscle tone and is most obvious on the hind legs and hips of senior dogs. Muscular atrophy has two main causes: lack of activity and disease -https://www.cuteness.com/blog/content/muscular-atrophy-in-older-dogs ) and arthritis. (Arthritis attacks the joints of older dogs, not the muscles, but can still lead to muscle atrophy. As arthritis degenerates the joint, often in your dog's hips and knees, it causes significant pain. This pain causes your dog to move stiffly and slowly, and makes him hesitant to play, run or exercise like usual. This decrease in activity, coupled with reluctance to stretch the muscles and use them fully, leads to muscular atrophy. Pain management medications as well as joint support and physical therapy can minimize the effects of arthritis, which in turn encourages your dog to exercise and restore his muscle mass. - https://www.cuteness.com/blog/content/muscular-atrophy-in-older-dogs ). He is on meds to help with these issues and I will be implementing an exercise routine for him to help with the muscle atrophy and get him active again!
His vaccinations are up to date now and heart worm negative!
Rusty did very well with his bath, now I just have to trim his long overgrown nails as he has been "tap dancing" all over my floors and I can't imagine that is very comfortable when he walks around either!
His previous foster homea stated they thought he was deaf and blind, however after spending 2 days with him I think he may be really hard of hearing as he can hear loud noises such as raising voice to a "yell" and a shrill whistle. I have ordered him a vibration collar to work on training basic obedience commands and providing a way to communicate with him without feeling like I am "yelling" at him all the time. This will also help in making him more adoptable!
Blindness - I am positive he is not completely blind as he can see a flashlight beam at night (I flashed the light at him several times at night to get him to come back in the house) and I know he saw my cat (not sure if he saw cat clearly or saw her movement as she blends in with her environment) and I know he can see me pat my leg to come to me. Will keep updating on vision as I learn.
He enjoyed the kiddie pool, a brief walk and visiting with new fur friends! I think it wore him out!
Follow Rusty's journey with me as he will most likely be available for adoption in apx. 30 days and will be in need of a loving, compassionate furever home!


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