Dogster

return to top

All About Skip....

All about Skip....

Described as Sweet, fearless, funny, playful and gorgeous!!

BCRO has taken in this lovely 8 week old pup into their foster care program. Skip has come to us as he has a broken leg, his leg was broken when he was just 2 weeks old and his breeder did not have the resources to give him the care he needed. He was listed free to good home at 8 weeks and the ad was brought to our attention by a concerned animal lover. We felt that it was in this pups best interest to step in and give him a better quality of life for the future … with the help of our Orthopedic surgeon we can hopefully get this little man the comfort and surgery that he requires.

Skip will stay in the care of his foster parents till he is fully rehabilitated, he will be neutered and UTD on shots before being placed up for adoption

UPDATE JULY 17th -2006

We have taken Skip to see our wonderful vet Dr. BJ Berensford at the Amaranth Animal Hospital. The news is that his leg was in fact never broken... he has a birth defect, he is missing the long bone in his ankle... YES that is right it is not there!!!

Once we took the X rays it was pretty obvious what was wrong. Not only is this bone missing but the toe bones are also not properly developed on the inside... the outside bones are longer and almost normal compared to the inside which are smaller and under developed, this is partially causing the turning out of the foot, also this is due to him not using it and atrophy. With the missing bone he lacks stability and length of leg.

Together we worked at devising a temporary splint and volia! He walked on it! He is using it for every step and it is not bending over, it is amazing the difference already.

Our vet feels that as he WANTS to use it, this is a good sign as the tendons and nerves are there...that with consistency and rehab help we may actually save it and at least have it functional to some capacity.

We are going to work to rehab this leg / foot. The splint will help support it and hold it in the proper position .

We have a woman coming this week that makes custom orthopedics for dogs and hopefully with one he will be able to have a functional leg, it is highly unlikely that he will ever be strong enough with out the use of a splint.

He is a AWESOME high energy pup and is healthy in every other way, he has a lovely temperament and is going to make someone a wonderful companion. He should have no problem participating in all low impact activities.


We will keep you updated on his progress... He will stay here till we can get him neutered and into a custom splint as it is felt that it is ESSENTIAL that this is done consistently to rehab that leg and keep him using it while he develops.

UPDATE AUGUST 28-06

Skip has been doing great in his custom support made by Animal Rehab Services (www.animalrehab.on.ca)

He is much happier and more comfortable in it then the make shift splint . Skip is growing like a weed and just after 4 weeks we have had to remeasure and have a new splint made... WOW! His lower leg doubled in length , we wonder if this is partially because he is now using it and there is good blood flow to the area. With his brace he gets around like a champ, he will still "skip" but will use it with a flat foot for walking, climbing and running.

We have taken him in for his 3rd set of shots and his rabies will follow in a couple of weeks. We feel at the moment that neutering him early may not be in his best interest as it can change structure.

Quickly it is clear that this is a very ACTIVE boy and it really is going to take a special someone who has BC experience to be creative to find ways to mentally and physically(to his abilities) stimulate him. His leg will also require care of futher braces and extra care with washing and keeping it healthy.

He is getting TONS of socialization in foster care and seems to just love everyone and everything , he is quickly learning that tug and fetch games are really fun and is showing his true BC obsessive traits. He also LOVES his puppy plays but gets very stimulated ,excited and takes awhile to come down afterwards. This pup is keen and on the ball.

He is very good in his crate and has learned to sit, down and touch. He thinks the clicker is pretty cool too!

We are already seeing lots of herding traits, his favorite victims of course are foster parents big toes.

Thanks again to all of Skip's "Friends". Please watch as he journey continues.....

Mr Skip has been having a super busy time :) We happened to make a wonderful new friend "Janice" from the Sunnybrook centre for independent living. Janice is a dog LOVER and also is a certified prosthetist. She spent alot of time and effort to design and put together a new prosthetist for Skip. Skip LOVES his new leg and is the talk of the town in the dog circles he frequents. It was pretty emotional to see this little man take off on his new brace !

With this new support our dear pup who never jumped up on people is now a jumping maniac :) While not a desired behavior it does give us a idea of just how happy he is in it. We cannot thank Janice enough for helping out our little red man.

Skipper also attended the recent Taste of the Kingsway with foster mom and friends, showing off his stuff in a doggy demo for friends at Coco's healthy Pet Boutique. With mom on the speaker he wasn't %100 comfortable with his aunt Louise but his foster brother Cowboy came out to join him and soon he was a happy camper.

Chris, Skip's foster dad also took him around the city on a day trip. This brave pup had his first experiences with transit and was fearless... Chris says that Skip caught the eye of ALL the pretty girls and both had a pretty good day :)

This weekend pup and foster family travelled back up to Muskoka for a weekend of agility, Skip thinks that agility trials are pretty great places as he found many a playmate and EVERYONE spoiled him rotten.

He especially loved swimming in the lake and herding his little cousin Newman the mini aussie....!

Also look out for Skip in the upcoming Beaches Paper as Marna will be doing a spotlight on our special pup.

Skip and foster pups Rally and Tink all enjoyed a few days of R & R at the cottage!!!

We wanted to share these pictures with you to show just how intense and active this pup is. He LOVES the water and is a great swimmer already. We are thrilled as this will give him a great low impact activity

UPDATE OCTOBER 14th 2006

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Mr Skip and friends went to the cottage for another beautiful Thanksgiving weekend!

Tons of fun was had by all playing in the fields and also in the lake Brrr..... YES it was cold but Skip didn't let that stop him.

Most of all he really loved enjoyed hanging with his foster brother Cowboy who is VERY exciting and extremly herdable!

He did loose his "foot" in the lake or perhaps field so Aunt Janice had to do some repair work on his prostetic, she was very understanding :)

Skip's basic obedience is coming along GREAT. He loves to do his hand feeding and clicker work although toys are by far the most motivating reinforcement of them all. He has his sit, down, stand and handtouch all down pat. We have started to teach his release word and he think that is the coolest. FREE! YEE HAW!

He is REALLY a intense little guy and those light green eyes could burn down a tree.
UPDATE OCTOBER 22nd.

Skip LOVES to play ball!!! We are been working on teaching him to catch it and he can now pick it up easily on one bounce.

He is learning that playing ball can be JUST as much fun as herding the other dogs so had earned to priviledge to go for group plays.

This is such a lovely active boy .

Skip will also be down at the Royal Winter Fair starting November 3rd , he will be hanging out at the Rescue Me Booth promoting Rescue in Ontario. Also socializing and practicing his meet, greets and manners.

Hope to see you there!!!!!
Skip goes to the Royal with BCRO.

Thanks to everyone who supported K9 Rescue at the Royal this year. Cathie's Fuzzy Tuggers were a HUGE hit as always and we raised tons of awareness for rescue in Ontario. Skip's fan club of course grew , EVERYONE who came in contact with this boy fell madly in love. Probably the most memorable moment was when a little girl about 8 excitedly held up her hand to show that she too had a prostetic hand! Skip was great with the ALL the kids, also the special needs groups in wheelchairs. One particular child who was in a wheelchair and was disabled , she smiled and laughed as she signed to her teacher that Skip had a brace just like her . Skip sat on her lap while she happily checked him out. We are more then now convinced that this pup has a higher calling and are actively seeking a home that will build on this for the future of a Therapy dog. Hopefully going into places to educate and give comfort or joy.

Skip also met a new friend Zeus a GIANT great dane that he hung out with on his shifts. Zeus is a regular at these shows and really helped give Skip some great confidence, Skip was not too sure about the loud speakers initially. Thanks Wendy and Zeus for being our Rock!

And last but not least we want to thank all the wonderful rescue groups with K9 Resue me that worked SO hard this last 10 days to make the Royal such a success.. Net working with these other groups is so important in helping the dogs we do. Cheers to you all.

Skip makes a new friend today!

Skip went down to the Canine Wellness centre today to start his hydrotherapy . He greeted Tania with great gusto and tons of crazy kisses!!!! We will be taking Skip 2X a week , he will both be working on a underwater treadmill and also swimming in the pool. With her special underwater camera's we can watch Skip while he swims .

As the cold weather hits and the frozen ground and snow may make it more difficult for him to exercise, with hydrotherapy and physio we hope to keep him strong, fit and and continue to teach him to use his "new" leg to the best of his abilities. Thanks to all of Skip's friends your support goes a long way to giving this pup such good care.

www.caninewellness.com

December 2006

Skip has had a busy December ! His swimming is going really well , he LOVES to swim in the pool and get toys... he is not so keen on the tread mill work but we are getting there.

Aunt Janice did a presentation at Sunnybrook on the work she has been doing with Skip. He attended and of course was quite a distraction for everyone. He also went for a overnight visit and adventure with Aunt Janice where he terroized her poor guinea pig! but had a blast .

Skip has also been fitted with a new prothesis. We can't wait to show you the pictures of his fancy new leg. We have made a few adjustments and the other one was getting a bit short and tight as he is growing like a weed! So far are very pleased by the results. Skip also give 2 paws up!

I went shopping for some supplies last week and his Aunt Janice who is multi talented will also be sewing him a water proof "sock" for his leg to protect from snow and salt this winter....

Skip sends special Kisses to Lynne, Scully's mom who cleaned out her puppy cupboard and send a box full of toys in the mail!!!! WOO HOO what a surprise!!!!!!! Skip quickly took ownership of them all !!!!