Rusty 13-116

Profile

Sponsored by:

Wendy W.

Paul and Mary T.
"Bless you Rusty, bless you!! Get well soon!!"

Happy Valentines Day love Hailie,Kathy and Oliver Wellcome

For Rusty in memory of Sadie who we lost to blasto.

May 6, 2013

Rusty was tearfully surrendered by a family that were unable to provide for his special needs. Rusty is 11 months old and lived on a resort in northern MN. He was the resort greeter and loves all people and kids. He loved swimming and roaming around the resort helping all of the visitors enjoy their stay. Sounds like a wonderful life for our boy!

Unfortunately, Rusty contracted Blastomycosis dermatitidis, a fungal disease found in sandy soil near lakes. He was treated as soon as symptoms began but within two days he lost most of his vision. The owners called RAGOM so we could help find him a family that matches his special needs.

This is an amazing boy! He memorized our home within two days and does not bump into things, He is so sweet! He has no issues with people, kids or other dogs. Rusty has even mastered a flight of stairs in our home.

We were very hopeful that early treatment provided by his surrendering owners would help resolve Rusty's blindness. However, our vet tested the pressure in his eyes and it was very high in one and low in the other. The low pressure meant that Rusty's eye had ruptured. This is very painful and you can tell how irritated his eyes were from the pictures. Our vet consulted an eye specialist and she said that at this point Rusty's chances of regaining his sight were very slim. She recommended removing his eyes in order to stop the pain.

What a remarkable difference this made! Rusty is pain free and even happier than he was when he came into our home.

Blastomycosis is a fungus that requires several months of medication to cure it. It is often deadly but we are very hopeful that early treatment will save Rusty's life. He is not available for adoption until we have a better idea of the prognosis for Rusty. Don't let his blindness scare you away! Dogs don't need their eyes like people do and Rusty has already adjusted beautifully without his. He runs, he plays, he knows where the water and food bowls are and he is HAPPY. RAGOM has adopted out many blind dogs who go on to live long and happy lives.

Rusty would really appreciate your generous donations and sponsorship to help cover his medical expenses. His medication comes from a special pharmacy and is very expensive. He will need frequent vet visits over the next few months to assess the progress of his treatment. Thank you in advance for anything you are able to give.

Enjoying a cone at DQ after his surgery

At a Glance #13-116

Golden Retriever	Born: May 2012
Male	Weight not specified

Status: Adopted

Profile

Sponsored by:

Wendy W.

Paul and Mary T.
"Bless you Rusty, bless you!! Get well soon!!"

Happy Valentines Day love Hailie,Kathy and Oliver Wellcome

For Rusty in memory of Sadie who we lost to blasto.

May 6, 2013

Rusty was tearfully surrendered by a family that were unable to provide for his special needs. Rusty is 11 months old and lived on a resort in northern MN. He was the resort greeter and loves all people and kids. He loved swimming and roaming around the resort helping all of the visitors enjoy their stay. Sounds like a wonderful life for our boy!

Unfortunately, Rusty contracted Blastomycosis dermatitidis, a fungal disease found in sandy soil near lakes. He was treated as soon as symptoms began but within two days he lost most of his vision. The owners called RAGOM so we could help find him a family that matches his special needs.

This is an amazing boy! He memorized our home within two days and does not bump into things, He is so sweet! He has no issues with people, kids or other dogs. Rusty has even mastered a flight of stairs in our home.

We were very hopeful that early treatment provided by his surrendering owners would help resolve Rusty's blindness. However, our vet tested the pressure in his eyes and it was very high in one and low in the other. The low pressure meant that Rusty's eye had ruptured. This is very painful and you can tell how irritated his eyes were from the pictures. Our vet consulted an eye specialist and she said that at this point Rusty's chances of regaining his sight were very slim. She recommended removing his eyes in order to stop the pain.

What a remarkable difference this made! Rusty is pain free and even happier than he was when he came into our home.

Blastomycosis is a fungus that requires several months of medication to cure it. It is often deadly but we are very hopeful that early treatment will save Rusty's life. He is not available for adoption until we have a better idea of the prognosis for Rusty. Don't let his blindness scare you away! Dogs don't need their eyes like people do and Rusty has already adjusted beautifully without his. He runs, he plays, he knows where the water and food bowls are and he is HAPPY. RAGOM has adopted out many blind dogs who go on to live long and happy lives.

Rusty would really appreciate your generous donations and sponsorship to help cover his medical expenses. His medication comes from a special pharmacy and is very expensive. He will need frequent vet visits over the next few months to assess the progress of his treatment. Thank you in advance for anything you are able to give.

Enjoying a cone at DQ after his surgery

Updates

Monday, January 20, 2014

Rusty would like to wish everybody a Happy New Year and hopes that it will be a great year with record numbers of animals who are rescued and placed into loving homes.

Rusty is patiently waiting for his final dose of meds to arrive in the mail. When he completes the months dose we will head into the clinic to hopefully be hearing he is blasto free :) Rusty's vets all agree that sometimes the first negative test can be a false negative, so leaving him on the meds for a additional two months and retesting is the ideal situation for him. So next month will be the second testing and hopefully the last. I cannot believe he has been fighting this for 9 months now!!! I never heard of blasto before so therefore had no clue what we were in for. At one of our visits in the early stages of this disease the vet told me to get Rusty settled in because he would be with me for several months. In my mind I am thinking 3 months, he must have been reading my mind when he said easily up to a year. Well, he was not far off from that time frame. Boy, time has gone by very quick.

Rusty just amazes me with how he takes all of this in stride. Nothing stops this adventurous boy. Always taking the lead on walks, no problem finding the food on the counter and the one who RUNS through the house chasing Josie around. He is great at pulling items out of my work bag, then sniffing out my shoes to chew on the heels of my shoes. Yes my work boots have some of Rusty's DNA all over them :D He is just the typical puppy!!! This is why I cannot express enough on how Rusty needs a active home and a home that is ready for a puppy. I promise you will not have a quiet home with him living there. He loves his adventures like any other golden, always having his nose to the ground to sniff out his next prized possession. He bolts out back door with the other dogs to chase the squirrel up the trees, and loves to be on hunt up at the cabin for all the furry critters up there. One thing I have noticed is Rusty is getting pretty protective of me. When people come to the house/cabin, he will place his body between me and guest and bark like crazy. After some time he will settle down, lay at my feet but then will just randomly walk up and bark at them again. I think it is his way of saying "I am still keeping my tabs on you". Quite honestly it shocks people because of his disability, but they soon learn he is no different than any other family companion who is just protecting his family. Rusty is also a huge cuddle bug.. He is ALWAYS snuggled up next to me in bed and on the couch, just as he is right now :). So if you are not a fan of your pets being on your furniture or bed, he is not a good fit for you.

Keep your fingers crossed that we have some good news next month for Rusty.

Rusty and Josie lending a helping hand at setting up the deer feeder.

Rusty loves to burrow under the snow looking for anything and everything :)

Rusty and his BFF Josie relaxing after a walk through the woods. They are always side by side :)

Rusty and his leading ladies giving me a quilt trip as I get ready for work. I too would love to stay home and play instead of go to work :(

Rusty out enjoying the fresh snow up at the cabin

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Rusty has something to be very thankful this holiday season. His last blasto screening came back as not showing the disease :) Due to the high risk of the disease making a come back , the vet is going to keep him on his meds for another two months, then go in for another round of testing. He said he has seen many cases where the dog was taken off the meds after the first negative test, then to only have the disease reappear. Unfortunately, in many cases it becomes fatal.

Cuddling with my BFF Josie :)

Like I mentioned earlier, Rusty needs another home with another dog. Due to Rusty's young age, he needs a companion that is adventurous, outgoing and loves to be on the move. Rusty is all of the above, and in order for Rusty to live life to his fullest he needs a buddy that is the perfect fit for his eyes. Rusty at this point relies completely on his foster sisters, and will not even go outside without them. I have three here, one that is 10, 4 and 1yr. Rusty respects the 10 yr old, but does not have to much interaction with her, but is always close behind the other two, especially Josie who is the 1yr old pittie. Josie really has become his eyes and Rusty completely trusts her and adores her. She is full of puppy energy, always on the move investigating the back yard to see what they can get into. Rusty is always at her heels, happy to follow her with his tail wagging. Rusty just turned one in May so he is full of energy, and needs to have a active friend. He may be blind, but trust me it does not affect his life in the least bit. Please keep Rusty in your prayers and we approach his final phase in battling this disease. This has been a long and costly process for Rusty and RAGOM...going on 8 months now. He is a such a sweet boy and deserves to have a bright future.

Snuggling with FM on this cold winter morning :)

I just wanted to thank the staff at Inver Grove Heights animal hospital for the great care that Rusty has received there. Because of his special needs I have always been allowed to go in back for all of his care to just be by Rusty's side to help comfort him through all the testing and treatments he has gone through. Rusty is a mama's boy and loves having his two favorite pamperings done on him, rubbing his paw and the tips of his ears. We do this every night until he falls asleep next to me, so for him to be able to have this done at the vet is very soothing for him while he is there. I cannot image being blind and having all those strange smells, voices and sounds around me and not being able to see where they are coming from. You guys are the best there !!! Rusty and I just adore you for your compassion that you have for him. Rusty is VERY well known there and is known as their Rock Star. Everybody always makes sure they come over to say hi and give their XOXO to him. He is very much loved there.

Rusty and I would like to wish everybody Happy Holidays and hope you have a very blessed season with family and friends :)

Friday, October 18, 2013

Rusty has been on a roller coaster ride the last couple of weeks !! It started out a couple of weeks ago when we were on the way up to the cabin. I got out of my car and was quickly followed by one of my pups. We were on a semi busy street so I turned around looking for cars and trying to get the door shut before somebody else could sneak out. Well, Rusty did without me even realizing it and when I looked down he was sitting there right at my feet. Everything happened so quick I didn't realize he snuck out of there. I quickly got everybody back in the car and went on my way. When I returned to my car I found blood on the seat of my car, so I knew somebody hurt themselves. I checked paws out, looked in mouths and could not find anything. I put some items by Rusty and realized he had blood on this tail and realized he must have caught it in the door. He never cried, yelped, or showed any sign of distress towards anything. When we got to the cabin I looked it over and realized he needed stitches. We went to the vet in town, had some stitches put in and had a laser treatment done on it to help speed up the healing process. The vet informed me that tails are very hard to heal, so I made an appointment to go in the next day for another laser treatment. When I got back into town, I called his vet to let them know what happened. I had concerns because of his blasto interfering with the healing and also had questions about the wound. They decided they wanted to see the wound as well, so in we went for a visit. At that point he had a infection going on and was losing feeling in the tip of the tail. After consulting with the vets, it was decided that Rusty should have part of his tail amputated before the infection caused more damage. Rusty was supposed to have spent the night there, but the clinic called me around 5 and told me he was not adjusting to being at the clinic in the cage. So, I picked him up so he could recover at home. He now has his stitches out and the tail has healed :). He is doing absolutely fabulous, and to be honest the only problem I think Rusty had with this ordeal was not being able to join his friends in the lake. Hopefully if it is not too cold when we get back up to the lake he can go swimming again. Rusty will go back in early Nov for a check up for his blasto, so we are hoping for positive results then.

Rusty cuddling with foster sis Lady after surgery

So happy to be home from the vet.
Mama's bed is so much more comfortable

Friday, September 20, 2013

Rusty has been very busy with trips to the vet, cabin and of course the great Goldzilla fair :)

We will start off with all the wonderful and generous people that he met at the fair...He had so many people that have been following him on the site and just wanted to wish him well in person. He also wore the donate vest which generated $60.00!!! Thank you very much to everybody who slipped some money into his vest. Rusty has been a frequent flyer at the vet clinic so that will help with his medical bills. That will actually help cover part of the cost of one month of his medication. I was so proud of Rusty on his behavior there. He was so well behaved and sat very patiently for everybody to visit with him :)

Now for a big announcement, Rusty has finally learned to jump off the dock up at the cabin!!! It may not sound like a big deal to some, but I have been working on this all summer for him to get the courage for him to take the leap. Now that he knows it is safe, he does not stop. He is so funny, he follows the sounds of the other dogs, then swims up to each one until he figures out who has the stick. That is when the games begin as he tries to steal it out of their mouth to claim it as his own. I am very proud of him, as I cannot imagine being blind and jumping into a lake not knowing my boundaries. It just goes to show how he is just a survivor and lets nothing get into his way to enjoy the golden life.

Now for Rusty's health. He had an appointment with the vet last week for two issues. One was for him vomiting and having diarrhea for 3 days. After having x-rays to his stomach and intestines, the vet thinks he may have swallowed something he should have not. Which with Rusty it is very possible. He is the typical puppy that likes to chew up everything that he should not chew on. But after two trips to the vet, two x-rays on each trip and some medicine he is feeling much better :) Also, on one of the visits it was determined that he has seasonal allergies, so now he is taking benadryl two times a day which seems to be helping with his itching. This poor boy cannot just get a break from feeling less than 100%.

And now for the blasto update....He was tested and still has signs of it in his urine. So we will continue for another round of meds for the month. We are determined to kick this, so we just continue to enjoy every day with him and pray for more promising results on the next round of testing. This is such a tricky disease to treat. The vet said that he had a patient that took one year to treat, but hopefully this will not be the case for Rusty.

One very important topic I would like for any applicant that may be interested in adopting Rusty is please talk to your vet about this disease. Unfortunately, with this disease, once you are affected by it, it continues to linger in your body so there is always a chance for a flare up. Discuss the cost of testing and meds for him with your vet. I am not saying this to discourage any potential adopter, but just want to make sure that everybody is aware of this disease. Blasto has a 90% mortality rate if not treated, so I just want to make sure that the adopter is up for any future medical expense that may occur with Rusty. This has been a learning experience for RAGOM and me as well, as we have never dealt with this before. It is such a horrible disease to have.

After reading this update I am sure you realize how expensive Rusty's medical bills are, so I cannot express enough gratitude for his sponsors and for the donations that were placed in his vest last Sunday. You are a tremendous help for Rusty's future :)))

Rusty and I would like to thank everyone for their wonderful support to everyone who showed up at the fair and those who could not make it, but kept all the pups in their thoughts and prayers for happy ever after endings for all of them.

Lastly I just want to remind everybody that Rusty needs another dog in his future forever home. I would recommend an active and playful one that likes to wrestle and play as that is one of Rusty's favorite pastimes. He loves to play tug of war with ropes and is always trying to get a good wrestling match started. I have an older girl that he will not even bother as he knows she does not have time for his games, but he is a great fit for my two younger ones who have the energy. And lastly a fenced yard is also a must. So please keep those two thoughts in mind as well when considering making Rusty an addition to your family :)

Have a wonderful day everyone....FM and Rusty

Soaking up the sun on the boat :)

Rusty enjoying a game of tug of war.

Rusty wanted to share this pic of his foster sis
Lady riding the jet ski up at the cabin!!!
She is the talk of the lake as she flies by the
cabins riding on the side. Lady is also a former Ragom girl :)

Down to the final three in the game of tug of war.
The winner was Rusty who joyfully pranced off with the toy :)

Monday, August 12, 2013

Rusty has had just a great summer. He is loving the cabin life and was very sad to leave last week after being up there for a week :(. He fished, did a lot of swimming, sat by the fire and enjoyed lots of pontoon rides. One of his favorite pastimes. But can you blame him ???

We also noticed that Rusty has another sponsor !!!! Thank you Wendy for helping this sweet boy out. Rusty has had several trips to the vets, plus is on his daily meds that cost $60.00 a month. Your donation is greatly appreciated as it is helping him get back on the road for recovery :). In another month we will head back to the vet for some more testing. Please say your prayers that they come back negative for the disease this time. If they do, he will go back in another 6 to 8 weeks just make sure it is gone as this is a very tricky disease to treat and can creep back very easily. I know it is a long process, but we will get there!!!

Hopefully Rusty will be ready for his forever home this fall, but please keep in mind that his forever home needs another pup for guidance, a fenced in yard and lots of love ;)

Rusty enjoying the afternoon out fishing with the family :)

Friday, July 12, 2013

Rusty has some fabulous news to share !!! He went for his two check up which consists of a chest x-ray and urinalysis to look for signs of blasto. As I mentioned earlier he had the nasty fungus in his lungs, but now his lungs look perfect...no signs of blasto :)))) Now for the urinalysis, he is still showing signs of it there, so we will continue on his meds for another 2 months, then follow up with another urinalysis to see if that bugger has finally decided to take a hike.

Rusty, I will say has had a amazing summer so far. I think if he could talk, he would be chatting about all the fun he has been having up at the cabin. He loves to swim around with the other dogs and I know you are thinking, how is that possible ??? He just follows their sounds that they make in the water. He is actually quite adorable. He looks like a baby duck following his mama around. He even came across a stick that was floating and carried it in for me. He LOVES going for pontoon rides. He finds one of the benches and makes himself right at home. He just loves to feel the cool breeze against his beautiful face. He is the perfect sailing mate to have aboard with you, sits back and just enjoys the ride :) We had several visitors stop by for the 4th of July up there and all I can say is that people are pretty shocked to see how well he interacts with people and other dogs. He is your typical puppy that is full of energy and just wants to play, play and play. And yes, he will find items to chew up if you get careless and leave them out for him to play with.

Once Rusty is ready for his forever home I will be requesting that he go to a home with another dog for his guidance. His vet and I both agree that that he would benefit from the continued guidance from a buddy and then most definitely a fence for him. Oh yes, lots of XOXOX too :) I hope you enjoy the new pics of him. Isn't he just beautiful !!!

Rusty showing off his swimming skills to the ladies :)

Loving life as a sailor !!!

Sneaking a nap in after a long day of playing on the beach :)

One happy boy..wet and smelling like a fish.
Does life get any better than that when your a golden ?

Rusty with his head resting up against the
window taking all the different sounds and scents in.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Good Morning Ragom :)

My FM has been slacking on my updates so I thought I would do the job for her. ;It has been pretty crazy at our house. My foster sister just graduated, had a graduation party and foster mom has been putting a lot of hours in at work, so time has not been on her side. But the good news is that we packed the car up yesterday and took off for the cabin for some much needed relaxation for a whole week :)))))

We have only been here for a less than 24 hrs and I have already figured out the floor plan of the cabin. Aunt Sue, who is joining us for the week, is absolutely amazed how well I get around and how well behaved I am. She said she even forgets that I am blind. I have been running around the yard and wrestling with all the other pups up here. You can tell my foster family members love us fur butts cause there are 6 of us up here and two more are on the way for the weekend. Mom said this is exactly what we need, and I must say I agree. I am surrounded by all my BBFs up here, life is so good :). Best part is that we are all rescued :) Foster mom was in heaven to see us all crashed on the floor last night. She said Silence can sometimes be golden. I hope you enjoy the pics mom has taken of me up here. She said I have been great up here so far :)

Sooo happy to be with the family up at the cabin.