Max 09-386 [1]

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!