Mr. Chips 08-246 [1]

Sponsored by:Mike and Michelle BSusannah CharlesonTeam Personnel

Welcome to the GREAT life Mr. Chips! You're a RAGOM dog now :) Mr. Chips is a 10 1/2 year old, male, Golden Retriever. Chips came into RAGOM because someone cared enough about him to convince his owners to surrender him. The owners were keeping him in a garage with no light, no windows, minimal food, and minimal water. The poor guy was being totally neglected. He is missing most of his hair, and is underweight. RAGOM received the call Friday evening and he was in my car by Saturday morning... on his way to the vet (after stopping for some hamburgers at Burger King!!), and then his foster home in Oakdale.

I'll start with what we learned at the vet: Chips is underweight 10-15 lbs. However, the vet was concerned immediately about his distended abdomen. It looks really odd because you can see every single rib and most of his bones, but his belly looks large. So, Dr. W. did some x-rays and we hoped for the best. The x-rays gave us better news than we were expecting... His tummy, intestinal tract, and colon were filled with tiny white specs on the x-ray which Dr. R and Dr. W. believe to be sand or a sand like material. It looks like Chippy had to eat sand because he was so hungry. The good news is that things are moving along naturally through his system and should not cause further problems once all the nasty stuff he ingested makes its way out. Also, his lungs looked clear and sounded great. His heart also sounded strong. The blood tests came back with some less than positive news. He has an elevated white cell count (which he is now on antibiotics for), his liver enzymes are also elevated (which can indicate Cushings disease), and his thyroid levels are very low. And if that wasn't enough, his initial fecal test came back with tapeworm segments :( and probably will come back positive for other things when we get those results back in a day or so. So, he is also on some pills to take care of the tape worm. As far as the possible Cushings disease and possible hypothyroidism... he needs some more tests to tell us what exactly is going on. So, Chips will be seeing the wonderful vets again at ACH on Tuesday and we will know more at that time. I am hoping and praying for the best.

Okay, now that all the medical stuff is out of the way I can tell you about this amazing boy!! I am head over heels in love with him :) He is the kindest, most gentle, most loving, sweetest boy ever!! He rides like an angel in the car, he lays down and sniffs the breeze :) He met our crew (2 Goldens and a Yorkie) with tail wags, and not so much as a growl or a raise of the lip, a perfect gentleman. He is totally house trained and knows all the basic commands, he is perfect. Last night he slept like an angel, sharing a pillow with me :) He loves to snuggle! Today we spent the day doing yard work and Chips just hung out in the shade and napped, and did a little rolling in the grass and splashing in the mud puddles with the resident dogs. Now, he is peacefully dreaming on the kitchen floor.

It continues to amaze me how dogs like Chips can still love people, after all he has been put through. It would seem that he would not trust us, and not want to love us. He is the opposite. He loves with his whole heart, and wants so little in return. He just wants his head pet, his food and water bowl filled, his tummy rubbed, and some treats here and there. So little compared to all he has to give. Last night before we dozed off to sleep I whispered to Chippy that he would never be lonely, hungry, or have to go without ever again. I told him I loved him and that I will do everything I possibly can to make him feel better. I promised him it would all be okay from now on. Cross your fingers and all the dogs paws in the house for good results at the vet on Tuesday! Chips needs all the help he can get.

Here are Chips "before" photos. I cannot wait to show you the "after" :) Thanks for reading! And, Thanks RAGOM for SAVING this boy's life.