MAGDRL - Rescues In Need

This page showcases different dogs that are currently with MAGDRL and are receiving treatment and training to help them overcome the abuse and neglect they have suffered before finding their way to us. Each of these dogs deserves a chance and our dedicated volunteers are working to save their lives.

Max is an approximately 2-3 year old merle male with natural ears. He was picked up by animal control and turned over to rescue. He has a shattered front leg that will require surgery and need to be plated then splinted for 4 weeks. The AC officer said the neighbors of the family had gotten together to force animal control to go and get the dog because he was in such bad shape and nothing was being done. The wife said Max was hit by a car but his injuries are not consistent with that story. He is great with kids and other dogs but is extremely thin. He tolerated the x-rays wonderfully and gave the vet staff kisses and tail wags while on the table being x-rayed. Unfortunately, they tested his back leg and his ligaments are torn. He will have to have TPLO surgery on the back leg. They are both splinted now but he is goofy and has not figured out how to deal with it. He has lacerations on his back pad as well. Max came to MAGDRL in March 2008. (9)

Update 3/22/08 - Max is doing very well. He has gained 8 pounds since he came in and got to go to his foster home on Thursday. He is still such a love. He is learning to walk with his splints but he is still quick to give a sympathy paw when you pass him. He will hold his front leg up to you just so you stop to tell him how wonderful he is. He will have both legs splinted for 6-8 weeks and the front will probably be splinted for 10. Max loves to eat and should have no trouble gaining weight. He needs to gain about 20 pounds to be a healthy weight. The girls at the vet office said he will wink at you if you are not paying him enough attention. He is getting along great with the 3 dogs at his foster home. He loves to give kisses and never stops wagging his tail. He is very lucky to have so many people who have cared for him up to this point. He will not be available for adoption for 10-12 weeks. He is going to make someone a wonderful companion.

The estimate for his surgeries right now is at $4200.00.

Update 5/3/08 - Just a quick note to update you on Max. He was at the vet's yesterday for a cast change and check. They are very pleased with his progress so far. His back leg is now free of any bandages and the area that he kept licking has healed now we are waiting for the hair to grow back over the surgery site. His front leg is still in a hard cast but this one is not as heavy duty as they have been there is a little more flex and a little shorter. They will take new x-rays at his next visit in two weeks, and hopefully he will not have a hard cast after that. He has soooo much energy and just wants to go but is still confined to his crate most of the time. He can walk to go potty and around the house. But when he starts galloping around the house I have to send him back to the crate. We still have not done much introductions with our dogs yet... we are waiting for his cast to come off.

George is an adorable merle puppy, who in the short 5 months of his life, has had it worse then one could or should ever imagine. When we arrived to evaluate George, we were sickened to find him lying lifeless is a crate. He did not pick his head up to look at us, there was no tail wag, nothing but sad eyes looking up, caked with mucus. All four of his legs were thickened and his joints (hocks, pasterns and Carpals) had bulges, like baseballs under the skin. He smelled of urine as he was too sore to get up to go out and had been left to rot, alone in his crate... He was gurgling severely and obviously was suffering from pneumonia as well.

There was no way we were leaving him there one more second and not only took him into rescue that night but had to transport him to the Vet for emergency care as his breathing was so poor and his condition was so serious.

George has been needing round the clock care and his condition is still guarded.

He was unable to walk or even support himself long enough to stand to urinate. His hind legs were completely contracted... meaning he couldn't straighten them. That's how we know he was left in a cage for a very long time without being let out. X-rays showed HOD in all joints (both carpus and hocks) and also severe Osteomyelitis and remodeling of the bones.

George was in so much pain when he came in that he was unable to stand for the first 4 days he was with us. His first attempt at getting up was much like watching a foal get their legs for the first time.

We had an orthopedist look at his radiographs and they took a couple more. They believe in addition to everything else George has going on, the bigger problem is Rickets. We have never seen a case of Rickets, neither has any of the vets in the practice. Imagine, a disease of nutritional value, that people in third world countries get. He was truly being abused and neglected and was slowly starving to death.

Our biggest concern for him at this moment is what's called pathologic fractures. He has so much bone damage, his bones are just so weak, even his elbows and knees have been affected. But George has a strong spirit and such a sweet soul, If any pup can come through this, it will be him.

George is truly a fighter and every day that passes is a good day, as he is still very critical and only time will tell whether he pulls through this. Despite the tremendous pain and suffering this little man has lived through, he is silly and playful and has won the heart of everyone who has met him. George came into MAGDRL in January 2008.

Update 2/15/08 - George had a little setback with his pneumonia last weekend, but with new antibiotics and ant-inflammatories, he is feeling better and the fever has been knocked out of him. He is coming along nicely, gaining weight (he is 50+ lbs now) growing like a weed and getting taller. He is gaining more strength and a little more control over his legs every day.

He has reached 2 really big milestones. One is that he can negotiate (very slowly and with close supervision) going down a short flight of steps...carpeted of course. He cannot go up stairs yet as his hind end has always been the weakest and he cannot bear that much weight on his back legs. Second is that he can now do a sit, as of a couple of days ago. He previously couldn't do this at all, he would just fall over as he tried to lower his hind end to the ground, as he was too weak. As he gets a little more strength in those back legs, he can do more & more things.

We took more X-rays of his legs last week and are quite please at the visible improvements on film. He is coming along much faster then I originally expected. We are doing exercises to strengthen his legs daily. Simple ones, like sit and stand, sit and stand, I like to call them dog lunges!! His personality is really starting to come out and he is interacting with the other dogs more and more. He tries to play jump and bow... but is a little shaky and he usually falls over! I wish I could let him outside with them but he is not ready for such one on one free play yet. He has fun with them in the house and for now that will have to suffice. He comes to work with me and has everybody (and I mean everyone!!) just eating out of his hand. He has quite a ways to go but it just goes to show his wonderful spirit is so strong.

Update 3/28/08 - George is doing GREAT!!! He is growing like a weed and weighs almost 70 pounds. His back and legs are straightening out and are greatly improved! He'd been having some relapses with the HOD in his jaw, where his fever would spike and pneumonia would set back in, which really would set him back... but I am happy to say it has been a few weeks since he has suffered a relapse, not that he is out of the woods yet, but the relapses are farther apart, which is good news!

He is quite the little wise guy when he wants to be, but such a total love. He's still on steroids, lower dose now though, and is no longer on antibiotics for about a week now. George goes outside with the other dogs now as he is more mobile and able to handle running and playing. He has already chased some deer on the property, which was hilarious. I am so happy with his progress and just love this little man.

Taylor is in desperate need of two ACL repair surgeries. Taylor was an only dog living in a loving home with two young children, one being disabled with Angelman syndrome. She was loved by the whole family but the mother was just so overwhelmed with having to care for the disabled child, she decided to give Taylor a better life and surrendered her to us in November. Within a week to two weeks Taylor started to limp on one of her legs. She was taken to the vet and we found out that she had two really bad knees and if they were not fixed soon they would continue to deteriorate and Taylor would be unable to walk. So, not only did she lose the only home she has ever known, the kids she has watched grow, now she is in a foster home that she is not allowed to play in and is in pain. She so wants to play with the others, especially having been an only dog and never having the opportunity to play with other dogs.

Update 3/6/08 - Taylor is scheduled to have her first ACL surgery on 3/12/08. Please keep her in your thoughts.

We are accepting donations to help defray the medical bills of our Rescues in Need. Thank you for caring.

If you would prefer to make your donation by check MAGDRL gladly accepts personal checks and money orders. Donations can be made to MAGDRL, P.O. Box 563, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701.

All donations made from this page will go toward the expenses for all the special needs dogs in MAGDRL's care.