Maverick
Maverick, age 6
Update 12/8/11
It’s been a
long time since we updated Maverick’s story. We’re happy to say the news is all
good! After monthly IV antibiotic treatments for several months, Maverick
started the next phase: having his
bad leg dressed with special dressings called “granulation bandages.” These
bandages consist of layers of gauze coated with a thick, syrup-like liquid, a
combination of granulated sugar and povidone-iodine solution that works to heal
the wound. Sugar in high concentrations actually works as an antibacterial,
while povidone-iodine (you may be familiar with it as Betadine solution) has
anti-microbicidal activity against bacteria, viruses and more.
Granulation tissue is the new skin
tissue that grows in from the base of a wound and slowly fills in to heal the
wound. The granulation bandages, which are replaced every two days, encourage
granulation tissue to grow and ultimately heal the wound.
In the past
three weeks, Maverick’s woundhas begun healing rapidly, with granulation tissue
now almost completely covering the original wound. The syrup is sweet and tasty,
so Maverick has been wearing his E-collar for a while to prevent him from
licking and eating the bandages. He actually parades around with his E-collar.
He is proud to wear it and skips to have it put back on after eating. I think he
thinks it makes him special. Of course, Maverick IS special. :-)
His next
follow-up will be on Friday, December 16, and we’ll have more news then. Looks
like he will be ready for adoption in the New Year!
Updated 7/17/11
Just one month after
arriving in GRR care, it’s nothing but great news for Maverick. His foster mom
says, “He’s completed the IV antibiotics and started the daily oral antibiotics,
and it looks like his wound is healing slowly and quite nicely from the inside
out. He is not favoring his
leg/foot. He doesn’t seem to have pain. And, he is fetching and going for long
walks without any problems. I have really high hopes. I think the antibiotics
are going to do the trick for this guy!”
His next follow-up with
Dr. Winston is scheduled for July 30th, so we will know more then.
Meanwhile, other details
about marvelous Maverick:
He’s perfectly
housetrained—zero accidents, and entirely reliable left loose in the house when
nobody’s home. The perfect gentleman.
Walks are a big, big
favorite! He enjoys rides, too, so his idea of a great time is a car trip (he’s
calm in the car, just sits and enjoys the view) to the Town Lake Hike & Bike
Trail, where he completes a 3+ mile walk with ease. For such a big, solid tank
of a dog, he walks really well on lead—no pulling or trying to run ahead. He
also adores swimming, just really enjoys it. And after a busy few hours of
exercise, what could be better than an afternoon nap? Maverick loves a good
snooze and feels relaxed enough to sprawl out lying on his back with all four
limbs spread eagled. A funny sight.
Maverick is a true
retriever. He loves to fetch tennis balls and gives or drops as soon as he
brings the ball back. And that’s not all he can track & retrieve! He can sniff
out anything and let you know he’s found something with a little moan or groan.
He told me about his old collar behind one of the pantry doors. Yesterday, he
found a old, lone Cracker Jack behind a door. He also let me know that there was
a yummy, smelly fish oil capsule underneath a kitchen cabinet. He’s so polite
about notifying me too. What a sniffer!
Now, Maverick does have a
little guard dog in him. He does bark when people come to the door or he hears
odd sounds in the neighborhood. He's just doing his job to protect his people
and their home. Maverick’s bark and appearance would be enough to keep any
burglar away.
Maverick is a very
happy-go-lucky, smart, smiley, well-adjusted dog. He enjoys other dogs and is
curious and playful with them. He is affectionate and likes to be close. He
likes to be petted and rest his chin on you. He has the perfect energy
level—plenty of pep for his walks and swims and rides, but calm indoors for the
better part of the day. I think he would be fantastic for a family with another
dog, or just adults -- only exception here is cats (he reportedly chases them).
He’s at such a great age and is healing so nicely. He will make a great addition
to the family.
Maverick and GRR say
THANK YOU to all our supporters for giving Maverick a chance to heal and become
the happy, healthy dog he was meant to be!
The hotline
caller was confused and upset: their wonderful 6-year-old Golden had snapped at
her 3-year-old child. “He’s always been great & patient with kids. We don’t even
know what precipitated it. We talked to our vet and he thinks maybe Maverick
doesn’t feel good…”
A longer, more
detailed talk with the owner and an in-person visit gave us a much better
picture. This wasn’t an aggressive dog—it was a dog in a lot of pain, living
with a typical tearaway toddler who liked to tug on Maverick, chase him around,
and try to get the dog to chase HIM in turn. On the day in question, we think
that Maverick finally was pushed into trying to say: please, please leave me
alone for a while.
The source of his
pain? About 18 months ago, he had surgery to remove a benign growth from one
foreleg, and in all the time since
then, the site has never healed. It’s painful, and so Maverick has licked it, as
dogs do: and he’s licked it until a huge raw area has formed. To try to stop him
from doing THAT, he’d been wearing the hated E-collar off and on for a year and
a half. Enough to drive any dog around the bend. And on top of that he’s 15
pounds overweight and doesn’t get much exercise. Plain and simple, he just
hurts. All the time.
Despite all that
…. “Friendly & loves attention,” said our intake evaluators. “Figuring out
what’s going on with his leg (why hasn’t it healed in all these months?) &
getting him trim would improve things immensely. Owners mentioned he
never bothers toys, shoes, etc. Loves to swim and will swim all day.
Enjoys retrieving. Maverick is the kind of dog people
want! outgoing, friendly, swims, and actually retrieves.”
The first order
of business was a lengthy visit with the vet to try and pin down the problem
with his leg. Not only does it have the large, raw, ugly wound, but from the
elbow down, it is hard as a rock and won’t flex: ultimately the result of heavy
scarring and constant inflammation from a bone infection, our vet thinks. Worst
case scenario is amputation—but the vet is hopeful that we can cure that leg
instead. The action plan:
*A series of
IV antibiotic & steroid infusions at the wound site. The drugs will be
instilled directly into the injured tissue, to get a wallop of medication
directly to the wound and the bone.
*Following
that, Maverick will be on at least six weeks’ worth of oral antibiotics,
to clear up any residual infection.
* After that, the
vet will do a procedure he often uses on horses: he will slice the extremely
thick scar tissue. The scar tissue
that grows back should be less thick & dense, and that should improve Maverick’s
range of motion and let him walk without pain.
If the procedures
work, Maverick will have good quality of life, with only a low level of pain
which can be controlled with medication.
And so far, so good! The vet is thrilled with the results after three IV
infusions. Maverick’s range of motion has already improved, and the tissue is
softening up. We’re very hopeful that by the autumn, Maverick will be ready for
adoption. Keep your fingers crossed for this one, too!
