Levi

#13-025 Levi, update 8/14

AVAILABLE

“Levi is doing great. His ears are all cleared up and his eyes are good. We just do daily drops.  Donna (GRR Adoption Director) & her husband came to meet him and I thought they were going to take him home with them!”

Wow! Quite a turnaround for the tubby fella who came in as something of a train wreck way back at the beginning of February (his GRR folder, opened as soon as he appeared at the pound, started out labeled simply “#A244435 Fat Boy with Issues”). Of course, he WILL need a family devoted to keeping him in good health. That means watching his ears for signs of infection (he’s prone to them); giving him eyedrops to make up for his deficient tear production; putting a daily thyroid supplement in his meals; and getting off that last ten pounds (he has lost a stunning 20 lbs of his original excess so far).

And—you’ll notice the “heartworm positive” icon has been removed from his profile? That’s right – he is DONE with HW treatment. Yippee!

Levi has switched foster homes and is now living in complete harmony with two other older Goldens, 14-year-old Beau (another GRR foster) and 10-year-old Mason. In his first home, he also lived with a wild-child pup and got along just great with her. “Tolerant” and “easygoing” are this guy’s middle names.

Levi's favorite indoor spot is under the dining room table.  He usually rests his head on a bottom chair rail and watches the comings and goings. He also likes to lie on the cool floor in “frog pose” with his paws spread out – he’s pretty flexible for his age!

Like many a senior (and that  definitely includes us humans) he does like to visit the facilities frequently. No problem… Just take him out often, and if you get up in the night and he does too, no harm in letting him zip out for a quick potty before everyone settles back down again.

Levi loves to be brushed, especially on his chest and his ears.

“Levi is  a BIG Hugga Muffin,” says his foster mom. “He  is a happy, gentle Golden. He would be a great dog for a family with nice children or for a retired single person or couple. He’s really laidback and just likes to be where you are. He’s good company!”

#13-025 Levi, age 7.5

95 lbs

AVAILABLE

Heartworm Positive

Updated Pictures: 8/5/13

95 lbs.? Are you sure? Is the scale correct? Are we talking about the same Levi?

What a triumph for this calm and gentle giant—you probably wouldn’t even recognize him with his newly improved svelte physique!

After finishing his heartworm treatment in mid-June, Levi dropped an astonishing 10 lbs. with only 15 more to go. Ol’ Levi may be the poster dog for “The Green Bean Diet”—the next fat loss, secret weapon for battling the bulge!

Never heard of it?

Well, for those of you needing to lose that tire around your waist, let Levi’s miracle ingredient be your guide. After checking in at a scale-tipping 105 lbs (!), Levi’s foster mom knew an intervention was needed. So after conducting extensive research asking fellow Gold Ribbon Rescue volunteers, “The Green Bean Diet” (a diet consisting of ½ cup of dog food and ½ cup of green beans) has proven a success.

Now that his weight seems to be under control, his foster mom can’t help but sing praises about this boy: He plays well with other dogs, he rides well in the car, he adores grooming (a little pampering never hurt anyone, right?), and he loves young children, being especially gentle with her 3 year old and 1 year old daughters. Who needs a jungle gym when Levi’s there to crawl all over? Even foster sister Sadie #13-055 gets a bit of the action, tugging on his ears and wapping his tail. But nothing seems to bother this patient golden.

After purchasing a baby pool for her kiddos, Levi’s foster mom quickly realized he is a real water dog. As she began filling the plastic pool with water, Levi plopped right in, splashing around, soaking everyone and everything around him!

As far as Levi’s physical health, his skin issues have almost been resolved completely as his golden coat is now shiny and smooth. Though he does have a few hot spots (often seen in goldens), GRR is looking to start him on a healthy skin program that will help clear up some of his skin problems as well as his chronic ear infection. Since he finished his heartworm treatment, Levi’s vet has a clear action plan for getting him in tip-top shape.

Though Levi still faces a series of medical issues, his health problems don’t seem to impede that loveable golden spirit.  As you can see, he is truly a great family dog who just needs someone to take a chance on him.

#13-025 Levi, age 7.5

105 lbs

AVAILABLE

Heartworm Positive

Updated 4/11/13

From every adjective given to describe this gentle giant, Levi seems to be a dream come true. Sweet, calm, well behaved, loves walks, enjoys grooming-- what more could you ask for in a doggie companion? 

In fact, as Levi lay lounging on the floor, his 17 month old foster sister tried to climb over him.  As all toddlers do while exploring, she clumsily slipped and landed right on Levi’s head.  His foster mom says, “He just lay there, with her sitting on top of his head, looking at me, and silently saying ‘Umm…can you do something about her?’  He didn’t move until I grabbed her.  It was almost as if he knew he would knock her over and injure her if he did.”

This big guy would make anyone—a family with small children or an elderly person/couple—a wonderful companion once we get his medical dilemmas solved. 

And dilemmas they are.

After struggling for some time with his skin and eyes, his vet decided to put Levi on an oral antibiotic for his skin and a topical antibiotic for his eyes.  His foster mom has diligently followed doctor’s orders and states “He looks GREAT right now!”  Unfortunately, his skin issues and eye infections tend to come and go—which usually start downhill right after he finishes his medication.

In his most recent vet visit, Levi was prescribed thyroid medication to help with his weight issues. After focusing on a healthy diet and exercise regime for some time, the vet reached the conclusion that these two alone weren’t sufficient. 

Because of Levi’s health issues, his heartworm treatment has been put on hold until he can get his weight and health issues under control.

But despite all of these physical ailments, typical of the golden retriever breed, Levi still acts as man’s best friend. Don’t let a little bit of extra TLC drive you away from considering this loveable pup. You'll soon find the benefits of accepting him in your home far outweigh the costs.

#13-025 Levi, update 3/9

AVAILABILITY TBA

HEARTWORM POSITIVE

Follow-up news! Levi  is “looking great and getting pretty good at following a few commands,” says his foster mom. He’s just been to the vet for an overall “tune-up” and tooth extraction. (This guy has probably spent more time at the clinic in the past month than he has in the preceding seven years or so—well, we have a lot of medical catch-up to do!)

 The vet was delighted with Levi’s eyes: “They look 100% better!” His tear production is greatly improved now that he is on eye medication (and he’ll need it lifelong). Compared to most dogs, his eyes are especially deep-set.  Good report about his skin , too – the antibiotics are helping, and it’s looking lots better.

 What about his weight? Well… he’s actually put on a pound or two due to taking all those meds in a bite of cheese. Foster mom is going to switch to a low-cal treat with each pill, put him on a lean diet with crisp veggies for treats, and start walking him a bit more. He does have sore, arthritic elbows, but he’s on an anti-inflammatory to ease the discomfort. We’ll see what he can handle and take it from there. Doctor’s orders are to whittle his waistline at least somewhat before we start heartworm treatment – and besides, every pound lost is that much less stress on Levi’s joints.

 And how is Levi doing overall? Wonderfully! He’s a calm, relaxed, affectionate fellow, often content to go mellow out in his crate, but his energy level has definitely improved.  He is more playful—and sometimes he even bounces & does play bows! He’s a big sweetie looking for a family with a soft spot for older dogs, the willingness to attend to his slim-down program & his medical needs—and a single-story home, so Levi won’t have to worry about stairs! In return, you’ll get a loving, gentle companion who’s going to be so very handsome in just a few months from now.   

#13-025 Levi, age 7 1/2

Weight: 104 pounds (tubby!)

AVAILABILITY TBA

HEARTWORM POSITIVE

Just as our volunteer was getting ready to head out of the shelter after meeting Duchess, up rolled an Animal Control truck… and out rolled a fat, friendly older Golden with crusty eyes, a dirty coat, and a trusting disposition. “Yikes! He is a BIG boy and he has the Golden lean—you better brace yourself when he decides to press up against your legs! Has a ton of fleas and boy, his eyes are a mess, don’t know what’s going on there. Gentle giant. Not too thrilled about going into the kennel but he just turned around, lay down, and sighed. Can’t wait to get him out of there & Frontlined, bathed, vetted…”

   A few days later, we were waiting at the door to transport the hefty red fellow right to the clinic. And… my goodness! Levi’s a bit of a train wreck—medical director Margo was on the phone off & on all day as more issues popped up.

 * Heartworm positive, hookworm positive – not surprising, and not unusual, either (unfortunately). We’ll delay heartworm treatment until some of his other problems are resolved.

 * Nasty ears: he’s a veteran of long-term untreated ear infections. The clinic packed his ears deep down with a medicated “cocktail,” and they’ll repeat the treatment in a couple of weeks.

*Chronic skin infection. Medicated shampoos will help clear that up.

 *Broken molar; it has already abscessed & will need to come out fairly soon.

 *The biggest problem: Severe eye issues, including infection, no tear production, and possible entropian (where the lashes turn in and scratch the eye) and/or uveitis (severe, painful inflammation which can lead to glaucoma). Levi isn’t blind, but his vision is definitely limited; his corneas are a hazy white, and he can’t see much. The plan: a course of oral antibiotics, to see if some of the issues begin to resolve; at that point, the doctors will know whether he needs to go see an eye specialist or not. He’s also getting antibiotic eye ointment and cyclosporine drops to restart tear production; that should make him a lot more comfortable.

   On the plus side: his senior blood panel actually looked pretty good, and he’s already neutered—and he impressed the clinic with his good cheer. He did not like being in his kennel run and asked to be let out to mingle!

 Levi is due for his follow-up vet visit around the end of next week (on February 27 or 28) and we should have more to report then. In the meantime, he’s in his foster home, and: “Such a sweetie!” says foster mom. “He is resting up. Laidback and very friendly; in fact, his favorite thing to do seems to be to lie down next to a person, since he absolutely loves attention! He is not that interested in toys. He gets on A-OK with our dog, but doesn’t really play. We can see some of the effects of his limited eyesight—he jumped in the car fine, but was nervous about jumping out; he can make it up the stairs, but then was very worried about coming back down again. He is fine in a crate and actually goes in on his own. Really the only concern about this nice guy is getting him as healthy as he can be. I think he’ll fit in anywhere.”

Adoption Procedures