4/9/2010 - The shelter told us that MOOSE had very bad ears, a bad eye, sensitive paws and wobbled when he walked and fell down often.  When I picked MOOSE up they shelter worked told me that he had been left in the overnight “box” with toe nails so long that they had curled around and imbedded themselves in his paw pads.  His dew claws were so long that they had actually curled around and pierced the skin on his legs.  So I guess we know why they said his paws were sensitive.  His right eye was discharging yellowish/green gunk, which is a sure sign of infection.  However, it had gone untreated for so long that they skin all around his right eye was a dark grayish color like he had a black eye.  You could not touch his ears because they were so infected and inflamed.  He had a very bad head tilt and his back legs were very unsteady and they often collapsed under him when he walked.  And finally, he was filthy and smelled really bad! There was no doubt that TBBR was the last and only hope for Moose and for all the bad things he had going on he came right up to me and started licking my hand. 

When Moose arrive at my house the first order of business was food and Moose showed he was all Beagle as he devoured his.  I may have given Moose his first bath, from the way he reacted and the dark brown color of the rinse water.  Whe I put him in my lap to dry Moose off I could feel him press against me and he just stayed there for a long while letting me rub and pet him.  I could not clean his ears because they were so sore but he seemed to really perk up after he was cleaned up and did great on a walk with my two Beagles.

Two days later Moose was at Dr. Corona’s where he was neutered and, while he was out, we took x-rays of his back, examined and cleaned his ears, cleaned up his right eye and gave him a general checkup.  Amazingly he tested negative for heartworms.

Moose has ear, eye and skin infections and is on a strong dose of antibiotics, an anti-inflammatory, ear drops laced with more antibiotics, ointments and eye drops.  Or plan is to keep Moose on these medications for 30 days and then have Dr. Corona evaluate his progress.

Moose is now being fostered by Mary Jane and he is just a fantastic Beagle who enjoys playing in the back yard and with his toys.  He is house broken and has learned to use the doggie door.  Moose sleeps in his crate at night, knows the “sit” command.  His walking has improved as he has room to walk and run.  Every once in a while, when he tries to turn to quickly, his back end will fold under him.   Since the right side of his face is still a little paralyzed, from time to time his tongue will hang down and after drinking some water will drip from his right lip.  His head tilt has certainly improved but he does make you laugh when he does tilt his head and look at you with his wide open right eye.

It will take a special family to give Moose the love he deserves but never received, until now! - Jack

All of our animals are sterilized, microchipped, vaccinated, and tested/treated for heartworm disease before adoption.