Size
(when grown) Small 25 lbs (11 kg) or less
Details
Good with dogs,
Good with cats,
Shots are up-to-date,
Story
(profile updated 1/12/2020) SPECIAL-NEEDS (medical and behavioral) – ADOPTION FEE WAIVED. FOR ADOPTION! HE CHASED THE VEHICLE... (look at video in comments) Remember the little guy who was dumped at Caddo Parish Animal Services in the middle of the night... and they captured him on surveillance the next morning... chasing that very vehicle?... He was heavily matted and emaciated... remember him? Well, here he is now! Video link: https://youtu.be/m37WsomTiTk FOR ADOPTION! Note: Only those with a responsible dog ownership history and excellent vet reference need apply. (For more pics, visit nr2r.petfinder.com or www.RoadtoRescueLA.org) INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLY: PLEASE read profile thoroughly BEFORE applying: DOG APPLICATION LINK: http://www.roadtorescuela.org/dog-application Dougie (male) Intake date: 8/24/2019 Shih Tzu Approx 3-5 years old 7.2 EMACIATED pounds at intake; 12.6 pounds NOW! Adoption fee: $WAIVED, which includes vetting, microchip and microchip enrollment fee Good with other dogs: yes Cats: yes Vetting: altered (spayed/neutered), UTD on shots, heartworm POSITIVE*, fecal negative, shave-down, blood work (due to hair loss) results: hypothyroid (on twice-a-day Levothyroxine), 6 month Proheart injection (heartworm prevention), has severe allergies (on daily Apoquel) and no-chicken based diet, on monthly flea/tick prevention, microchipped Health issues: hypothyroid (requires twice-a-day medication – Levothyroxine), heartworm POSITIVE* (read heartworm positive paragraph below), severe allergies we believe to chicken (on daily Apoquel)… seems to be working Temperament: can be very sweet, but can have attitude. Requires sedation to groom or medically treat. Energy level: medium; he can be very playful (click on video link and watch beyond the part where he is on the lap of the speaker)... but can also be chill. He is easily distracted. Groom needs: High; requires regular professional grooming (with sedation). Biography: We were contacted by Caddo Parish Animal Services to help a little dog that they discovered one morning outside of their shelter. He was heavily matted (dreadlocks), emaciated to the point that he was stumbling and near death. When the staff viewed their video, they saw little Dougie chase after the very vehicle that dumped him. We rushed to pick him up. It was difficult to look at his tiny, emaciated, frail body. We weren’t quite sure how he was even still alive. We rushed him to our vet... where he received subcutaneous fluids and injections... which did perk him up. We decided at that point to take him to the rescue and baby him to slowly put the weight back on him and get him well enough for neutering, etc. Dougie had no problem eating... from the moment we took him in... so this was in no way a health issue. He was literally starved. He came to us at 7.2 pounds and now, he weighs 12.6... nearly doubling his weight. Once he was well enough, we took him back to the vet for neutering, vaccinations, etc. Due to his hair loss (underneath all the matting)... we had the vet do bloodwork as we suspected he was hypothyroid... and he is. He is on twice-a-day Levothyroxine and will be for the rest of his life. Once his hair grew back… he started developing severe allergies and after much discussion with our vet, we believe it is due to chicken. We’ve taken him off of a chicken diet or anything with chicken in it. Cytopoint injections were not working on him so we put him on daily Apoquel. He tolerates medicated baths and that, along with the Apoquel we believe we have it under control. Dougie does have some behavioral issues. If you are doing anything with him that he doesn’t like, he will try to bite and he has bitten. He does have favorites at the rescue but even they are cautious with him. For that reason, we are waiving his adoption fee and he must go to a home that has experience with these types of dogs and knows how to handle them. He cannot go to just anyone! He preferably needs a home with one adult and if there are two adults, they each need to be on the same page about adopting a special-needs dog. An adopter needs to have the means to handle his medical issues and the fortitude to handle his behavioral issues. If you think that is you we welcome your application. *Heartworm POSITIVE: Don’t let heartworms discourage you from adopting a heartworm positive dog! We have tons of examples of dogs adopted and then ultimately testing heartworm negative following our instructions! DOUGIE is on (or has completed) twice a day Doxycycline for 30 days, and he/she has received a 6 month Proheart injection. The Proheart injection releases heartworm prevention into their system continuously for 6 months as opposed to the MONTHLY pill which releases prevention only when first administered. Coupled with Doxycycline, the gentle kill (or slow-kill) method is a safer alternative to the harsh immiticide (arsenic) treatment. The Doxycycline kills bacteria, which heartworms thrive on, thus weakening the heartworms and eventually they will die off, but it could take months and possibly up to two years before (s)he will be heartworm free. The 6 month Proheart injection kills any heartworm larvae and sterilizes the adult heartworms so they no longer reproduce. While the “gentle kill” or “slow kill” method does take longer than traditional harsh veterinary treatment, we prefer this method because there is less risk, it is not as harsh on the dog and the dog does not have to be confined for up to two months during the treatment. We recommend the dog receives another 30 day course of Doxycycline when s(he) receives their next Proheart injection (6 months from the first injection). After one year, we recommend the dog be retested for heartworms. If positive, continue the Doxycycline every 6 months along with the Proheart injection. If negative, continue with regular heartworm prevention (Proheart injection or monthly pill or topical) just like you would do for any heartworm negative dog. If negative, discontinue the Doxycycline regimen. We do require that any interested adopters understand heartworms. They must also agree to continue our method of treatment or, if they wish, they can opt for traditional veterinary treatment; however they cannot choose to do nothing and we do require an agreement/contract be signed that the adopter will continue with a plan to rid him/her of the heartworms. We highly recommend that you discuss this with your veterinarian BEFORE applying (better yet, show this write-up to your vet) as some vets will ONLY do the traditional veterinary treatment... (which is poison). **IMPORTANT NOTES** *We do adopt out of state provided the adopter is willing and able to travel to us once approved. We do not ship or transport our animals and there is no exception to this rule. *All of our adoptable dogs are small, and they are never to be left outside alone, ever! We only rehome our dogs to adopters that plan to have them as inside dogs and part of the family! We do allow adopters with doggie doors, provided there is SECURE fencing. There is no exception to this rule! *NO CHILDREN!! Due to Dougie’s behavioral issues he cannot go to a home with children at all. *HOUSETRAINING: We do NOT guarantee that any of our adoptable dogs are housetrained. While most should be easily trained, keep in mind that they live in a rescue where they have access to the outdoors all day and are inside at night. Even if they were surrendered to us as housetrained, it doesn’t mean they will automatically be housetrained in your home. Housetraining them should be easy in the right home with time, patience, and consistency. *We do not guarantee the age, health or temperament of any of the dogs we rehome. Many of the dogs we take in come from animal control and rarely do we have histories and even when we do, many times the histories are inaccurate. *Only adopters with a responsible dog ownership history and excellent vet reference need apply. If you bring this pet into your heart and home, you will receive in return many years of love, companionship, and loyalty. That’s our guarantee. Other notes: This pet is available for adoption through Ninna’s Road to Rescue, Benton, La. We are 501c3 non-profit organization. Our mission is to rescue small-breed dogs and a handful of cats and to re-home them into RESPONSIBLE and CARING forever homes. DOG APPLICATION LINK: http://www.roadtorescuela.org/dog-application Time may be of the essence if you are looking to adopt a specific animal. We do not reserve animals, unless and until we have approved your application, provided the animal is still available at the time we receive your application. The first APPROVED application we receive will be considered. We are NOT a first come, first serve rescue!! We adopt our rescues out to the RIGHT home, not just A home. Only responsible pet owners need apply. Applying to adopt does NOT commit you to the adoption until you’ve met the pet (unless you already have and know you want to adopt the pet). CONTACT: Our adoptable pets are updated regularly, but if you want to check the availability of a pet... OR still have questions AFTER reading this profile, message us via our Facebook page. Please indicate the name when communicating with us. www.RoadtoRescueLA.org
