2022 started off in a big way with the intake of a litter of 9, 5 -week-old Boykins, including one special little girl with a congenital deformity to her back end. "Little Bit" may have been the runt of the littler and unable to walk at first due to her condition, but she made up for that with a fierce determination to be the biggest little dog in the pack! The foster drove to Mississippi State Veterinary Teaching Hospital for an evaluation and they determined that she had the highest level of luxating patellas, and recommended followup at 6 months for surgery. But the same determination that made Little Bit so competitive helped her to make great strides in physical therapy, as she underwent a 3 week board and train program to undergo daily, intensive exercises and therapeutic treatments to gain muscle mass and learn appropriate gait and movement. Just past 6 months now, Little Bit continues with her therapy under the guidance of Auburn Veterinary College, and surgery is not an immediate need, though still on the table later down the road.
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Logan came into Boykin Spaniel Rescue's care at the age of 8 after his family's home situation changed. He had exhibited a fear of strangers in his prior home; and, this behavioral issue continued with his foster, requiring extensive training and counter conditioning. He also was found to have a degree of arthritic and spinal change that added a dimension of pain management to his care. Given his age, behavior and need for ongoing pain management, Logan was designated a Permanent Foster care. Logan resides with his experienced foster, and along with his village (theBSR medical and behavioral team as well as his veterinarian) he is thriving! |
So many times BSR takes in a dog thinking we know what to expect and we find that there is so much we don't know. Such was the case with Gin.
Gin came to BSR with a suspected case of traumatic disc rupture, having very quickly lost use of her back end. Steroids provided some relief from the inflammation and slight improvement in her ability to move. But just as quickly, the progress faded and her owner made the heartbreaking decision to turn her over to BSR as her best chance at a full life, come what may. The first order of business was to have Gin undergo an MRI to take at look at the spine and rule in or out the disc rupture. And soon enough, we found we were not, in fact, looking at a spinal case but rather an auto-immune disease of unidentified origin. Her young age and improvement under high doses of steroids pointed to an aggressive treatment plan using strong chemotherapy drugs to try to force immune system into submission and keep her symptoms in remission. Sweet Gin has a large village. Her owner who loved her enough to let her go, a volunteer who went to pick her up and remains a respite foster. She was placed with a foster whose personal dog had battled this disease and knew that the road is a long one, and 24/7 care and physical therapy would be key to her success. She also has a medical team, comprised of two of our amazing Advisory Panel veterinarians, working together to support Gin's care. The road ahead is uncertain, but Gin has responded very well so far and BSR will go the distance to give her every chance at the life her owner wanted for her. For now, she is happy and walking, bouncing, playing in the yard and begging for ice chips. She is loved so much. |
In January 2019 when Ruthie came into BSR's care at 11 years old, she had not been well socialized in her prior life; showed an aversion to many types of people; wanted to resource guard her foster; and suffered from severe storm and separation anxiety. In addition, her foster recognized that Ruthie was also dealing with a gastrointestinal issue which has since been addressed and controlled with a specialized protein diet. Ruthie is a strong dog, both physically and in personality; and she and her foster work with a professional trainer on an on-going basis to address her behavioral issues and new ones as they come up. Ruthie's training will be a life-long process not to let her back-slide. Ruthie is a work in progress; but, with consistent, diligent work, she has become the star of her weekly training classes, where she has done obedience, rally, agility, core training and has started scent work. She attends doggie daycare weekly for socialization, and loves getting her picture taken.
Ruthie's village includes her PFC foster, veterinarian, acupuncture vet who makes sure she is pain free from arthritis, a professional trainer and her Elite Squad training class which includes many service and therapy dogs in training. |
Dutchess was an active, happy 4-year-old girl that lived the typical Boykin life until she became lame in the back end. Her owners had her evaluated by a local vet who determined Dutchess had suffered some sort of spinal event resulting in paralysis. Unfortunately, her family could not manage her care with their full time jobs and so they surrendered her to BSR in April 2021. Once in BSR, Dutchess was immediately taken to a specialty clinic and rehab facility for evaluation and weeks of therapy to try to regain any movement possible. It was determined after imaging that the nature of the injury was a spinal lesion, possibly a spinal stroke, but not a disc rupture. As time wore on in rehab, it became clear that one side of her body was stronger and might regain some mobility but that her other side was much more affected and likely would not. A BSR volunteer family who already had fostering experience with our 2 other recent spinal cases asked to foster her. In the time she has been with them, she has adjusted to using a wheelchair and even roller skates.
Dutchess' Village includes her amazing foster family. The Gosnell family truly make fostering a family affair. The dogs in their care are loved for just who they are and are given every opportunity to live full and happy lives. |
Lou Bear's Village- it begins with his amazing fosters, who make sure he gets all the medication, baths and love he needs. His wonderful team of veterinarians. And, you. Our amazing BSR community who always cheers on each and every dog.
Prior to coming into BSR's care in April 2018 at 8-1/2 years old, Lou Bear's life consisted of living in one small room in a house and no outdoor time. By the time he was surrendered to BSR, his skin, ears and eyes were horribly infected, and his coat had largely fallen out on his underside, legs, face and ears, leaving itchy, dry "elephant" skin. Yet through it all, Lou Bear was loving and trusting. Over time, and with an abundance of veterinary care and foster attentiveness, Lou Bear has recovered much of his coat and weekly medicated baths keep skin infections at bay and Lou Bear "itch free". Two years ago, due to chronic ear infections, he had a procedure that removed the ear canal in both ears. This was a major surgery with a difficult recovery, but today his quality of life is much improved now that his ears are 100% infection free. His fosters are happy to report that Lou Bear continues to thrive. He is still the most loving, goofy member of his pack, and he makes his fosters laugh every day without fail! As of this morning, we have raised $28,456 towards our goal of $100,000! It is the love and care of the Boykin community that makes it possible that each dog gets best-in-class care. |
Maya came into BSR's care as a critical case. She had a disc rupture that required surgery and was also pregnant. Fortunately, she underwent a c-section and delivered 4 healthy pups post surgery. A BSR foster drove an 800-mile round trip to pick up Maya and her pups and transported them to her home. Time was of the essence to get Maya into therapy, but the pups needed to be old enough and strong enough to be weened without detriment to them. In the meantime, the foster was assisting Maya with a special harness to help her as she walked to keep her as strong and mobile as possible. When the pups were ready and had been successfully weaned, Maya's foster transported her to a rehab boarding facility where she stayed for a 3-weeks while undergoing a 3-week intensive therapy program which included daily traditional therapy was well as water therapy on a treadmill and laser therapy. Maya has now moved on to her Permanent Foster family where she continues her rehab in addition to wheelchair training. While Maya has a long road ahead of her, she continues to make slow but steady progress thanks to her strong spirit and can-do attitude and the attentive, dedicated, going "above and beyond care" and efforts of her fosters", as well as the care of her veterinarians, specialists, and therapists.
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It takes a village to get dogs going where they need to go, especially in areas that have few volunteers! Lady Bird was an adopted dog living in the Pacific Northwest who needed to come back into care but the best foster for her was in Northern Colorado. Only a few states to cover (4 or 5 depending on the routes) but also with less than 20 volunteers on our volunteer map in that area and significantly less with any availability to help. Shaking every tree possible, we lit up social media asking for help and asking friends of friends who they knew in any of the likely areas we'd be moving through. Oh and snow....snow coming in to the high passes meant some routes were less likely to be options. After 3 solid weeks of trying to make a plan that would stick, magic started to happen...several people put their hands up to cover the vast miles as temporary volunteers, and over 100 hours of calling, emailing, cajoling, pleading and networking paid off! Thank you to those road warriors!
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Ella came into BSR's care at 10.5 years old and was described as a "loner" who would not engage with the family. Many pounds over weight and with an undiagnosed thyroid problem, she was indeed a little lethargic on intake and her coat was in rough shape. With the implementation of a diet and exercise plan, as well as medication to address the thyroid, Ella began to shed weight and perk up and her coat is dramatically improved. The more time that has passed while in BSR's care, the more engaged she has become in the Boykin life. Ella now enthusiastically joins her foster family and pack in their adventures to the lake and general romping around the yard. In addition to her thyroid issues, Ella is being tested for other endocrine issues, and her health needs will require continued, life-long evaluation and treatment. Ella's diligent vet caught an emerging cancer of her spleen, and with early detection and removal, she has been healthy and happy in her forever PFC home.
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