Magnum says he might be ready to find his place in the world. Are you are that special person that can guide him the rest of the way into the full life he deserves?
You can see from the new video that his leg is functioning quite well. He has recently had a couple of chiropractic treatments which have helped him immensely. His needs now to continue to build muscle, doing some easy range of motion exercises, and taking over-the- counter supplements to reinforce his progress. He MAY need a simple surgery a few months from now to help loosen some material behind his kneecap, but compared to what he’s been through, that should be a piece of cake.
Due to his physical situation, we have not had much of an opportunity for formal training. He has learned to sit, down, shake, has a pretty decent recall, and loves to fetch a ball. He learns incredibly quickly. He rides well in the truck, and I think he is finally convinced he can’t ride shotgun. Magnumhas excellent house manners and crates well, although that is not necessary at night. He is microchipped, neutered, and up to date on vaccines.
Because of his extended confinement and isolation during the healing process, he regressed a bit on his social skills. He is fine in his small environment here, but does have some fear of the big outside world. We are working with that in several ways. I think with continued positive experiences, he will blossom.
An ideal home for Magnum might be one where someone is home the majority of the time. He will bond hard to his new forever person. He has a fairly strong personality, so if you have GSD experience, or have had some formal training classes, that would be a plus. Being an only dog, at least for a little while until he settles in, would be great for him. At this time, he cannot negotiate a straight flight of stairs, and that MAY be the case permanently. He was recently able to go up and down a flight of split steps with a landing in between, however. He cannot go to a home with cats or small pets, he just has plain old prey drive. If you are looking for an agility champ, or a long range running partner, he might not be your fella. But, if you’re looking for a smart, teachable, bondable, big-hearted dog, please consider Magnum.
September 26 Update: Thought we’d show some x-rays of Magnums amazing healing!
First X-Ray: shows hows how badly the break had healed originally. (The straight bone in the x-ray is his good leg)
In the second and third x-rays, you can see the mish-mash of random bone that grew onto the broken area originally (the lumpy area to the right of the rod.) The original break was at the growth plates, so the plates were interrupted and kept making new bone in weird places. Some of this was removed during surgery, some of it had to be left.
Even after Magnum lunged at the cat and moved the rod 10 days after surgery, he ended up with a pretty good result.
That’s one beautiful leg, if you ask me! After two fairly significant set-backs, Magnum has had the rod removed from his leg and should be well on the road to recovery. He is doing all the puppy things he never had a chance to do, chasing bugs, chewing sticks, and just generally being a goof. He is still largely crated, and is not allowed to play with the other dogs here, he’s quite restricted as far as his activity level, but what an improvement overall! You can see that the joy of living has returned to his whole being.
As of last week we no longer have to use a sling for support. You can’t keep a good man down for long. Magnum faces several months of physical therapy to undo the atrophy in both of his rear legs, but I am confident he will develop into a relatively normal guy. He will have a usable, functional leg, which is more than we had hoped for. My deepest gratitude to Dr. Hank Clemmons, Spartan Animal Hospital, McFarland, WI, for his skills, faith, and belief in what we try to do in rescue. He did what others said could not be done. (In other words, all other vets who viewed the xrays suggested amputation.) This little dog has a really good shot at a pretty regular life. We’ll keep you posted on his progress.
Magnum post surgery, we had an OK day today
Magnum is an extremely handsome, charming, stoic, bright and vibrant 7 month old male GSD puppy. He came into rescue after being picked up as a stray. After a few weeks in foster care, we have determined this little guy has the heart of a lion. You see, his right rear leg was badly broken when he was a young pup, perhaps around 4 months of age. We can only guess at what may have happened to him. The break was never set or treated, and has healed over in an awkward position, with the two ends of the bone being several inches apart. He is not particularly painful now, but likely suffered badly at the time it happened.
Magnum tries very hard in his foster home to keep up with the big boys. He hobbles around the backyard and goes into the dog swimming pool several times a day. He is gaining weight and muscle tone and is learning house manners and other real world skills. He gets along beautifully with people and other dogs.
A vet that we work with frequently would like to make Magnum a “whole dog” again. His surgery and recovery will be quite challenging, and of course, not inexpensive.
