|
 Giselle is a sweet, loving Female Golden Retriever
who was picked up as a stray by a Long Island municipal shelter. I have
been doing rescue for 12 years and this is one of the most severely
neglected dogs I have seen come through the "doors" of LIGRR.
Giselle is Heartworm positive and has been so for a
very long time. (I personally doubt that this poor dog was ever on a
Heartworm preventative.) She has such a severe infestation of the adult
worms in her heart that a portion of them will have to be removed
surgically before she can even be administered the traditional heartworm
medical treatment. (When the Heartworms die from the medical treatment,
they break up and have the potential to become emboli, which can travel
to the lungs and kill the dog. Giselle has so many worms that it is
dangerous to kill them all, so some will have to be extracted.)
The Heartworms have also affected her kidneys,
resulting in a severe infection. She has a painful skin condition which
cannot be treated in the best way at the present time because she is too
weak to tolerate the appropriate medication.
Through all of this, Giselle gives kisses, wags her
tail and plays quietly with her toys. Like a typical Golden, she
forgives all the humans who have abandoned her and responds to us with
love.
Giselle has a long, difficult road ahead of her. We
will give her everything she needs to get better and hope that she will
soon be on the road to improved health. It will be a challenging process
for Giselle and an expensive one for LIGRR. However, as I told someone
on our Rescue Phone the other day, "This dog is why we do rescue".
PLEASE keep your Heartworm negative dog on
Heartworm preventative year round. Heartworm is on a major upswing in
our area. The preventative is easy to give & much more affordable than
the treatment.
 Giselle is resting and regaining her strength. We are hoping in the near
future to be able to treat her heartworm. We are looking into treatment
options. Please continue to keep her in your good thoughts, as you can
see she is happy and full of spirit. At the moment should could benefit
from a quiet home, with no other dogs, to stay in while she regains her
strength. If you are interested in fostering her please let us know.
Feb. 21, 2012
Today I had the absolute pleasure of meeting
Giselle for the first time. Melanie (LIGRR’s President) and I took
Giselle for a consult with a veterinary cardiologist, in order to
determine the course of treatment for Giselle’s advanced case of
Heartworm. Initially, she will be treated surgically – some of the worms
will have to be removed before she can undergo the medical treatment to
kill the rest. Her prognosis is good and treatment will begin very soon.
I was amazed at this sweet girl’s personality.
Here is a dog who was totally neglected, probably left outside and
ignored, at best. And yet, she shows nothing but love to everyone around
her. Her tail wags constantly, she gives kisses and soaks up affection
like a sponge. This is the true Golden spirit – in spite of all the
adversity she has been through at the hands of humans, she loves us all.
Giselle will need a quiet, restful home during her
convalescence. Whoever has the privilege of caring for her will be
rewarded with unconditional love.
Cathie
LIGRR Vice President
Hi Melanie,
Things are wonderful here and I am enjoying my summer. I hope that
you are too!
First of all I want to tell you that Giselle (a.k.a. - Bailey) is
doing wonderfully. She's 100% cleared of the heart worm and on July
28th she completed her last round of antibiotics. I can't believe
how well she is doing. Her skin has improved greatly... Dr. Franz
has been working very hard to figure out her skin issues. She's
been on a low dose of Prednisone and a course of Revolution. She's
responded very well to this treatment and we go back to him mid
August so he can check her progress. When she came to me she had
very little of the long flowy hair that Golden's are so famous for.
Since she started the treatment with Dr. Franz she is growing hair
in places that she didn't have before she came to me and she now has
beautiful flowy hair. She truly is a different dog...
On another note she is learning to play and be a dog. I don't know
what kind of life she had before she came to me but I'm certain it
wasn't a life filled with playing, toys and love... She's slowly
coming out of her shell. We've slowly started to take short walks
and we've begun some training. She doesn't need much however she
had no idea how to walk on a leash. I'm not pushing her too much
because I need to build her up slowly. She was on 'bed rest' for so
long that she really needs to build up to 'normal' activities.
Sometimes she tires out quickly. So we rest and do a little bit more
the next time.
Melanie I can't thank you enough for bringing her in to my life.
She is such a blessing to have. She's the gentlest, sweetest and
most loving dog I've had in a very long time. My entire extended
family can't get enough of her. When I go to my father's house
without her he makes me go home to get her because he just loves
having her around too.
Again, thank you so much.
Andrea
| 
Brody is a 15 month old puppy. He wants so badly to run
and play with the other dogs. Unfortunately, he has bilateral hip
dysplasia. His family was unable to provide the needed surgery for
him so they asked LIGRR to take him in. He will get his first total
hip replacement shortly. After several months of rest he will get
follow up surgery on his other leg. With time, love, and medical
attention he has his whole life to look forward to.
Daisy is only 5 months old she was born with ectopic ureta.
She will need corrective surgery in order to avoid a life of infection.
Oscar is an old dog. He has arthritis and was diagnosed with mange.
He will need treatment for his mange before he can be placed in a loving home.