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GUS 8/1/04
#419

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Gus's Foster Journey - Rainbow Bridge 9/23/05

After 1 month

Pertinent Information
9 - 10 yr. old  Fawn Male Boxer
 55 lb.- 68 lb - and now 75+ lb. - now 91 lbs. Shelter Surrender
Cropped Ears and Docked Tail
Neutered and UTD
Cats Questionable
Being Fostered near New London, CT
Adoption Donation $100
If you have rescued a dog from BAR in the past, we are offering to let you adopt a senior dog and to waive the adoption fee and to reimburse you for regular vet visit during the first year. 
We are also offering a special to human Sr. Citizens (age 65 or older) as well.  We will deduct $50 from the $150 adoption donation for any dog over 7 yrs. old and will reimburse you for a regular vet visit during the first year .
For further information please email:  boxerangelsdirectors@yahoo.com and someone will contact you.

9/23/05 - My sweet sweet Gussy Boy has gone to the Rainbow Bridge.  The end of last week he started drinking tons of water and urinating everywhere.  We put him on an antibiotic thinking it was a UTI.  Our vet wasn't in on Mon. so Tues I called and took him in early Wed. morning with a urine sample.  Unfortunately he didn't have a UTI and it wasn't the other thing the vet had hoped might be wrong with him which was diabetes.  He took blood and sent it out to be tested and was afraid that he had Cushings disease.  He called me first thing this morning with very bad news.  I took him back this afternoon and he was put to sleep while in my arms.
Gus was a very special dog.  I loved him with all my heart.  When he looked at me with those great big eyes I melted.  He loved me madly too.  He liked other people too, but always tried to get close to me.  I had him as a foster for almost 14 months and they were a great 14 months for both of us.  Rest in peace Gus, Mommy loves you and misses you.

8/1/05 - Gus is celebrating his one year anniversary with us today.  He is such a special boy and I love him so much.  He's just like an old friend.  He is doing very well after his second surgery and is as full of energy as a puppy!  Gus, Kaiser and Coco spend lots of time outside playing and sun bathing. Buddy stays inside when they are outside, but I don't even have to shut doors any longer to keep them apart, they do that on their own.   I just love the senior dogs.  They are so appreciate of having a home, food and love and show it in so many ways, yet they are calm and easy.  If you have only one Boxer, please think about adding a senior to your home for companionship for your other Boxer and for a real appreciate friend.

7/13/05 - Gus had to have another surgery to repair his hernia 2 weeks ago.  The surgery was originally done by a family veterinarian.  This time, a specialist was called in and fixed Gus up for good.  The surgery went VERY well and he is so full of energy that I can hardly believe he is the same dog.   Everyone at the vet just loves him.  Today we went back for a recheck and he met 2 elderly ladies in the waiting room and they made such a fuss over him.  He snuggled up to each one of them and lavished in being petted by them.  He would make the perfect pet for a sr. citizen with a fenced in back yard.  He is very healthy now just a delight to have around.  He has so much love to give - won't you consider giving him a home of his own.

5/31/05 - Gus is a great big boy now!  He weighed in at a whopping 91 lbs. at the vet 2 weeks ago.  He was soooo skinny when I got him and I promised to fatten him up and that's exactly what I did!!  Now I'm going to have to cut back on his food a little bit and we have eliminated the evening cookies.  Eighty lbs. would be just right for him.  Of course now that the weather is better, he can go outside and run around more than he did during the colder months.  Our side yard is nice a lush green with grass and he loves to roam around out there, sniffing, eating grass, laying in the cool grass or sunning himself in a sunny spot.  He is quite the talker and lets you know exactly what he wants which is great when he wants to go outside! 
We did have one little episode where he became constipated from eating some dead ornamental grass that matted up inside him.  But a quick visit to the vet and he is just fine again.  I have to continue to give him a heaping tablespoon of metamucil with his food twice a day and the vet said to also give him milk, and lots of exercise is important to keeping him regular.
Even though I love Gus madly, I'd still like him to find a home of his own with a fenced in yard and no other dominant male to compete with.

4/16/05 - I have been extremely remiss in doing updates on Gus the last few months.  But there really is very little more that I can say about him.  He just gets better every day.  In my last report I mentioned our cookies before bed routine.  Well Kaiser, our puppy, joined us a couple months ago for our evening snack and just last week, our old female, Coco, decided to join us too.  So now I have 3 dogs sitting around the dining room table patiently waiting for their midnight snack and they are all very well behaved.  Our dominant male, Buddy, makes no attempt to join us.  He and Gus will just never get along! 
Gus has proven himself to be completely trustworthy in the house, so I have opened up the formal living room to him so now he has a much larger area of the house.  He has made the living room into his "play room" with all his toys strewn around.  It is a very light filled room which adjoins the foster suite by a hallway and during the days I open the pocket door and he just loves the light and brightness and the sun as it comes in through the windows.  He picks a sunny spot to nap in. 
We also have a  daily routine where Gus goes for a ride in the car.  This is the highlight of his day and about 3:30 in the afternoon if I haven't taken him for a ride yet, he starts to whine and tell me that he hasn't had his ride yet!  His favorite destination is the Credit Union that has a drive in window.  The women who work there are crazy about him and spoil him with doggie bones.  He watches intently as the tray slides out from the building and drools because he knows there will be biscuits in the tray for him.  What a character he is! 
He stayed at John Gagnon's Dog House over the long Easter weekend when we went away and did very well there.  I took his great big overstuffed bed and he was just fine.  On the report card they mentioned how much Gus loves his "bed" so if he does get adopted I will send his bed along with him. 
As long as he gets his metamucil twice a day and gets to run around and exercise daily, he is just fine.  I have been walking him also around our property and he just loves those walks, but he is a big strong boy and will once in a while pull on the leash if he hears or smells something in the woods.
If you are looking for a great companion who will give you love and affection and who is a great watch dog by the way, and have a fenced in yard, then please consider making Gus part of your family.

12/29/04 - What can I say about this terrific boy!  Just look at the difference in his pictures from when he first arrived, emaciated, and then look at him now, up to 80 lbs., strong as a horse and full of energy.  He is just the nicest dog anyone could want.  He and our puppy go out and run and run around the yard everyday and the exercise is very necessary to him "regular."  He is still very protective of his toys and growls at Kaiser to stay away from them, so it would probably be best if he were the only dog in a home.  He just loved Christmas!  We have an evening routine where we go into the dining room where all the cookie tins are, and he patiently waits for his evening cookie snack.  He sits and waits while bubbles form on his jowls, and he is taking the cookies much more gently now.  So we you are looking for a super companion who loves to ride in the car, don't have any other animals, and have a fenced in yard, then you may be the perfect home for Gus.  Otherwise, he can stay here and be our official BAR mascot.

11/2/04 - What a duo our 11 month old puppy and Gus have become!  They go out into the yard together all the time now and run around and around.  The puppy has so much energy to burn, that it is really good for him to go out with Gus.  The minute he goes by the door to the area where we keep Gus, he jumps up on the door and want to go in and visit him.  It's so nice to see them interacting and getting along so well.  Gus just absolutely loves to meander around the yard and take his time going to the bathroom, so I reiterate that he needs to go to a home with a fenced in yard.  All he needs is a pair of glasses and a magazine and he'd be your typical old man taking his time to do his daily constitutional.
Gus's muscle tone is returning very nicely.  He keeps getting stronger and stronger every day.  He has that striking Boxer pose with one back leg extended and he presents a very impressive figure.  In the 3 months that he has been with he has come so far physically.  It is really rewarding to see the difference in the him when I look at the pictures on the left where he was so thin and every rib showed in his hunched over body and then to look at the pictures to the right and see such a healthy looking, alert happy dog.

10/22/04 - I have discovered something new about my foster boy, Gus, today.  I have a bad shoulder and had never taken him for a real walk.  When we leave the house to get into the car he pulls on the leash because he is so excited to go for a ride, so I assumed he would be hard to walk.  But this afternoon he did something that made me think that he just might be leash trained.  I had put my jacket on because I was cold and he thought that I was going out (did I mention that he is a very small dog) and he starting whining to go with me.  I went to see if he was whining because he wanted to go outside, but when he saw me, he took his leash off the door handle and put it in his mouth and carried it over to me dancing and wiggling all the time.  I felt so bad for him that I decided to take him for a short ride to the post office.  So when we got back, I took him for his first walk around our neighborhood with plastic bags and paper towels in tow.  He completely surprised me and was WONDERFUL on the leash.  He did not pull at all and when I shortened the leash and said "heel" he knew exactly what to do.  Even when we walked past a house where there is a lab enclosed with an invisible fence who runs up and down her yard and barks like mad, he was very well behaved and did not try to go over to her.  He cried a little and would have liked for me to have dropped the leash and let him go to visit, but when I said "no," he was just fine.  He did not do his business on the walk, but I think he would have if I had stopped an allowed him to, but I was getting cold.
When Gus first came into rescue, we had no idea how old he was and he looked so bad that the shelter guessed he was 10 and the vet concurred.  But now he looks so good and is full of energy that when BAR's Associate Director of Adoptions asked me about how we knew he was 10, I said that it was a guesstimate that was made when he first came to us and there really is no way to tell exactly how old he is.  I looked at the pictures of an 8 yr. old female we have in rescue and she is a lot more gray than Gus is, so, what I am saying is that we really don't know how old he is.  He could be 8 or he could be 10.  But what I can tell you is that he has a whole lot of energy and is in very good health now.
I let our 11 month old puppy out in the yard with Gus the other day as the puppy is just crazy about him.  He tolerates the little guy and they really got in to running around the yard in circles at a very fast pace.  But Gus is smart, he let the puppy run around the perimeter of the yard in great big circles while he ran around the inside in smaller circles.  Every day he gets stronger and stronger and shows us how amazing a dog he is.  You won't be sorry if you adopt this big sweet boy!

10/12/04 - I have not updated Gus in a month as I was hoping that he could integrate himself into our home so that we could keep him, as he is one of the most special guys that I have ever met.  However, my other 3 dogs have developed such a strong "pack" that they will not give poor Gus a break and let him in.  So he continues to be kept in a separate part of the house and in a separate yard from the others.  If I put one of them out with him, they are just fine, but when 2 or 3 of them are with Gus they gang up on him.  One on one with my dogs Gus is very protective of his toys and growls at them to leave them alone.  He probably hasn't had any toys of his own for a long time and just loves to play with all of them.  He and I have bonded and become very close and that is another thing that my dogs do not care for.  When I am out in the yard playing ball with Gus, they bark and raise an awful fuss.  So it is with a heavy heart that I think it would be in Gus's best interests to find him a permanent home.  He is just a wonderful dog, but really needs a family or single person of his own to love and receive lot of love from.  He'd be fine with one other dog in the house, but would also be just as happy being an only dog as he much prefers humans to other dogs.  If you want a faithful companion who loves to ride in the car and is very well behaved and well mannered, then Gus may be the one for you.  Please don't let his age scare you off, as he is a very healthy, energetic guy.

9/7/04 - Mr. Gus is just about the smartest Boxer that I have ever seen.  Since he was so skinny, I have been feeding him twice a day, AM & PM.  Today was a very hectic morning and I forgot to feed him.  He came over to me and put his head on my lap and looked up at me with those great big soulful eyes, and then I realized I forgot to feed him.  I went and got his bowl and brought in his food and he had 2 of the biggest bubbles hanging from both sides of his mouth that I have ever seen.  He continues to be the best guest we have ever had.  I hope that we can find him a permanent home of his own with a nice fenced in yard and a family who will love him.

9/1/04 - Gus weighed in today at a whopping 75 lbs. ! It has been exactly 1 month since Gus came into rescue weighing 55 lbs.  He was sooo skinny that every rib showed.  Another foster Mom came by this weekend to let Gus and the puppy out as we were away for the day and she was so surprised at how he looked.  She said that the first time she saw him all she could focus on were his ribs, but this time she noticed was a grand, large head he has.  He is indeed a very handsome guy.  His energy level has also gone up just like his weight.  He will run and jump after toys like a youngster.  We pulled out a kong on a rope yesterday and I was amazed that as I swung it, he jumped up over my head to try and get it.  It was dirty from being outside and he wanted to bring it in and add it to his collection so badly that I let him bring it in, but took it away to wash it in the bathroom sink.  Today I went into the bathroom and there were things from on top of the sink all over the floor and the kong was gone - Gus had taken it out of the sink and was laying on his bed with it under his chin!  He is one of the smartest, most amazing Boxers that I have ever seen.  My 5 year old grandson has been here for the past two weeks and Gus has been gentle as a lamb with him.  He loves it here, but would really like a home of his own where he could have free run of the house.  If you have room in your house and in your heart for this super gentleman, give us a call.

8/26/04 - Toys, toys, toys, Gus has turned into a toy hoarder!  From a dog that wanted absolutely nothing to do with toys at all for the first 3 weeks, he finally decided to play with the red flashing ball, and has now graduated to making all the toys around "his."  Surrounded the spread he likes to sleep on beside the bed is a bone, a heart squeaker toy, the red ball, a tennis ball. and a pull toy.  He is very possessive of these possessions and growled at the puppy when he came around them.  I corrected him, but can understand that he probably hasn't had anything of "his own" for a long time and it will take him time to learn to share.  He wants me to come into the yard and play ball with him all the time and as he gets in better shape physically, he runs around more after the ball.  Please consider added this great guy to your home.

8/21/04 - I just can't help telling you what a delightful character Mr. Gus is!  He is so "in tune" with everything that is going on around him.  He has really become attached to a red flashing ball that used to belong to my beloved deaf Joseph who passed away earlier in the year.  He has a personality very similar to my Joey and the same look of love in his eyes.  If we could just get our dominant male to accept him, he would have a permanent home.  Now that he is medically cleared to play with the other dogs, I will try to introduce them under very carefully controlled conditions. 
But this guy really deserves a home of his own where he can be free to roam around.  He has been wonderful in the house and has not chewed up or gotten into anything.  He took his red ball upstairs to bed with him last night and hid it in the bedding - so cute!  Every time I go out in the yard with him he wants me to play ball and it really shows how good he is feeling physically. 
He is eating regular dog food now.  I did a lot of looking around to find the highest fiber content to keep him regular and am putting a tablespoon of Metamucil in his food twice and day and everything is moving just as smoothly as could be.  Because of his intestinal surgery, we have to be careful that he does not get constipated and so far so good.  He still needs to put on more weight so I am giving him regular yogurt rather than the no-fat that I give the other dogs and I am feeding him 1/4 can and 3+ cups of dry food twice a day. 

8/17/04 - Gus is feeling better and better each and every day.  I have started to mix his special food with regular dog food and so far so good.  He is also allowed to have treats and boy does he like them.  Yesterday I gave him a small greenie and today I bought him a carrot flavored bone which was high in fiber and he devoured it.  Since he had his intestines operated on, we have to make certain that he gets a lot of fiber in his diet to keep him regular.
Today I decided to see if Gus felt good enough to have any interest in playing with a ball and, to my surprise, he ran after it and played with it.  I took the picture at the top right and he was cooperative enough to look up and pose for it. 
Gus just loves to look out the front windows and watch what is going on outside.  He is very observant and watched my husband cut shrubs today and got up on the window sill to see him better as he came inside.  He doesn't bark at people going by, he just likes to watch.  I can tell from taking him out on a leash that he would just like to be free to run around and that is probably why he was picked up as a stray.  He is also pretty strong for an older guy and could have gotten lose that way.  Whatever his story, he does just perfectly in our fenced in yard and would probably do best in a home with such a yard.  I often find him outside laying in the cool grass in the shade.  He is an excellent companion and one of the most expressive, communicative dogs that I have ever fostered.  Please consider making him part of your family.

8/14/04 - What a great day we had at the vet today.  When we went in, the gal who came in to take Gus's weight just hugged and loved him as she had taken care of him while he was there having his surgery and she just fell in love with him.  She said that he is one of the nicest, most special dogs that she has ever met and hope that we find him a great home.  She couldn't believe how good he looked and how full of life he was and how happy he seemed.  Then we went and weighed him and we had to do it 3 times as we couldn't believe that he could have gained so much weight in two short weeks, but each time his weight came up at 64 lbs. so he has gained 10 lbs in 2 weeks.  But he is still very skinny and will need more weight to fill out his good sized frame.
Then the vet came in and was very pleased with how good he looked.  He is healing from his surgery very nicely.  He will need another week on special food gradually being mixed with regular food and he still needs to be kept separate from the other dogs for another week, but then he will be all ready to begin the search for his "forever" home.  If you have room in your home and in your heart for the tremendous, well behaved older gentleman, please let us know - I assure you that you won't be sorry.

8/12/04 - Gus is acting like a dog with a brand new lease on life!  He is so perky and happy and is feeling so much better.  His intestines are working just fine and he certainly lets us know when he wants to go outside.  He listens very well, especially to my husband when he gives him commands in his strict "school teacher" voice.  He has obviously had some training and will do whatever you ask when you tell him too.  He is still learning his name and is starting to respond to it a little, but when you get his attention, he does whatever you tell him too.  He is also doing much better being separated from the other dogs and had stopped whining and crying when he is alone.  I have left the E collar off since yesterday and he does not seem to be licking or bothering his stitches.  We took pictures this morning and you can see just how extensive his surgery was.  From the front he is a very handsome looking sr. Boxer., but from the side, he is a pathetic emaciated boy who needs quite a few pounds put on him to fill out his frame.  He has a wonderful big square Boxer head, that doesn't go with the rest of his body right now.  I'd like to fatten him up quickly, but with his intestinal surgery we have to proceed slowly.  We go back to the vet on Sat. and hopefully he will get a clean bill of health.

8/10/04 - I just had to give Gus a bath the morning.  He was killing me sleeping in the bedroom.  He was an absolute angel and just stood in the shower and let me wash him all over.  Then we put on the new collar that Aunt Mary had gotten for him and he looks very nice.  My digital camera batteries and not holding a charge so it will be a day or so until I can get some good pictures of him.  Today while I was home, I left the E collar off, but am still putting it on when I go out.  I will leave it off tonight for him to sleep.  Nurse Jean and Gus are becoming quite good friends.  He takes his medicine without the slightest problem and is a very good patient.

8/9/04 - Gus moaned and cried so much last night downstairs by himself, that I brought him up into the bedroom and he slept on a doggie bed on my side of the bed or on a white mattress pad that I had  put on the other side of the bed.  He got up in the middle of the night and let me know he had to go out, but then it was right back upstairs and back to sleep until 7 AM.  He never tried to crawl in bed, but was just content to be near people.  I have to keep him separated from my dogs because of his surgery and also because of my dominant male who has greeted him with lots of barking.  But he is not at all happy being by himself.  He is a needy boy who is just starved for human attention.  You can tell that at one time he must have been part of a family as he has very good manners.  This afternoon, he and I went upstairs with the air conditioning on and took a nap.  Guess I'll have to go to bed early to get him to settle down!

8/8/04 - Gus spent a very nice 2 days with Aunt Mary and began his recuperation.  Tonight he came here so that he will have someone home with him during the day since he is still wearing the E collar and needs to go outside frequently.

8/6/04 - Gus was released from the hospital today and what a sad sack he is with the big E collar on him to keep him from licking.  He runs into everything with it.  He was just so happy to leave the vets, he couldn't wait to get outside into the grass.  Gus is going to be staying with a new foster family for a few days since they will be home over the weekend.  He will come to the Canine Castle on Sun. night so that I can care for him during the week.

8/4/04 - I just got a call from the vet and the operation was a success and he came through it just fine. In
addition to repairing the hernia, he also had a cyst on his spineremoved and he was neutered. The vet said that he may be okay to gohome tomorrow, but they usually keep them a couple days. So I willcall tomorrow and see how he is.
Gus is about 10 yrs. old and is a graying sr. citizen, but he seemsto be a very nice boy. He was going to be put down at the shelter as he was unadoptable with his medical problems. Now Gus has a secondchance at life and BAR will find him a great home to live out therest of his life in comfort with lots of love.

8/2/04 - Gus was diagnosed today as having a perineal hernia and will be operated on the day after tomorrow

8/1/04 - Gus was rescued from a NYC shelter today and I took him directly to Bolton Veterinary Hospital. He had a grapefruit sized growth on his rear end right beside his anus and every time he got out of a car
between legs of the transport he strained and strained to defecate but never could. I was worried that he was blocked up and wasn't comfortable taking him to a foster home, so I took him to the vets.

Pictures after 2 months