Kelso goes off to a forever home!!

Kelso is doing fine. He was terrified of stairs. Since there is an upstairs and down in our house, I needed to help him overcome his fear and learn to go up and down stairs. As big as he is, that could be two hops. Anyway, he is fine with them, now - eight or ten trips and several treats later. He seems very smart - just like our other Shepherd.

Kelso will be a lot happier when he stops pacing like he is in a jail cell. It seems different then getting used to the surroundings. Maybe it has to do with being chained and crated most of his life. He seems to be doing just fine, though. I bought a crate / cage this morning and it is going to be in the basement, so... If he wasn't comfortable going down there, he would have gone bananas.

Main theme of this note: Thank you for your help! You are an old soul and seem to clearly recognize that animals are in a state of grace. I have always thought that we could learn a lot from them, if we pay attention. Almost like the book, "All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." The lessons learned from animals are as simple as the ones in that book:


Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life -- learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon.

When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.

Take care of yourself. I will keep you posted as to how Kelso is getting on.

Allan

Kelso Update

I was going to shoot some video of Kelso this morning, but, we had super bright sunshine, which is not good for photography... Here are a couple frame grabs I took when he sat down for a moment in the shade. The second one is almost the same pose as your original Internet picture... I figure him to be between 6 and 7, now.. yesterday at the vet he weighed 105 pounds (down from 110 last year).

More to follow, along with an update on his life and a couple of questions...

Wow, 105 seems a bit on the heavy size.. But he is still as good looking as always.. I cant tell you how good it is to hear from you. and Kelso.. This is what make rescue worth all the work.

Cant wait for more updates

More Kelso Updates

I had intended to send you more pictures and video of Kelso - just haven't had a chance. There is something I want to tell you about, though. Last August on a Sunday Kelso was exhibiting some unusual symptoms - like he had to have a bowel movement and couldn't. I really had no clue what was wrong with him, so I took him to an Animal Emergency clinic in Madison Heights. His problem turned out to be some variant of colitis - they put him on a special diet and gave him some meds and in a ten days he was completely recovered.

I told you that story to tell you something else. While the doctor was examining him at the clinic, she said to me, "Do you know he has a heart murmur?" I told her I did not. She proceeded to tell me that it was likely he was born with it and what sort of complications that could arise as a result. I thanked her for the info. A couple weeks later, I took Kelso to our normal vet for shots and he confirmed: "Yes, he's got a pretty good heart murmur, there." I said, "In this case, good is bad." He agreed. I asked him if he would advise me to do anything and he referred me to some cardiologists.

To make a long story short, a couple weeks later, I took him for an appointment and they confirmed the problem and outlined his congenital heart defects. I am going to attach information from the evaluation he had last week. His condition has worsened over the past year and tomorrow I am taking him to the College of Veterinary Medicine / MSU for examination / admittance in order to have surgery to correct one of his problems (PDA). I am quite sure that you are familiar with it - all mammals are susceptible - some breeds of dogs, more than others.

I would have thought somewhere along the line a doctor would have listened to his heart. Apparently the murmur made by PDA is described as a machine type sound. This says to me that anyone with an once of training who took the time to listen, would have heard it. This would include at the clinic that neutered him or at our own vet's office. Looking back on it, I do not recall him ever listening to Kelso's heart, although I do remember him checking our other dog's heart - who died in December at 12-13 years old - at every visit. Maybe he never checked Kelso because he was young and strong... ?? Anyway, do you have any recollection of Kelso having heart murmur issues? Our vet never anesthetized him prior to last month (cyst removal and teeth cleaning).

Anyway, just thought I would ask. The condition as you can read in the report is quite serious and having the PDA surgery may help to lengthen his life and push back the time when he will suddenly die or develop congestive heart failure.

He is a great dog and at this hour, I would say he is the most intelligent dog we have had in our long history of dogs. That may sound funny, but, he has done many, many things that I would term "problem solving," and sometimes it is absolutely amazing. Yes, he still acts plenty wild and goofy at times -- the innate intelligence is there, though. An example that just came to me. In bad weather, the dogs eat in the kitchen or basement. There is only Kelso, now. Anyway, you know how dogs, when they are eating, have a tendency to push the dish across the room (if it slides on the floor)? Anyway, a few months ago, I fed him the kitchen and as he was eating the dish was sliding and began to go under the table. Most dogs will continue pursuit, following the dish under table and chair. Kelso stopped and reached under the table with his foot and pulled the dish out. It was filled with (believe it or not) rice, chicken and broccoli - yes leftovers from my dinner! Anyway, as the mixture was getting packed down in the bowel he would take some big bites, leaving the bowel right in front of him empty. Instead of walking around the dish, he moved the food in front of him by spinning the dish with his foot. These things happened during the same meal and I just watched in amazement. I don't know if I am describing this very well, but, problem solving is not something that I have frequently seen in pets I have had - not at that level. There have been many other examples - these just came to me as I typed.

Hope you are doing well. I will let you know how he does with the surgery.

Allan

According to the folks at MSU, Kelso came through his procedure very
well and is recovering from the anesthesia. We are scheduled to pick him
up tomorrow morning at 8:00AM. Using the Duct Occluder eliminates the
need for surgery and reduces risk / recovery time to almost nothing. The
doctor (Bari Oliviet) said that Kelso may have some swelling in his leg,
but, that would likely be the only side effect.. and it should go away
on its own in a few days. He also told me yesterday that, typically,
Shepherds are not good candidates for this procedure - Kelso being an
exception. If you are interested, here is a website which has a couple
of short videos about a similar device. The one Kelso received
accomplishes the same result, with a slightly different design:

http://www.amplatzer.com/USProducts/PDADev...93/Default.aspx

I shot some video of Kelso yesterday morning and I plan to shoot some at
the hospital when we go to pick him up. I would like to get the doctor
and Heather (who did the intake) just to preserve the experience... It
is going to be pretty early, so, they may not be too interested in being
on camera. I will be glad to share a clip or frame grabs with you if you
like.

It is difficult to put a price tag on friends, family or pets... Having
had a long list of canine family members, that has become most evident.
I will be happy to send you a copy of the statement for Kelso's
procedure. It will be around $2000. If people who are involved with you
in rescue activities feel compelled to help with the cost, I would be
very grateful. Kelso has endeared himself to us over these five years
and the reaction of others to him is nothing short of amazing. People
gushing about how beautiful he is would be the norm, rather than the
exception. Thank goodness he only knows that they are being friendly or
he may have developed some ego problems... :-)

That is the story on this end. Thanks for the conversation earlier -
hope your cold gets better!

Allan

We rescued Kelso along with a female GSD in 2003.. We adopted him to
a wonderful adopter that loves him dearly.
We believe our dogs are our responsibilty for LIFE and we feel that
our adopters add to the circle of rescue and love. We are try
desperately to raise the funds so that such a hardship for Kelso
family. If we could afford to pay for the surgry we would but at
this time we are unable.. I know that times are hard.. but any
little bit will help reach our goal or if you could cross post to
your animal loving friends and supporters we would so appreciate it.


http://www.fundable.com/groupactions/group...0-01.4525468378
Here is his story of why we need help
In 2007, during a trip to an animal emergency clinic for an
intestinal problem, we learned that Kelso had a heart murmur. A few
weeks later we took him to our regular vet, who confirmed the
problem. He recommended that we consult with a cardiologist in order
to learn Kelso's the exact nature of Kelso's heart problem. During
our visit to Veterinary Cardiologists in Rochester, Michigan we
learned that Kelso had two congenital heart defects: PDA (Patent
ductus arteriosus) and Sub Aortic Stenosis. At the time, we decided
to take a wait-and-see approach as far as treatment was concerned,
since only one of the problems could be treated, agreeing to do a
follow-up exam in 12 months. The doctor encouraged us by saying tha
Kelso's heart had compensated quite well for the defects during the
first six years of his life.

This year, a follow up echocardiogram revealed that Kelso's condition
had worsened - specifically the Sub aortic Stenosis, which was likely
caused by stress from his other condition, PDA. In order to keep
Kelso symptom free and try to give him as close to a normal life span
as possible, we decided to move ahead with corrective surgery to
close the PDA. We made an appointment with cardiologists at the Small
Animal Clinic at MSU.

We learned during our visit that Kelso was possibly a good candidate
for a non-surgical procedure which involves the insertion of a duct
occluder, correcting his PDA condition and reducing some of the extra
load on his heart. The cost of both procedures is about the same,
approaching $2000.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart

Sherri
Orphan Animals
www.mirescue.com

Kelso Visit MSU

Hi Sherri,

Just thought I would give you a little update about Kelso's post MSU health. His stamina has improved dramatically and he is happy as a lark.

Over the Summer, I was considering adopting a dog, that I ran across on the Internet, named Quincy. He was rescued outside of Little Rock, Arkansas. A Do-It-Your-Selfer cut part of one of his ears off and a property owner was about to shoot him because he wouldn't leave his property. A sheriff's deputy picked him up and brought him back to the woman who answered the phone, who passed him on to her daughter, who is involved in rescuing animals. That was probably confusing enough, so, I won't continue the story. Anyway, I decided to adopt him and he arrived this past Saturday. Kelso has been pretty sullen when I leave for work, since his five year companion, our Brownie dog, dies last December. I just made this short little clip to show everyone how their first day went.
Click to view attachment

Here is an update on Kelso's status...

Since his procedure at MSU, his health has been excellent. We took him for a checkup at six months (March 2009) and his doctor, Bari Oliviet, said he was doing very well... the pressure readings they took during his exam had improved dramatically (more than he would have expected). He spoke of one in particular that spikes in dogs with similar problems... he said in dogs with acute arterial stenosis, this pressure approaches 100 - Kelso's reading is 20. In essence, Dr Oliviet said that no further treatment or follow-ups are required unless he has symptoms...

The end of October last year, we adopted a mixed breed dog, Quincy... I brought him up from Little Rock, AK. The way this happened is a fairly long story and perhaps I will share it later. The purpose was to help Quincy (who had been through a lot) and give Kelso the playmate he had missed since our old hound dog (Brownie) died December of 2007. Although they look like the odd couple, there was immediate chemistry, without conflict. Perhaps it was because of the difference in their sizes, but, there was none of the usual jousting to determine which was the leader....

Here are a couple of video clips.

http://vidcom.org/clips/Quincy-Kelso-10-25-08.wmv

http://vidcom.org/clips/Q&KMovie-S.wmv

The first one from the day Quincy and Kelso met. The second from a couple months later, with them playing in the snow. I will post some current images of them soon. Oh by the way, Quincy has gained weight, from 37 pounds to 45...

Adding Quincy also added regular play and exercise to Kelso's life. Since then his stamina has improved dramatically and his weight has come down to 91-93 lbs. So to say that Kelso is feeling and doing great would be an understatement!

8.29.2009 - PITBULL ATTACK

Late morning, I needed to mail a package. The post office is about two miles from our house. I decided to bring Kelso with me on the walk, mainly to see how he would do. The weather was fairly cool, but, the sun was bright. This would have been his longest walk since the days following his first MSU visit.

I could have chosen one of two logical routes. I took the long way and based on Kelso we would return the way we came or the shorter route. We dropped off the package, went into the building to check my PO box and were ready to return. Kelso looked great and in spite of him pulling me down the street for the first half mile or so, he looked fresh and ready to go. I decided we would return the same route as we came (about l/2 mile further)

We were almost back home, when from out of nowhere a pitbull came charging. I did not see him until he was 15 ft away. It is my experience in a situation like that, if we were to stop in our tracks, the charging animal would also stop. This was not the case here. The pitbull continued charging, I pulled Kelso behind me and turned my back on the charging dog. He ran around me and attacked Kelso. Kelso's chain became tangled around my legs and when I attempt to react I fell to the ground, letting go of Kelso's leash. Two children (who apparently had brought this animal out on their porch. unrestrained were screaming and crying but unable to call the dog off. A couple of passersby stopped their vehicles and came over. One was a delivery driver and he had a long, pointed stick. Neither of them were up for physically intervening (and I can't blame them). It seemed to me that Kelso was by far getting the worst of it and my attempts to pull the pitbull off were in vane.

At that point, my adrenalin took over. I reached into the mele and grabbed the pitbull around the neck (choke hold) and flipped the dog and I over so that I landed on top of him (with my full weight). I love dogs, but, in that moment I was not a humanitarian and my intention was the same as the pitbull who attacked Kelso - he was going to die.

After it was over, I had four puncture wounds in my left arm and Kelso had several of his own. He went to the 24 hour emergency and for cleaning of his wounds, antibiotics and some pain meds. I went to the hospital, where they cleaned my wounds and gave me some antibiotics, also. Afterward, it appeared that Kelso was actually better able to defend himself from the attack than I thought. He has a few shaved areas, but, he is really none the worse for where.

The police came last night, took my statement and left to pay a visit to the dog owners. The officer said she would call me and let me know what they learned and give me the police report number. She never called. I am OK - my left forearm does not look too inviting though.

I have heard: There are no bad dogs, only owners............ The Pitbull negates that statement in my mind. Sure, Pitbulls can be sweet, loving animals to people they know.... blah, blah. However, this aggresive behavior is part of the package - in the DNA! On the way to the post office, Kelso and I passed a young man walking his dog (another Pitbull)... I shortened Kelso's leash so he would be closer to my side. As we passed, the man said, "Oh, don't worry about him, he's friendly..."

In the area where we live, Pitbulls have become very popular. My observation is that many people get them to become badasses . The animals are not socialized and frankly, are unpredictable and dangerous. I am going to apply for a CCW and begin carrying when I go anywhere on foot or certainly, when I take either dog for a walk. This will allow me to stop any future incidents before they start.

I know that this post may be read by many who, like me, are animal lovers. After the incident, I have searched for instances where attacks like this occur with other breeds (like shepherds). The incidents with Pitbulls out number any other breeds - making them only a footnote to the carnage perpetrated by out of control Pitbulls.

End of the Pitbull Attack

In the near future, I will post and updated movie of Quincy and Kelso squirrel chasing and having a blast! Until then, I say so long on behalf of our two maniacs, Q & K!

Oh my gosh, that is so terrible, I am glad that you are okay and Kelso is also.

Doreen