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Thread: Our rescued lab

  1. #1
    Puppy brittnicole's Avatar
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    Our rescued lab

    The last time I was on here nearly a year ago now I posted about my boyfriend's brother's neglected black lab, Mopar. They kept him primarily outside, he was overweight, dirty, and had a great deal of fur loss. We did end up stepping in and we removed him from their care. A couple days after observing him we noticed he was coughing and gagging quite often. I figured he had heartworms so we make a vet appointment were he was ultimately diagnosed with heartworms. They classified it as moderate to severe. They also did blood work and he was also diagnosed with thyroid disease.

    We opted for heartworm treatment, which was hard on our wallets but seeing Mopar today makes it completely worth it. 1000 dollars in vet bills later, he's almost like a new dog. We are still playing the waiting game with the thyroid disease. In a couple months we are having blood work done again and crossing our fingers his T4 levels are higher. The vet feels maybe with the heartworms gone and his weight loss will put less stress on his body and the thyroid will begin producing the hormones again on its own. If his T4 levels are still low he will need daily medication for the rest of his life.

    We have been bathing him regularly and all of his fur has grown back, besides the top of his tail which is from the thyroid disease. He's down from 110 lbs to 100 and with his increasing energy levels we are sure we can shed the rest of the excess weight in no time. He also at the beginning had some socialization problems. He was aggressive towards middle aged men. His first few vet appointments they needed to muzzle him because of how he acted toward the male vet and the male vet tech, however toward all of the women in the clinic he was friendly as can be. This behavior has ended and he is trusting towards everyone he meets and we haven't noticed any signs of mistrust or aggression in months now.

    The best part of watching his recovery however has been watching his personality come out. At the beginning he was very zombie-like. He showed no excitement or even happiness. He followed us around but he seemed genuinely miserable at all times. Now he is one of the funniest dogs I've ever had the pleasure to know. During his recovery after the heartworm treatment he had to stay confined to our bedroom and after we would feed him in the kitchen he knew it was time to go back to the room and would hide behind the counter and only his eyes were out staring at me thinking we couldn't see him. One day my boyfriend was giving him a treat and he tossed it to him and he caught the treat midair. We had no idea he could catch like that.

    We originally planned on placing him in the Lab rescue of Florida, but through the months we decided he has become such a huge part of our lives and we have decided to keep him. It has been such a rewarding experience bringing Mopar into our lives and watching him improve so drastically. After spending six years kept outside and mistreated, he will finally get to spend the second half of his life in a home where for the first time in his life he is loved and wanted.

    I wish so badly I had a before photo of Mopar for you all to really see the difference, but all I have are recent photos that I will attach.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails -imag2081-jpg   -img_191358671951857-jpg   -img_191349354117269-jpg   -20140520_202845-jpg   -20140520_202331-jpg  


  2. The Following 8 Users Say Thank You to brittnicole For This Useful Post:

    Annette47 (05-30-2014), Jeff (05-30-2014), KenZ71 (05-31-2014), labsnewfy (05-31-2014), MikeLynn (05-29-2014), Nancy0 (05-29-2014), Snowshoe (05-31-2014), Waylons_Mom (05-30-2014)

  3. #2
    Senior Dog Charlotte K.'s Avatar
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    Love the photos of the handsome Lab. He is lucky to get such good care, and you are lucky to have him, too!

  4. The Following User Says Thank You to Charlotte K. For This Useful Post:

    brittnicole (05-29-2014)

  5. #3
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    OMG, I'm in tears for what poor Mopar has had to go through and how spectacular he looks now. Thank you, thank you so much for helping him become the dog he was always meant to be.

    Know exactly what you are talking about. We "rescued" Archie from a questionable breeder. He had hook works, ticks, looked like he had never been properly groomed, and horrible teeth and he was only 5. It's taken almost a year, multiple vet visits, multiple dental surgeries, pocketbook $4000 lighter, but now he is a fantastic dog. I, too, thought of getting him medically stable and finding him a home familiar with GSDs. It did not take him long to take over our hearts. He had his little quirks which we have worked through. The latest is we just found out he is terrified of a fly swatter; his ears go down, tail tightly tucked, cringing and slinking away. It's obvious he was abused in some way. We are in the process of desensitizing. The biggest part is he trusts us, like Mopar has learned to do with you.

    He's stunning. Love the pictures.

    Here's Archie not long after he joined us.


  6. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to POPTOP For This Useful Post:

    brittnicole (05-29-2014), Charlotte K. (05-29-2014)

  7. #4
    Puppy brittnicole's Avatar
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    Omg Archie is beautiful as well! I'm so glad he has had his life turn around as well!

    It really bothers me that anyone could have the lack of heart it would take to mistreat animals in such ways. After discovering my animal-loving boyfriends own brother could treat an animal like that, it hurts to imagine how many dogs are going through the same thing somewhere. And to have learned what a wonderful dog is just waiting to be loved and can still love humans after being tortured for so long. It's honestly amazing to me how forgiving dogs really are.

  8. #5
    Senior Dog
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    You and Mopar are so lucky to have each other.....what a great job you did of bringing him around in every way. Handsome boy!

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to SunDance For This Useful Post:

    brittnicole (05-29-2014)

  10. #6
    Senior Dog Sandra's Avatar
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    This post brought me to tears. Thank you for rescuing Mopar. He's wonderful, and so are you!

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to Sandra For This Useful Post:

    brittnicole (05-29-2014)

  12. #7
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    Thank you for taking care of this handsome boy!!!

  13. #8
    Best Friend Retriever
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    Mopar is beautiful--thank you so much for rescueing him, and deciding that YOUR home would be his forever home!!!

    Same for beautiful Archie!

  14. #9
    House Broken AlbertaLab's Avatar
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    Amazing recovery for the boy! Mopar, you have hit the jackpot.
    Hidden Content Hidden Content

    Big Brother and Sister to:
    Leila Claire Hidden Content

  15. #10
    Best Friend Retriever LucyTudeOn4Feet's Avatar
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    What beautiful eyes he has! You are good hearted people, and it's clear to see that you will have many cherished years making him happy! What a lucky dog he is now.

 



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