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Adopted

VA-Brody ADOPTED! Standard Poodle & Golden Retriever Mix Richmond, VA

  • Young
  • Male
  • Large
  • White / Cream

About

Coat length
Curly
House-trained
Yes
Health
Vaccinations up to date, spayed / neutered, special needs.
Good in a home with
Other dogs.
Prefers a home without
Children.

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Meet VA-Brody ADOPTED!

MEET BRODY! LOCATED IN RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
TYPE: Goldendoodle
SEX: Male
AGE: 2 Years
SIZE: Large
WEIGHT: Currently 58 lbs.
COLOR: Cream
COAT TYPE: Mixed Wool and Fleece non-shed coat
DOGS: Yes
CATS: Yes
ENERGY LEVEL: Very active, Playful, Energetic but settles beautifully.

READ MORE ABOUT BRODY

Mr. Brody, is a handsome, sweet, extremely loving and very special 2 year old, Goldendoodle boy. Young, vibrant, happy go lucky and in love with life and everyone he meets, Brody is a once in a lifetime, special needs angel with a heart of gold who deserves only the very BEST forever home and family. His foster mom raves he is “one of the sweetest, most loving, goofy and comical knuckleheads” she has “ever had the pleasure of fostering.” This delicious heartbreaker came to DRC through our dear friends and rescue colleagues at Animal Refuge of Portland in ME where he had been dumped by his original owner. His backstory is heartbreaking and could easily have ended in tragedy were it not for the efforts of the wonderful staff at the shelter, the amazing women of Road Trip Home and some very special DRC volunteers.

BRODY’S STORY

Purchased as an 8 week old puppy by a novice dog owner, numerous instances of vomiting and the puppy’s failure to gain weight resulted in a trip to the vet. Tests were run that revealed that poor Brody had been born with potential PRAA (Persistent Right Aortic Arch) a congenital anomaly of the blood vessels surrounding the heart that form a stricture or “vascular ring” around the base of the esophagus. The vascular ring in turn, prevents food and fluid from passing normally into the stomach to be digested and absorbed. If left undiagnosed, un-treated or mismanaged, dogs with PRAA fail to thrive and will quickly develop an elongated, enlarged esophagus aka “Megaesophagus.” Dogs with either or both of these disorders will regurgitate undigested food and water as it never makes it past the vascular ring and into the stomach. Many develop abnormally from lack of nutrition virtually starving and dehydrating slowly. Others develop aspiration pneumonia when regurgitated food and water ends up in the lungs. Unfortunately, due to the rampant exploitation and indiscriminate breeding of Goldendoodles, Labradoodles and other Poo-mixes in general, we are seeing more and more cases like Brody’s in the Doodle and rescue world every year. The good news is that Megaesophagus is a completely manageable condition. With proper care and management, dogs with this condition can live perfectly healthy, normal lives. We took Brody into the DRC Rescue Program after learning what a truly special boy he is and with the hope that his alleged PRAA and subsequent megaesophagus could be corrected surgically. We would have taken him regardless but were very happy when he turned out to be a “one in a million” special boy just as the shelter had reported. After settling in with his foster mom in VA, Brody visited with one of our vets. Further consultations with several other vet specialists confirmed our fears. Because of his age and the now elongated state of his esophagus, Brody is no longer a candidate for corrective surgery. We were of course, devastated to hear that. But we were even more devastated to learn via his original vet, that surgery had indeed been recommended while Brody was still young enough to receive it and that at that particular time in his development, his young age would have further ensured the potential for a successful outcome. Basically, had his owner proceeded with the recommended surgery at the appropriate time, Brody’s megaesophagus could have been completely averted. But his former owner chose to not spend the money on surgery and opted instead, to unsuccessfully “manage” Brody’s megaesophagus. By the time he was dumped at the shelter, he was 18 months old and more than 20 lbs. underweight due to neglect. We were told he had spent the majority of his young life in a crate and was not only nutritionally deprived, he was socially developmentally deprived and challenged as well. Thankfully, we now know according to his records and to his original vet, that Brody has NEVER ASPIRATED.

Brody is doing BEAUTIFULLY! His weight is now stable and his M.E is completely under control now due to several key factors that have decreased his regurge by 95 percent and increased his quality of life dramatically! First on Brody’s regimen list is sildenafil citrate also known as Viagra twice a day before meals. Before you laugh or check your web browser for errors, yes you are reading that correctly. Viagra. It has been proven a miracle drug for canine Mega E sufferers as it works to open up the esophageal stricture allowing food to move into the stomach more easily. It has improved Brody’s ability to eat more food at a sitting, to take his time and enjoy his meals and has vastly improved his overall quality of life. It is cheap, it is easily obtained, and Brody will go home with a month’s supply. Next, Brody now has a “Bailey Chair” of his very own and he has mastered it. This chair will accompany him to his new home and best we can tell, should not need any adjusting. He has successfully acclimated to sitting upright in it and staying put in it for up to half an hour after finishing his meals with some minor encouragement. Brody’s meals are a soft slurry of a combination of high end, protein and macronutrient rich, canned food, goats’ milk and water with moisture being an important key element as Brody does not and cannot drink water throughout the day like other dogs. As with food, he cannot drink without being upright in his chair. Therefore, the majority of his daily water intake and hydration comes at mealtime while in his chair and most of that comes from his slurry. His slurry is served in a special slow feed bowl which will also accompany him to his new home. These factors have made an easy feeding routine and schedule for Brody where he is happy, healthy and absolutely THRIVING.

As wonderful, amazing and special a boy Brody is, he is not without his little challenges. He can be a notorious counter surfer. Allegedly, while in his original home he was so starved, he developed this habit while seeking out anything he could possibly get into his mouth to ingest edible or otherwise. Of course, Brody had no special feeding chair while in his original home. He was in fact, purposely fed off the counter as a means to keep his body in an upright position so that gravity could naturally work to help push food down the esophagus, past the stricture of the vascular ring and into the stomach. Being that was the only way Brody was fed while he lived there, it’s no wonder he developed that habit. While it may have worked as a successful method to get food down into his stomach at the time, it did nothing to discourage bad manners. His foster mom reports:"Brody is getting better every day with his counter surfacing habit. He can be such a sneaky, stealth and relentless guy you automatically develop eyes in the back of your head when he’s around! It’s a miracle that he has never aspirated! He is getting so much better with it now that he has his Bailey Chair and I keep on top of him. But it’s training that will need to be reinforced in his new home."

Brody is ready for his “happily ever after” and his new forever home and family. This gorgeous sweet boy is literally bursting with life and love and gives so fully and freely in spite of being so deprived of a normal puppyhood and a basic quality of life for most of his formative first year and half on Earth. He simply requires that one special person or family willing to give a special needs angel that chance.
He will need a very special, patient, loving, dog/doodle savvy ADULT ONLY home where someone is around at least part of the day. Now generally socialized to other dogs, we have seen him occasionally be reactive around some male dogs. He will however, always acquiesce to a female dog and would do well in a home with at least one well-mannered resident female dog close to his age and size. Being an overgrown, developmentally stunted puppy, if left without human supervision, Brody seeks out the guidance and security of a female dog, or female pack. He seems to be a much calmer, more settled, happier and more content dog in a multi-dog environment with female dogs than as the only dog in the household, but requires so much personal, one on one time and attention, we feel he could also thrive as the only dog in the home provided his person is completely devoted to him and committed to his social nurturing and development. Brody will also need a large yard surrounded by a physical fence at least 5' in height. Special consideration will be given to applicants that have owned and/or have experience with MegaE and/or special needs dogs.

If you have a loving home to offer this doodle please complete our online application by copying and pasting the link below into your browser.

http://doodlerescue.org/page/adoption-application-2
Or visit us on the web at:
doodlerescue.org

You must be prepared for your dog to be an inside member of your family.
In most cases, a PHYSICAL FENCE IS REQUIRED in order to be considered for a DRC rescue doodle.

DRC Adoption donations typically range from: $300 - $1000 and vary according to the age, health, temperament and location of each dog. Every doodle is an individual and every doodle has his/her own specific needs and requirements. Adopters are selected based on compatibility, NOT on a "first come, first serve basis. At no time does DRC ever put the desires of applicants before or above the needs and requirements of rescue doodles in our program.

PLEASE READ OUR COMPLETE "DRC ADOPTION POLICIES & PROCEDURES" AT THE LINK BELOW.

http://doodlerescue.org/note/DRC_ADOPTION_POLICIES_AND_PROCEDURES

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  • Standard Poodle
  • Young
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