Central Illinois German Shepherd Dog Rescue

Canine Hip Dysplasia is a condition caused by a congenital instability or loose fit of the hip joints. As the condition progresses, osteoarthritis or "degenerative joint disease" of the hips occurs, leading to intermittent lameness, stiffness and pain. Hip dysplasia has a hereditary basis which is why it is more prevalent in certain breeds. The inheritance is influenced by multiple genes interacting with environmental factors, such as rapid weight gain as a puppy.

The clinical signs of hip dysplasia are lameness, reluctance to rise or jump, shifting of weight to the front legs, loss of muscling over the rear limbs, and pain when the hips are manipulated. Not all dogs with hip dysplasia visible on x-rays show clinical signs. Dogs may show clinical signs at any age or stage of development of the disease. Many dogs are painful at 6 to 8 months but recover as they mature. Some dogs with very dramatic changes on x-rays do not show any lameness or pain until later in life. As the arthritis progresses over time, dogs may show clinical signs similar to people with arthritis such as lameness after unaccustomed exercise, stiffness after prolonged confinement, and worsening with cold weather. Sedentary behavior can exacerbate the condition by contributing to the further muscle atrophy and increasing weight. Mature dogs with hip dysplasia who are not showing clinical signs so not need surgical treatment.

Mature dogs with hip dysplasia who are not showing clinical signs so not need surgical treatment.

Recommended treatments for hip dysplasia vary with the age of the dog, condition of the hips, and severity of clinical signs. Treatment protocols involve surgical options, anti-inflammatory medications, weight-management, nutritional supplements, and physical therapy. Immature dogs (less than one year) with loose fitting hips, but no arthritic changes may be candidates for a Triple Pelvic Osteotomy or TPO. This procedure involves cutting the pelvic bone in three places and rotating it to stabilize the hip joint and in many cases prevents osteoarthritis. Immature dogs with osteoarthritis present have advanced disease and are treated medically as needed.

Mature dogs with hip dysplasia who are not showing clinical signs do not need surgical treatment. These dogs need to maintain an ideal body weight. The ribs should be easy to feel, and the dog should have an obvious waistline. In obese dogs, weight loss alone may alleviate clinical signs. Mature dogs with hip dysplasia may benefit from nutritional supplements for improving joint health. These products include glucosamine, condroitin, often along with magnesium and Vitamin C. Supplements available from veterinarians (such as Cosequin) are dosed and flavored for dogs. It is very important to encourage regular non-traumatic exercise to develop good muscle mass supporting the hips. Controlled leash walking and swimming are good choices.

Mature dogs with occasional lameness can be treated with anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin (preferably enteric-coated products such as Ascriptin) or prescription NSAIDS (such as Rimadyl). A veterinarian should be consulted regarding dosing, possible side effects, and any drug interactions. These should always be given on a full stomach and discontinued if there are any gastrointestinal problems (vomiting, diarrhea, or decreased appetite). After the lameness subsides, slowly increasing the exercise program should be attempted; if lameness recurs, exercise is decreased and the medications are administered again.

When medical therapy does not provide pain relief and reasonable function, the dog is a candidate for one of two surgical procedures to reconstruct the hip joint. The femoral head and neck osteotomy (FHO) involves removing the femoral portion of the hip joint. The joint heals with fibrous tissue and in many cases allows a more pain free existence. The total hip replacement involves replacing the hip joint with a metal and polyethylene prosthesis. This procedure results in the most normal limb function in large dogs. The procedure is expensive because of the implants and the technical requirements of the surgery. It also is subject to complications such as infection at the implant sight, and requires intense follow-up care.

Dr. Welle is a Veterinarian at All Creature's Animal Hospital in Urbana, Illinois. She is one of the wonderful doctors at this animal hospital that looks after our Shepherds. Please visit their new website at http://www.allcreaturesah.com.

Definition of Caretaker:
One who takes a dog home, from the Central Illinois German Shepherd Dog Rescue, and treats it as his or her own. A caretaker may take care of the dog until it is adopted or the until the caretaker feels that he or she can no longer care for the rescue dog.

Background on Jonah:
Jonah has been at the rescue since he was born. His mother, Morning Star, gave birth to Jonah and his siblings on Christmas in 1999. His mother appeared to be full German Shepherd Dog, but after the little black puppies were born, it was apparent that the father had been a black lab. Jonah's siblings and his mom all found homes. However, due to the fact that Jonah had always been the shy type, hanging out away from the group, he did not catch the attention of possible adopters. Fortunately, what made him undesirable to adopters as a puppy, makes him a great dog as an adult. He is a sweet, quiet boy that can entertain himself and enjoys just being with his people.

From the Caretaker:
Originally Jonah's caretaker took Jonah to keep his dog company. After having Jonah for only a week, he was amazed that Jonah was still unadopted after two years at the rescue.

Jonah's caretaker tells us, "If I were in the position to have more than one dog permanently, I would say that Jonah may very well be the dog I would be looking for. Jonah's personality is gentle, sweet, and he thinks he's a big lapdog. He loves going for walks and riding in the car. He also loves to chew on bones! Despite having lived at the rescue his whole life, he will give you notice that he needs to go outside. He loves running around playing, but spends equal time rolled up in a ball sleeping at your feet (or on the couch next to you, if you let him). He comes when you call him and will sit when you tell him to. What more could someone ask for?"

E-mail us at [email protected] and let us know when you would be able to volunteer your time. Feel free to e-mail us if you have any questions about volunteering. A few hours every week or even once a month can make all the difference in the world to one of our dogs.

Sabrina's Story

Sabrina was acquired by us in July 2001 when her "family" left her tied to the garage door of their old house when they moved out of town. She is a sweet 8-10 year old who needed immediate medical attention when she arrived at our rescue. She could not receive treatment without a sponsor's support and the estimated cost for her needed spay, lump removal, and histopath (to determine if the lump was a malignant or benign tumor) was $250. She did receive a couple generous donations so she was able to undergo her surgery.

Sabrina had her surgery on August 23, 2001. During surgery prep, some additional lumps were found and we decided to go ahead with a radical mastectomy and spay. Seven lumps were removed in addition to her hysterectomy. Unfortunately three of the masses were found to be cancerous, yet, even as time passed, no metastases were found. She was healing up well and was in very good spirits. We believed she must have felt better after having so much disease removed after years of medical neglect.

At this point, we were optimistic that she would heal up and have many years of healthy life left.

By the end of November, Sabrina had healed up marvelously from her major surgery. Her bloodwork showed that she was in beautiful health, her hips were great, and her heart and lungs are very clear. However, our good news stopped there.

After beating cancer, old age, and major surgery, Sabrina had developed a new disease: Spinal Stenosis. This degenerative disease continues to crush her spinal column and will eventually cause her to lose sensation in her rear legs and possibly lose control. This means, unfortunately, that she will only be with us for a short time.

We want to thank everyone who has been so very generous to Sabrina and her needs. We still welcome anyone who would like to help spoil her through treats, etc...

Sabrina sends her thanks and love to all those persons who have helped her so far. She will be living with us at the rescue for as long as she is comfortable and happy. Thank you for your generous gifts to Sabrina's surgeries and kind thoughts as she now completes her life in a loving environment that is as comfortable as we can make it for her.

Goals

Short term:
The wedding date draws nearer for the President and Vice-president of the rescue. This means a merging of homes. This also means that the rescue will be physically moving across town. Wish us luck (and we wouldn't mind a little elbow grease for the kennel modifications, cement work, privacy fencing, and, of course, moving the crates, food, dogs, etc.). Also, we welcome any foster homes you may offer from May 15 to May 27 (honeymoon time).

Other education projects include:
The Central Illinois German Shepherd Dog Rescue's Training Department (https://www.gsdhaven.org/training.html) is up and active with a list of obedience classes that are held at All Creatures Animal Hospital. Soon to be added is a class to train future Therapy Dogs. Please contact us at [email protected] or at (217) 337-5832 if you are interested in classes or Therapy Dog training sessions.

Long Term:
Oktoberfest is coming faster than we think. We hope this event will prove to be an exciting event as part of our annual picnic. We look forward to seeing you there. Dates and times will be announced in our next issue. You can bet, however, that it will take place in the month of October!

Accomplishments

In February 2002, Michael, along with Beatriz, his lovely wife, have helped continue our community outreach. We have begun nursing home visits with our dogs at Manor Care. This project was facilitated by Manor Care's resident physical therapist Mary Keenan. It has been greatly rewarding and we've made many new friends like Doris and Josh. We thank Mike and Beatriz, and Manor Care's Mary Keenan, for initiating this outreach. We hope to increase the magnitude of involvement as this wonderful project continues. To see more community outreach activities that we have participated in, see out Education page at https://www.gsdhaven.org/education.html.

Greatest Stories

Carmi was rescued by Setter Rescue shortly before her own family was going to shoot her. Her family was going to do this because they didn't want her anymore. A couple of our volunteers became obedience buddies with her (taking her to obedience class and training her). These volunteers even showed her to prospective adopters at Petsmart. After our volunteers asked if they could "puppysit" Carmi over a weekend, we knew what was coming. After rearranging their home furnishings for Carmi's optimum comfort, Carmi found her forever home with them.

Angel is a white Shepherd that was adopted by a wonderful couple! They fell in love with Polar (our large, male, white German Shepherd) at a display we had at Petsmart. However, when they came to the rescue for a visit to advance the adoption, they met our sweet, relaxed, Angel. They realized then that, though Polar was loving and huggable, his energy was bigger than their apartment home could handle. Angel is now a spoiled, loved little girl in her new home.

Rex was abandoned by his family. He is a large and beautiful boy that was admired by many at the rescue for his manners and cleanliness. He was adopted by a family with another dog to keep him company. His new dog-friend is quite a bit smaller than he is, but their temperaments are similar in that they are both happy-go-lucky and true charmers. Rex's new home is also a place where he will have children to play with. We were very happy about this because he was so good with the little ones that he met.

Pictures...pictures...pictures

If you have adopted from us, send us your pictures! We would like to post them on the Alumni page!

https://www.gsdhaven.org/alumni.html

Webside Chat
by the Central Illinois German Shepherd Dog Rescue's Webmaster

There have been numerous additions to the website in the past months. Most notably is the change in url from http://gsdrescueme.tripod.com to our current address of https://www.gsdhaven.org. We hope this investment in our own domain name will make it easier for you to reach our website, for you to remember our website, and for you to tell others the url to our website.

We have added a Training page (https://www.gsdhaven.org/training.html) that gives a listing and description of the training classes offered at All Creatures Animal Hospital. These classes are taught by our own rescue President, Elizabeth Leifer [Note: as of May 2002, Elizabeth Leifer is now Elizabeth Riddle]. You can sign up for these classes at All Creatures Animal Hospital at 2001 Linview St. in Urbana, IL. You may also phone All Creatures Animal Hospital at 217-328-4143 for information on classes. To find out more about All Creatures Animal Hospital, visit them on the web at http://www.allcreaturesah.com.

You can take a look at our Education page (https://www.gsdhaven.org/education.html) where you'll find a listing of educational events that the Central Illinois German Shepherd Rescue has been involved in lately. Check out our Events page (https://www.gsdhaven.org/events.html) to see what's happening in the future.

Suggestions?
If you have any suggestions about the website or its contents, contact the Webmaster.