Oscar Yellow Labrador Retriever Male 7 Months Old ID #2803

April 25, 2021

Oscar has been off all his meds for a week now and he is doing really well.  At his rehab appointment last week, one of the techs said she’d been out for three weeks and she was shocked – and thrilled – about the difference in Oscar since she last saw him!  We are so happy, but this is also bittersweet because it means it’s now time to make him available for adoption!  I’m working on his writ-up and hope to get him posted tomorrow.  In the meantime, Oscar wanted everyone to see how well he’s doing.

April 10, 2021

Beautiful little Oscar is now 7 months old – and not so little anymore!  He is growing bigger and more beautiful each day.

Oscar is doing really well.  He’s more mobile and seems to be feeling better.  He had rehab today.  For the first time since he started going to rehab in November, Oscar WALKED into the building!  Usually, they carry him in because he can’t or won’t walk that far.  But today the tech took his leash and he walked with her all the way up the path and into the building.  I was so happy and proud that I almost cried!  He’s making such good progress.  We are weaning Oscar off his medications.  We tried stopping the meds a few weeks ago but that is when he had a real setback.  The doctor thinks it might have too much for his body to stop all the meds at once.  So, he went back on the meds and we started weaning him off each medication, one at a time.  He is off the antibiotics and is not taking only Gabapentin which will be decreased to once a day for the next week and then stopped.  Assuming he continues to do well after he’s off all the meds, he will be ready to look for his forever home!

Oscar likes to chill in the garden.  He makes a very cute garden décor, doesn’t he?

Oscar had a very special visitor recently – his brother, Skylar!  Oscar was very happy to see his brother, but he wasn’t to sure about Skylar’s wheels.  I think he would have preferred it if Skylar and just flopped down beside him for a game of “bitey-face”.  But Skylar was more interested in zooming around the yard on his wheels.  Still, the boys had a nice visit and it was great to see them together again.

Oscar is still missing Cindy Lou.  He often whines during the day and I swear I hear him saying “I’m boooooooored!”  Floyd plays with him, but not as much as Cindy Lou did.  She was a good baby sitter!

Oscar is enjoying the warmer weather.  He likes to spend time outside.  Of course, outside is where his favorite toys are – sticks!  The boy loves his sticks.  But recently he has started to chase tennis balls, too!  He doesn’t run fast or far, but he gets excited and chases them.  This morning, he was trying to get two tennis balls in his mouth at once.  He came unbelievably close for such a little guy.  He’ll definitely be able to do it when he grows up!

After a day of chewing sticks, chasing tennis balls, and playing bitey-face, Oscar sleeps well – like a pup who doesn’t have a care in the world. 😊

March 20, 2021

Oscar is feeling better than he was a few weeks okay.  The results of his bloodwork were confirmed and there were a few numbers that were high, but nothing to be concerned about.  The doctor said as long as Oscar improves (which he has), there’s no need to repeat the bloodwork.  We got the results of his Neospora titer test last.  It dropped from 400 to 200 – which is really good news!  The doctor wants to start to wean Oscar off the antibiotics.  That will hopefully make him feel better, too, since being on antibiotics long term can make anyone feel yucky!

It’s a struggle for Oscar to walk so he needs some motivation to get moving.  One thing that motivates him is a stick!  Toss a stick and he will go after it.  😊 Not quickly.  But he will go after it!

Another thing that gets Oscar moving is his canine buddies.  Here he is playing with our neighbor, Buster.

Oscar was very excited to meet our current houseguest, Rubble!  We think he had flashbacks of Cindy Lou.  😊 Unfortunately, Rubble is young and active and not content to lie down and play with Oscar.  He wants to move.  And poor Oscar cries every time Rubble walks away from him.  We’ll have to schedule a play date with Cindy Lou!

Oscar enjoys being outside where there’s always a good stick to chew on.  We’re looking forward to springtime weather when we can all spend more time outside!

After a busy day of chasing sticks and playing with his buddies, Oscar sleeps like a pup who doesn’t have a care in the world!

March 8, 2021

Little Oscar had a rough few day last week.  He was very lethargic on Thursday.  It was difficult to get him to go outside.  He was not playing with the other dogs as much.  His eyes didn’t look bright and he looked like he felt miserable.  We were worried about him so we got approval to take him to the vet for a checkup.  The vet did bloodwork and said several numbers were low and others were high.  He wanted to send the blood out to a lab to have the numbers confirmed before we worry about any of them.  We should get those results today or tomorrow.  Oscar was still not feeling well on Friday.  I went out for an appointment Friday morning.  I got home around 9:30AM and opened Oscar’s crate.  He didn’t get up.  I tried several times to coax him out of his crate, but he just looked at me and put his head down again.  Talk about heartbreaking! ☹  I was finally able to coax Oscar out of his crate at 3:30PM.

On Saturday morning, I was very happy to be woken up by Oscar whimpering in his crate wanting to get up!  I opened the crate and he came right out.  By Saturday evening, he was back to his old self, joining the big kids in the kitchen for dinner.  What a beautiful sight!

And I’m happy to report he showed up for “work” today.  😊 I love when he keeps me company in the office.

Hopefully whatever was making our little boy feel so lousy is gone now.  The numbers that are “off” in his bloodwork may be related to his neosporosis and may not be anything “new”.  Fingers crossed!

February 22, 2021

Oscar says ‘Enough with the snow already!’  It’s a struggle for him to walk in the snow and it really tires him out.  He has taken to flopping down and refusing to move.  He and Skylar have that in common!

He’s had a bit of setback over the past week.  He’s not as active as he was.  We think he’s sore and/or tired from the extra work of walking in the snow.  It could also be because he’s missed several physical therapy sessions due to the weather.  I think many of us would agree with Oscar that spring can’t come soon enough!

Even when he’s not feeling his best, Oscar is always happy to play with Cindy Lou, Floyd, Kayla, or Murphy.  He loves all of them.  But Cindy Lou is still his favorite. ❤

Oscar is getting bigger every day!  He outgrew his puppy collar so Aunt Dee made him a “big boy” collar.  How cute is this?  I love that Dee made him a Peanuts collar because my nickname for him is “Peanut”.

One day I saw Oscar reach up onto the couch, grab the edge of a pillow in his mouth, and slowly pull the pillow onto the floor between the couch and the coffee table.  I assumed he was going to chew the pillow so I got up to take it from him.  But when I walked around the coffee table, I saw this.

Could this boy be any cuter??

February 7, 2021

Oscar has wheels! The rehab vet suggested we look into getting a wheelchair for Oscar to help with his exercise.  The wheelchair will support some of his weight so that he can walk longer and farther without getting fatigued.  It will help to increase his endurance and make his legs stronger.  We were able to get a wheelchair donated by Joey’s Paw, the same organization that donated Skylar’s wheelchair.  We got the frame and the back wheels first and decided to give it a try.  That didn’t go so well.  😉 Luckily, the front wheel attachments arrived a few days later.  Oscar does much better using a quad cart.  Here’s some video of Oscar’s wheel chair progress.

We had a consult with the orthopedic vet a few weeks ago.  He did not recommend doing a tendon release on Oscar’s leg.   So, we’re  continuing with the stretching to try to loosen things up.  Oscar started swimming at rehab and that seems to be helping.  He’s been more mobile since then.  The tech said Oscar enjoys swimming.   He loves to retrieve, too, which is very helpful when we want to get him in the house.  Like his brother, Skylar, he can be stubborn and sit his little butt down and refuse to move.  He’s getting too big to pick up and carry.  But if I toss a stick or a toy… or even a snowball, Oscar will run to get it.  So, I just keep throwing things towards the house and eventually get him to the steps!

Oscar had a titer done a few weeks ago.  It was his first so it gave us a baseline.  He will be tested again in a few weeks to see if there’s been a change.  Oscar is still on the antibiotics and will remain on them until after his next titer.  At that point the doctors will determine whether he should continue on them or not.

As far as normal puppy stuff goes, Oscar is doing really well.  He hasn’t had any accidents in the house for a long time.  He has run of the house with the other dogs when I am working.  He’s usually wherever Cindy Lou is.

But several times recently, I’ve found him curled up on a dog bed in the bedroom by himself.  I guess he needed a timeout!  He is pretty good about not chewing non-dog items, but fuzzy slippers and fleece blankets are hard for him to resist

January 6, 2021

We’ve been noticing for a few weeks that Oscar is frequently holding his R front paw up.  At therapy today, the Dr noticed that his biceps muscle is contracting (shortening) due to the neuro-muscular disorder.  She asked us to contact the Orthopedic Vet to check him out for a possible tendon release to enable him to straighten his leg to allow him to more easily bear weight.  She said this is one of the complications with this disease despite best efforts to maintain joint mobility. ☹  We’ll schedule to see the Orthopedic Vet for his recommendations of what and when Oscar should have tendon releases.  In the meantime, we will continue with his therapy and to do his stretches daily.

January 3, 2021

Happy New Year from Oscar!

Oscar thoroughly enjoyed his first Christmas.  He thought the presents and special treats were pretty cool.

He loves playing with his (and everyone else’s) toys.  But playing with his BFF, Cindy Lou, is still his favorite thing to do!

Oscar had a bit of a setback a few weeks ago.  It seemed to be more difficult for him to walk.  He would take 2 or 3 steps and then sit down.  Getting him outside to potty was a real effort and quite time consuming!  We talked to Dr. Carrie (the rehab vet) about it.  The rehab team noticed the same thing during his therapy sessions.  Dr. Carrie said Oscar may be having pain, especially in his front end since he’s carrying so much of weight there.  She started Oscar on Rimadyl for pain, but after a week, we saw no improvement.  Oscar also had little appetite which may have been related to the meds or to feeling lousy.  Last week, Dr. Carrie stopped the Rimadyl and started him on Gabapentin.  He’s been eating better and yesterday morning he walked through the office and kitchen without stopping.  We are hoping he’s back on track, but it’s a very slow process.  Dr. Carrie spoke with the neurologist at Hope.  He said these types of setbacks can occur and that the progress of these cases is highly variable- some dogs are able to come off of antibiotics and stay off, others need to stay on.  He recommended we check Oscar’s neospora titers and start tracking them every 4 weeks if he is still positive.  He said we can check titers while he is on the antibiotics.  Dr. Carrie took blood last week to check Oscar’s neospora titers.  Dr. Carrie told me she understands our concerns and said these cases can be very challenging and frustrating even when we do everything “right”.

As far as the normal puppy stuff, Oscar is doing very well.  He’s made lots of progress in housebreaking.  He’s not nearly as mouthy when we play with him.  He never makes a peep in his crate and sleeps through the night.  He doesn’t even wake me up early on weekends!

Since his mobility is limited, he can’t get into as much trouble as he might otherwise!  Honestly, I’d prefer to chase around a perfectly healthy puppy than to see him struggle.   But this means that he can hang out in the office with me while I’m working and – for the most part – doesn’t get into any mischief!  Sometimes Cindy Lou comes in to play with him.  Otherwise, he just plays with a toy for a bit and then takes a nap.  Pretty good life!

December 20, 2020

Oscar is doing well.  He grows bigger (and heavier!) every day.  He is now 28+ pounds now – which makes it a bit more difficult when he flops down outside and decides he doesn’t want to move.  He’d be happy to lay outside and chew on a stick all day.  He doesn’t seem to mind the snow – it’s fun to eat.  But he has a hard time walking in it.

He sure looks great in the snow, though!  ❤

Oscar is still going for physical therapy and everyone there adores him.  They say he’s making good progress.  He’s a little more than halfway through his 8 weeks of antibiotics.  He is starting to get the hang of housebreaking.  He went 2 full days without peeing in the house.  😊 It used to be he would whimper and stand up – but before we could jump out of the chair, he had peed.  He seemed to have very little control – possibly because of the general muscle weakness in his back end.  But over the past week, he seems to have a little more control.  Hopefully that will continue to improve.

Oscar’s favorite new toy is his grunting pig.  It’s pretty funny when he chews on the pig and moans along with it!

We call this his whoopie cushion pig because he often unintentionally sits on it or rolls over on it.  😉

Here he is with another favorite toy.  He really seems to have a thing for pigs!

But more than anything, Oscar loves to play with his bestie, Cindy Lou!  They are so good together and Cindy Lou does a great job entertaining him and tiring him out!

We’re thinking maybe we should make these two a package deal!  😉

November 27, 2020

We finally have a diagnosis for Oscar and his brother, Skylar.  The boys have Neosporosis which is caused by a parasite (Neospora caninum).  According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, “Neosporosis has been recognized in dogs, cattle, horses, and other animals, but the dog is the definitive host. (A definitive host is an animal that a parasite requires in order to mature normally.) Infection is uncommon but can be acquired by ingesting contaminated food and water, or ingesting infected tissues. It may also be transferred from a mother to a fetus still in the womb.”  We suspect that Oscar and Skylar got this from their mother.  The vet who got these puppies to Brookline reached out to the breeder to explain this to him and to ask that he not breed their mother again.  Fingers crossed that he follows that recommendation.

In young puppies, the infection typically causes paralysis of the legs, particularly the hind legs.  The paralysis can be progressive.  The outlook worsens in dogs that are not treated promptly.  The treatment for this is antibiotics.  Oscar and Skylar will be on two antibiotics for a minimum of 8 weeks.  As soon as Oscar started the meds, we saw the progression of the paralysis stop.  Since then, we’ve seen improvements as he gets stronger and is able to do more.  There is no way to know if the boys will make a full recovery or if they will have long term effects from this.  Time will tell.  For now, we will just do all we can do to help them get stronger.  And we will celebrate each victory… like this one!

Way to go, Oscar!  He sure gave us something to be thankful for yesterday.  ❤

November 22, 2020

Oscar had a busy day – his very first trip to Home Depot!  He was quite the star attraction.  He walked for a little bit – and, of course, peed in the store!  But he spent most of the time riding in the cart.  One guy saw him in the cart and asked what aisle we found him in.  😉

Later, he played in the leaves..

..Made a few new friends…

..and wrestled a polar bear!

No wonder he’s a sleepy puppy tonight.  😊

November 19, 2020

Oscar says “Look at me go!”

As you’ll see in the video, Oscar is definitely improving!  He’s still taking two antibiotics is going for therapy twice a week.  We work with him at home, too, and are encouraged by the progress he’s made.  Keep up the good work, Oscar!

November 18, 2020

Everyone at rehab just adores Oscar and I think the feeling is mutual.  He loves all the attention he gets.  Yesterday Oscar did the underwater treadmill.  The vet tech didn’t want Oscar to be cold when he brought him out to the car, so he had Oscar zipped up inside his jacket.  Oscar went from the tech’s jacket to a fuzzy blanket.  No, this pup isn’t spoiled at all!

Aside from his mobility issues, Oscar is a happy, playful, razor-teethed puppy!  He’s getting a little less mouthy, but that’s still a work in progress.  He’s making progress on housebreaking.  He went two days with no accidents in the house.  But then we had a few slip-ups yesterday and today.  He sleeps through the night, though, and has never had an accident in his crate.   He doesn’t even wake me up early in the morning.  He hangs out quietly in his crate until someone gets him out.  Such a good puppy!

The big dogs still avoid him for the most part.  They know about those puppy teeth.  Although yesterday Floyd stood beside Oscar wagging his tail as Oscar licked Floyd’s paws.  😊 Very sweet.

Please keep the positive energy and mojo coming for Oscar and his brother, Skylar.  They are both making progress, but still have a way to go!

November 10, 2020

Oscar had his first rehab appointment with Dr. Carrie Woodcock at West Chester Vet Med Center.  When I first contacted them to make an appointment, Dr. Woodcock was already familiar with Oscar and Skylar because the vet at Smoketown had share their videos with her.  Dr. Woodcock, in turn, shared the videos with two veterinary neurologists to get their thoughts.  The two neurologists agreed with Dr. Woodcock that Oscar’s and Skylar’s issue appear to be neurological.  Both neurologists mentioned Neosporosis as a possibility.  (Neosporosis is a neuromuscular disease caused by the parasite Neospora caninum, which is also found in farm animals such as cattle.)  Dr. Woodcock had also been thinking Neosporosis.  She has seen this disease in two other dogs.  One responded well to treatment (antibiotics).  The other still has neurological deficits from it.

Dr. Woodcock spent two hours today working with Oscar and doing research.  She agreed that he has declined since the original videos she saw.  She noticed that his front legs seem to be affected now – something we just started to see yesterday.  She felt that we should start Oscar on antibiotics in case he does have Neosporosis.  If that’s what is going on, it’s important to try to stop it from progressing before long-term damage is done.  Dr. Woodcock requested the records of the two dogs that she had seen with Neosporosis and is using that as a guide for treating Oscar.  She also asked me to check with Autumn to see what meds/dose Skylar is on.  She gave us Clindamycin for Oscar.  She thinks that one of the dogs she saw (the one who did better) was on another med in addition to Clindamycin.  She’s going to look into that tonight to find out what that med was so we can get Oscar on that, too.

Today Dr. Woodcock did micro-stim therapy, vibration therapy, massage, and range of motion.   She said Oscar does not have much muscle mass in his back legs or his triceps.  She also said he appears to be uncomfortable.  She thinks his muscles are sore from being so weak and having to work so hard to support him.  She said we should not push him too much at home.  He doesn’t feel up to exercising.  We can do very light massage and range of motion.

Our baby is pretty worn out tonight.  I guess we would be, too, after 2 hours of PT!

Please send positive energy Oscar’s and Skylar’s way.  These boys will need a lot of it to beat whatever this nasty issue is.  They deserve to feel better and live happy; puppy lives.

November 7, 2020

Oscar says thanks, Sam and Dave, for the awesome care package!  He was so excited checking out all his goodies!  His favorite things were the box, the paper, and the bag of treats!

But he enjoyed the toys, too.  Murphy was glad to see that Oscar got his own blanket.  I put Murphy’s blanket in Oscar’s pen this afternoon – and Oscar peed on it.  Oops!  Sorry Murph!

Last night we noticed that Oscar was having more trouble walking than he did previously.  His issues looked closer to what Skylar has been experiencing.  Today I talked to the rehab vet at West Chester Vet Med Center.  Oscar will be seeing her on Monday.  Dr. Woodcock had seen the videos that the vet at Smoketown took.  Dr. Woodcock thought the problem looked neurological.  She shared the videos with the neurologist at Hope and he agreed.  He also mentioned neospora, a parasite that can cause issues like these.  This is the same thing that Autumn had asked about early on.  Autumn took Skylar to the neurologist at VRC today and they discussed testing for neospora.  I’m sure Autumn will fill everyone in on the details.  But it looks like it’s probably not hip dysplasia that’s affecting the puppies.  Hopefully, the neurologist will figure out what it is as well as how to correct it.  Fingers, toes, and paws crossed!

In the meantime, we’ll do everything we can to keep Oscar happy and healthy – and we will continue to enjoy this bundle of cuteness.

November 3, 2020

Oscar went to see the Orthopedic Surgeon today with Skylar.  Dr F. doesn’t think that Oscar has any neurological issues but he probably has hip dysplasia most notable on his R leg.  Oscar has been improving with his walking so he recommended that we continue with walking, add some stretching and maybe swimming or underwater treadmill.  We need to follow-up in 4 weeks to see if he’s continuing to improve and if any other intervention is needed.

October 31, 2020

Meet Oscar!

Oscar is an 8 week old puppy who was surrendered, along with his brother Skylar, to a vet in Lancaster because he has hind end lameness.  Luckily, the vet’s office is very familiar with Brookline and contacted us right away.  The initial assessment was severe hip dysplasia, but x-rays did not show evidence of that.  It could be muscular or neurological or who knows what.  Autumn managed to get an appointment for the boys at VRC on Monday.  (Yay Autumn!)

Oscar has settled in well with the rest of the gang at Camp McGee.  He’s eating well – and happily!  He wags his tail the whole time he’s eating!  He slept well last

.  He woke me in the middle of the night and again early this morning to go out and go potty.  Not bad.

Oscar struggles to get around, but as you’ll see in the videos, his backend is not as bad as Skylar’s.  Oscar’s back legs seem to turn out to the side and go out from under him.  After he’s rested, he does better getting around.  The longer he’s up and about, the worse it seems to get.  Hoping that Dr. Franczuszki can give us some answers on Monday!