Casey #12 Yellow Labrador Retriever Mix 10 Years Old ID #3499

March 13, 2025

Casey is still doing well. He slept through the night, ate well, and continues to be a love bug. We walked a little longer on our walks today and sniffed all the smells. He is a curious guy.

I attached videos of him sitting and a shortened version of his tap dance – I had trouble getting a good video of the full performance. 😂 He gets so excited for food and walks!

He has an appointment with our local vet tomorrow, so we will update you again after his visit.

March 10, 2025

Casey was the perfect patient at his vet appointment today. FM was so pleased with the time and care the vet took in reviewing Casey’s history and current treatments and discussing the next steps. The vet was in agreement with everything being done for Casey’s skin. (Another big shout-out to Linda and Virginia for their wonderful care!) Casey will continue on his very smelly fish diet of dry and wet food. The vet would like to see him gain about 10 pounds. Casey will be finishing up his antifungal and prednisone this week. We will continue giving weekly medicated baths and using a mousse in between for flare-ups. If he gets itchy once he is off the prednisone, we will start him on Apoquel. The vet estimated 3-6 months for his hair to grow back but was pleased with the way his skin looks now.

Casey will continue on his 30-day antibiotic course for Lyme and skin. He will also continue his Enalapril for now (protein loss).  As recommended by the previous vet, another urine sample was collected and sent away for urinalysis looking at protein levels among other things.

The vet took ear swabs of both of Casey’s ears, and the results indicated that a change in medication would be more effective. Also, I will be treating both ears now instead of just the left.

In 3 months, the vet would like to recheck Casey’s thyroid levels. They were off on the senior blood panel he had while at BCK. He would also like to remove the large mass on Casey’s tail. That can wait a few months unless we notice it growing; then, he will remove it right away. The vet did not want to aspirate the mass for fear that any trauma to the skin could cause Casey to flare up again.

Lastly, the vet recommended some supplements to help with Casey’s mobility in addition to exercising him more and building muscle. I have him on Cosequin and Fish Oil that I had left from previous fosters, but I am going to switch him to the recommended supplements as soon as I can order them.

Casey is scheduled for a re-check in 4 weeks, and I am supposed to weigh him weekly to make sure he is gaining a little weight.

Aside from the vet visit, he had another great day. We walked 1/4 mile in the morning and afternoon today. Casey does pull on leash, so we will need to work on some manners. I don’t want to put a harness on him for fear it will irritate his belly. I tried taking treats with me, but he was too interested in sniffing. Does anyone have any suggestions? (other than the gentle leader, which I might try, but also worry about irritating his skin)

Casey seems to have found his voice! I attached a video of him trying to get Kota’s attention today. He was also barking through the fence, trying to get the neighbor’s attention. He is a social butterfly!

Thanks for all of the good wishes for Casey. FM feels optimistic after today’s vet visit. This guy deserves the best, and we will make sure he gets it!

March 8, 2025

We had the pleasure of welcoming KC (now Casey) into our home yesterday. This sweet boy has had a rough life and we are looking forward to giving him the love and care he deserves. Casey was living in a crate in a shed for the last year or so. He was banished from his house when his owner’s girlfriend moved in and was allergic to Casey. Animal control got involved and Casey was surrendered to a shelter. The shelter contacted Brookline and Casey was moved to BCK.

Linda and Virginia have done a wonderful job getting Casey started on his healing journey for the past 2-3 weeks. Casey’s biggest issues are his skin and ears. BCK was able to give him medicated baths every 3 days and start him on prednisone, antibiotics and ear meds. His skin is much improved, the redness and puffiness are gone, and his hair is already starting to grow back in places. However, he still has a long way to go as you can see from the pictures.

Casey is underweight, and his muscles have deteriorated. He is a little shaky on walks and even fell today. He seems to want to play with the resident dog, Kota, but doesn’t have much stamina. Foster Mom is recovering from foot surgery, so Casey and FM will rebuild our muscles together.

Casey has enjoyed meeting the resident dogs and was reported to do well with the dogs at BCK. He loves people and is FM’s shadow. He is a happy, friendly guy who craves human attention. Below, Casey helps FM write his first update.

Casey was exhausted from his move yesterday and crawled into the crate we have in the living room to rest.

Since he is not strong enough to go up our stairs to the second floor, Casey slept in the crate in our living room. He had a great first night and slept 10pm – 7am. He appears to be housetrained and has done a good job going potty outside.

Casey has a large mass on his tail and some rather large skin tags hanging off of his belly, which will need to be addressed as we get his skin and ears under control.

He gets very excited about meals and treats and does a little tap dance with his front paws, which is very cute. I will try to get a video to share tomorrow.

Stay tuned for more as we get to know Casey better.