Gordo Black Labrador Retriever, 10 Years Old

July 30, 2018

Hi everyone,

It’s me, Gordo!  My foster parents said I should start a blog so people can learn more about me.

My previous owner went into a nursing home and his family couldn’t keep me so they dropped me off at a scary shelter.  Lucky for me, the wonderful folks at Brookline sprung me from the shelter and brought me into foster care.  I was pretty anxious and sick (bad ear infections and kennel cough) when I first came into foster care. My foster family understood I’d been through a lot and have been really patient with me and getting me the medical attention I needed.

I’ve been in my foster home for two months and am doing really well overall.  I currently live with my foster mom and dad, my foster brothers (one human and one dog) and two cats.  Here are some highlights on me: I’m approximately 10 years old and it doesn’t take much to make me happy.  I love people and want to be with them as much as possible. I also love squeaky toys and stuffies, chewing on bones, going for walks, laying outside in the grass, car rides, cats, kids and easy going dogs!

When I do become available, we think I would do best with an adoptive family where someone is around a lot and will spend lots of time with me as I do love my peeps.  Also, I get stressed with change so my adoptive family should know it will take me time to adjust and should be patient with me.

I do have some medical issues we’re working through before so I’ll let my foster mom tell you more about them. In the meantime, I’ll keep you updated on my progress!

From Gordo’s foster mom:

From a medical perspective, Gordo has been through a lot during his time with us. In addition to his severe ear infections and kennel cough, he saw a neurologist for possible neurological issues as we noticed him shaking his front paw, rear end weakness, and chattering of teeth. Since we don’t have a baseline for comparison, we’re keeping an eye on things for now to see if his condition worsens and have a follow up appointment with the neurologist to determine if further action needs to be taken. As of now, things have remained stable, so this is probably just who Gordo is, and not an underlying condition.

Last month, Gordo stopped eating and became lethargic so was hospitalized because he was in liver failure. After ruling everything out, it was determined that he had Rimadyl toxicity.  Gordo is one of a very small percentage of dogs that can’t take normal doses of Rimadyl without his liver getting toxic.  He is fine now, but can’t ever take Rimadyl again.  Gordo also drank a lot of water and had to go out every few hours.  Eventually he started having accidents in the house.  Testing was done and it has been determined that Gordo has Diabetes Insipidus. This is different from the kind of diabetes most people are familiar with; the kind that has to do with insulin and the regulation of blood sugar in the body.  Diabetes Insipidus has to do with the body’s ability to regulate the amount of water the kidneys keep in the body.  Thankfully, DI is treatable through pills and we are currently working to determine the correct dose for Gordo.

Gordo continues to need follow up on his infected ears, his liver and his DI.  Once we work through his medical issues, he’ll be available for adoption.  He’s a special boy who is a total love bug.  We’re enjoying having him with us and helping him on his journey to his forever home.