Poor Edward

On Sunday one of Washington's newest NR foster dogs arrived on a plane from Texas. His name is Edward and he was seriously underweight, had kennel cough, and had a limp. He went to his new foster home with one of Washington's new foster parents and we discovered he wasn't eating or drinking much either.

Off to the vet Carol, Edward and I went this morning to have Dr. Joe take a look at him and see what might be the issue. When his leg was checked the "crunchy" noise let us know that x-rays were a must. It was discovered that little one year old Edward has a broken hip. Thankfully the pelvis and leg are fine but the ball part of the joint has broken off and he will need surgery to fix things up.

For now he received subcutaneous fluids to get him rehydrated and some pain meds. On top of that the doctor gave him a bag of food that Edward seemed interested in free of charge. After being dosed with the pain meds he's started eating and drinking broth so Carol and I are ecstatic! The little guy weighs 7 pounds and should be more like 10 or 11. It's a bit frightening to see a dog that thin.

Anyhow, right now the goal is to get a little weight on him and to get him well hydrated. Once he gets a little healthier he'll have the hip surgery. Everyone keep the sweet little dude in your thoughts - and keep his foster mom Carol in your thoughts as well. Nursing a dog with a broken hip is a bit of an overwhelming assignment for your first foster. In spite of the pain he is happy and friendly and hasn't been snappy at all. I can only imagine how incredible he'll be when he feels good.