In August of 2023, a posting came across my Facebook feed saying these two needed homes immediately. And they needed to go together.
The posting was from a local shelter that had several recent abandonment’s and they had to make some hard decisions.
These two had their adoptions fees waived.
While we were not really looking to add to our pack, these two were in need and Leia, being disabled, WAS the sort of dog we wanted to provide a home for.
Hondo was basically an enormous puppy. (Still Is)
They were both lacking in groceries. The shelter did their best to take note and let me know what they could about the dynamic duo, but their info was sketchy.
They thought they were laid back indoor dogs. However, once they started getting regular meals and space to run, they clearly were not laid back NOR indoor dogs.
We very quickly needed to build an outdoor kennel, get them shelter, and secure our fence.
Gotta say that the “secure our fence” is an ongoing project. Hondo could clear a dumptruck and Leia, dragging her disabled leg behind, can dig herself under practically anything.
It’s been a few months now and Leia, at least, seems a bit more agreeable to laying on a couch in the company of the others. Hondo would rather be sailing over dumptrucks or practicing his parkour. I wouldn’t be surprised if a genealogy test came back with a healthy percentage of Belgian Malinois.
They both have strong prey drives. It’s my opinion that they’ve been self-reliant for meals for quite some time. I don’t allow the dogs to chase critters or birds, except turkeys and only on my orders. So that’s a constant job of surveillance.
We did take both to the vet for a ‘getting to know you’ check-up, and see what we might be dealing with with Leia.
That leg was damaged when she was quite young and the top of the leg and last several vertebra are fused. She does feel pain there but is pretty stoic unless Hondo tackles her, which he does far too often.
We talked to the vet about all options and it was his advice to leave it and just try to relive pain.
Given her age and the fact that this issue is not temporary but will be with her the rest of her life, we wanted to find a more natural pain relief that would not destroy her liver and kidneys. Again, that’s an ongoing project.
Also, Leia does not have control of her bladder when asleep. So, we have the pee pads everywhere she lays. I do have diapers for her, but she is so often in and out that I can’t keep up and she will chew them up if I’m not supervising. But she’s a sweetheart.
Update 12/28/24. Hondo has taken possession of my brother. He now his has very own human. He is now sleeping in his cabin and Leia is sleeping in the house with the rest of the pack and me. We are still using the electronic color on Hondo as he spends the days outside and is still active. Leia spends most of her time on her throne. On sunny days, she goes out to the deck. But she is not nearly as active as she was even several months ago.
If you’d like to donate in support of these two furry monsters, every gift is greatly appreciated. (buy me a coffee… or a biscuit).
As you know, Leia had some sort of traumatic event when she was quite young. Our guess is that she was run over by a car and just left to ‘heal’ on her own. When she joined our family in the summer of 2023, several of her vertebra and right hip were fused.
Our goal, my brother and I, is to have a place where special needs dogs have a place to live out their lives. Lots of couches and dog beds. Old, disabled… other issues- as long as they are super friendly and safe.
When Leia first arrived, she was still running with speed and that leg would just flail out beside her like a club. She also used the leg, however, even though she didn’t have a lot of control over it. She was still ‘hunting’ with Hondo.
She has since slowed down greatly. She is also showing signs of mid to moderate discomfort. She will yelp with no visible physical movement. Basically there are some changes and something going on. She saw a great vet and we talked about options, and really it just comes down to trying to make her as comfortable as we can.
The Doc provided some prescription drugs for inflammation and pain relief which she was on for a couple weeks. I did not see a noticeable difference in her comfort level.
The vet suggested several natural forms of Glucosamine and Condroitan. (He had drugs too, but we were hoping to find sources that would not shorten her life and/or put so much stress on the kidneys.) We already had her and the others on ‘Golden Paste’, chicken feet and eggshell membranes. The Doc suggested some supplements that had green lipped mussels, which I had never heard of. So, I got some of that.
With all of that, we still have not seen much, if any, difference in her comfort. Moving around is painful and she just doesn’t do much of it.
There has been some sort of change and it appears it is not going to go back to the way it was. There are so many possible reasons for this change. One is that she has a nerve that is getting pinched and inflamed.
We discussed options such as amputation, but she does use that leg, and it seems the issue is likely in her spine, not the leg. So, this brings us back around to drugs. Our goal is to find some drugs that allow her as much comfort as possible. It’s ongoing process.
Hondo & Leia, pics in no order. :
