A volunteer from another breed rescue, out of our area, contacted us to see if we could bring a senior dog into our program.  Shanna saw Laddy in her local shelter and knew he needed help.  He was a scared brindle boy who was dropped off by his owner of eight years.  Laddy’s family was moving … but not with him.

 We were informed that the shelter had put him on their list of dogs to be killed.  He was scheduled to die within the week.  We were also told that the shelter would not neuter him because he was cryptorchid (one of his testicles was not descended).  We immediately made arrangements to bring him into NBR’s foster care program and scheduled his initial examination and neuter surgery (Thank you Shanna for making sure Laddy was saved).

 Due to Laddy’s age and undecided testicle, we paid for an extensive senior profile blood work prior to surgery.  We were concerned that Laddy’s retained testicle might have become malignant or that he may have been heartworm positive.  The odds of getting cancer increases the longer the testicle remains inside the body.  Also, since he was kept outside for most of his life, the possibility of heartworm was high.

 Thankfully there was no cancer present and most of his blood work was good.  The only minor concern was that his thyroid level was low.  The doctor felt his thyroid level may improve after he recovers so Laddy will be returning for a follow up blood test to see if he will need to be placed on medication.  He also tested positive for hookworms and was dewormed.

 This is Laddy’s foster mom’s report after he was first brought home from the shelter: