 "Rudy" |
RUDY THE RED-NOSE WOOFER'S STORY Big paws up to Angie Janics (a volunteer for Berea Animal Rescue) who found this dog in need – you are truly a life saver. Thank you to the Cleveland Animal Protective League for keeping him warm and taking care of his initial medical needs (basic shots, exam, etc.). Rudy was found as a stray on 490 and East 55th during a blizzard with a chain around his neck dangling. There is no telling how long he had been out in the elements. Given his condition and how underweight he is it was probably months. Secondhand Mutts |
Rudy is now controlling the cats by chasing them around; a fun game for everyone! Rudy knows how to clear a room!! He thinks that everyone that comes into our house is there to see him – he never met a person or animal he didn’t like. He is a wonderful boy, and truly a blessing for Paul and me.
(Thursday, December 18, 2010)..........Rudy was placed in a wonderful foster home this past Saturday. Since then we have heard from the family, Lori and Paul, and we are delighted to share that he is doing quite well. The home is great because they don't have other dogs and Rudy will need a quiet place to stay when he starts his heartworm treatment. Rudy has met his cat brothers and sisters and we were told he was terrified the first day. Since then he's realized they are harmless and he's actually perked up and shown an interest in playing with the cats. Lori and Paul are working on house breaking Rudy and they've had a lot of success. They give him many outdoor potty breaks between the several small meals he eats throughout the day. He didn't eat so well the first two days but that is to be expected with the change of scenery. He's eating well now though -- and taking his medicine just fine. (Thursday, December 18, 2010)..........Rudy left today for his foster home. He is going to really enjoy living with Lori and Paul. They have a few cats and Paul stays home for work. We know how much Rudy loves men...this is the most perfect arrangment. (Thursday, December 16, 2010)..........Rudy had three visitors today. David stopped by to give Rudy a brand new soft bed for his foster home. He also dropped off some food and spent quality time with him. Rudy really loves men and we've noticed he perks up and wags his tail much faster for men. Kira and Trish stopped by with a plush toy toy and caught Rudy taking a nap. Just before they left he woke up looking for attention. They stayed for quite awhile keeping him company.
Rudy had his one week follow up appointment at Gateway Animal Clinic with Dr. Abby. She was so excited to see that he had improved a ton since his first apointment. His scab's are much better and his eyes have improved. We started his ear treatments and he's ready for a foster home. Next month he will go back to have his heart xray'd so we can determine how to proceed with his heartworm treatments. Watch the video of Dr. Abby on Facebook. (Wednesday, December 15, 2010)..........Rudy had five visitors today. Lindsay and her family stopped by with her kids and big bag of food, tons of toys, blankets, bowls and shampoo. Matt and Melissa saw his story on Facebook and drove from Vermillion to visit Rudy. They brought him a comforter to lay on, a bone for his foster home and some food. Matt gave him his mid-day hot compress. Janet, a volunteer at the Cleveland Animal Protective League, and one of Rudy's biggest fundraiser supporters took Rudy for a walk and gave him his lunch and medicine.
Dave and Lori, volunteers for Friends of the Cleveland Kennel, stopped by to drop off a gift for the staff of SHM's for all the hardwork we've done for Rudy. They also spent some quality time with Rudy before his dinner time. Thanks Dave and Lori! We plan to send Rudy to a foster home this weekend so visits will be limited. We will be sure to have his foster family keep us up to date. (Tuesday, December 14, 2010)..........Rudy had two visitors today. Kara, a volunteer for the Cleveland APL, stopped by to give Rudy some hot compress time and hand feed him. He ate his entire mid-day snack thanks to Kara. And then Angie -- the woman who saved him and has been declared the "I-490 Angel" -- stopped by. Without her and many other unknown good samaritans we don't know what would have happend to Rudy. They stopped traffic to assist him into Angie's car to safety. This was their first real reunion of sorts!
(Monday, December 13, 2010)..........Rudy had a good weekend. He was a bit stressed out on his first night with us but that is to be expected. He wasn't eating well but as of Sunday he's decided that the food is good. We purchased a bunch of cheeseburgers for him to eat his pills with but he apparently doesn't like those so the pills so we are resorting to putting them down his throat; but he doesn't mind. We have a strong suspicion that Rudy is deaf. He doesn't seem to respond to voice commands and when he's sleeping he doesn't wake up when we walk by him. That is probably because of his badly infected ears and we will know more this Friday when he returns to see Dr. Abby at Gateway Animal Clinc. Rudy had some visitors on Friday night who assisted us with giving him hot compresses and his medicine. Today, the angel that found him on I-490 stopped by to see him but he was in the middle of his spa treatment so she's stopping back later in the week. We will post pictures of them. Megan, one of The Mutt Hutt groomers, donated her time today to remove all the mats that were blocking his skin. She had to completely shave down his entire body and boy does he feel good. He is really skinny.
Rudy has been enjoying the visitors and hot compresses on his face. The scabs have soften up and some of them have fallen off. We have been overwhelmed with your support and calls and donations that are rolling in for his medial bills and care. We can't thank you all enough. Thanks to Autumn and Jessica at Fox 8 News Cleveland his story was heard locally and around the world. People are reading about Rudy as far as Greece! Here are a few links: LA Times If you Google "Rudy Dog Frozen Nose" you will see how far his story has made it. (Friday, December 10, 2010)..........Rudy just returned from seeing Dr. Abby at Gateway Animal Clinic. We’ve decided to name him “Rudy” for Rudloph given the time of year and his cheery red nose, is on his way to recovery. He is going to battle his health conditions for several months and we will keep you all updated via our website (http://www.SecondhandMutts.org) and via our Facebook page. Rudy is heartworm positive and most likely has an auto-immune disease. Dr. Abby thinks it is likely Lupus or Pemphigus. He is being treated with antibiotics, vitamins and a heartworm preventative immediately. Because he has multiple problems we are going to treat him slowly and tackle each problem one at a time. He has a very bad ear infection in both ears which we will treat in a few weeks but start with supplementing his food with plain yogurt. Over the next few weeks he will be taking the medicines and vitamins and Dr. Abbey will check on him in a week. She doesn’t want to start heartworm treatments for at least 3 months. The heartworm preventative (Heartguard) will help stop any babies from multiplying over that time. Rudy is very underweight despite his furry coat so we will be feeding him small meals throughout the day to fatten him up. For a dog with such a hard life behind him and a tough battle ahead of him he is just a joy. He had a smile on his face from the minute he was picked up and just wanted to give out kisses. He met a little boy at Gateway Animal Clinic and was smitten. His tail is constantly wagging and he was just introduced to our pack of daycare dogs and is doing well so far. To help clear up his facial scabs he will need hot compresses several times a day. Anyone is welcome to come to our facility during business hours and volunteer to spend one-on-one time with Rudy and give him the compresses and love. We plan to have him groomed by one of our groomers by next Monday. In a few months when Rudy is healthy enough to undergo the heartworm treatments we will be seeking a foster home for that time. He will need to stay in a calm, low-key environment while undergoing treatment. If your home sounds like a fit please contact me at president@secondhandmutts.org to fill out our foster home application. Because we are a cage-free environment with little daytime downtime, we are continuing to work with other rescue groups in the event that Rudy needs to be transferred for his own well-being. However, in the event of a transfer we are will pass on all donations for his care to his caregivers.
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