BHRR's Veteran has settled in beautifully. HE has made not one peep other than a few groans to let us know that he had to go outside. He has not growled, barked or lunged at any of the dogs. He shall not be integrated for some time to be sure that he is not contagious in addition to how he is in a weakened state.

In the daylight, we shall get some good body shots of him yet wanted to clarify to those wondering, he is not a Harlequin yet a silver merle. This is often a colour that bybers promote as 'rare' and 'unique' yet it can come with its share of medical issues including deafness and skin problems.

He was fed a half ration for supper and had a good bowl full of water to drink. His crate is beside one other dog and across from BHRR's Riley.

We have begun a de-worming protocol with him and he shall receive his next Multi Advantage on Tuesday November 22nd and then another one on December 22nd.

His elbows are so red and hot and his coat is very dull and coarse. We shall begin putting raw eggs with shells plus plain yogurt into his meals.

BHRR's Veteran is VERY friendly. He is a bit unsure as to how other people are going to react to him yet my initial assessment is a good stable temperament. We shall see what happens when the honeymoon period ends.

For those looking for wish list items for BHRR's Veteran; here are things that he most needs right now:

1) Costco Dog beds or a Kuranda (XXL) bed  to call his own

2) He needs blankets for cushion. His hair is very thin and nonexistent in places plus he is almost literally a rack of skin/bones.

3) He needs a collar 26" and a leash

4) He will need a winter coat

5) He needs 24" Rawhide bones or Smoked Dino Bones or Smoked Knuckle bones

6) Monetary donations to do bloodwork including a heartworm test, to purchase flea/parasitic/hw preventative meds & food
*One can donate by PayPal or email transfer to gwen@birchhaven.org or by mailing a bank draft*

He needs about another 40 pounds of weight and muscle mass. The wasting in his hind end is really tragic. Not sure if he has spent quite a bit time tethered for this to be the cause of such wasting, that and the clear lack of proper nutrition.

It is really hard right now to pin down his age as life has treated him most unfairly. He seems like such a 'veteran' in many ways for sure….an 'old' soul yet I think at this time, around 15 months is a good guessestimate. We will see what he is like as he settles and rehabs.

His eyes…I know…back to eyes…BUT they almost haunt you with their sadness and pain revealed in those gorgeous eyes. 🙁

He needs a lot of TLC and patience, time and surprisingly enough, his leash manners are not that bad.

I was not exactly overjoyed to hear that people had him jumping up with his front legs on their shoulders for a number of reasons! 😉 This is not good on his rear end and that is a LOT of dog and he is going to be even more DOG once he is heatlhy and also finishes growing. We do not want Giant Dogs thinking they can jump up on people.

Below is a picture of him taken by his transporters. THANKS again to ARC for entrusting him to us; thanks to Jennifer and Brenda for the vote of confidence in us and thanks to Sherry & Charles for making the drive and meeting up with Sean so that he could bring back to BHRR.

Thanks to ARC for all that they do and for the crate they donated AND for being there for these animals in need. I am just so impressed by your efforts and honoured to be a part of your efforts!!

BHRR's Veteran – November 13th, 2011 -enroute to BHRR
*photo courtesy of C. Barr