Remembered

 

To all my friends at GRR,

 It is with a sadness to let everyone know that Thor crossed over the bridge on Tuesday, March 25th.  For those who did not know Thor he was an original Gold Ribbon Rescue puppy. When Maura went and collected the 100 adult goldens, Thor’s Mom gave birth to a litter that day. 

 Thor was adopted by a family and returned to GRR in August 2002.  He was my first foster dog. I remember being shocked when I went to Beth’s house to collect him. He was massive and had a chain prong collar tie-backed tight. We couldn’t slip it off and had to cut the tie back to get it off of him.  He was panting profusely. 

 I remember calling Beth the next day to ask, is it normal for dogs to pant for 24 hours straight. NO!

 We went to Century and then to Dr. Beardsley who basically said his larynx was paralyzed shut and he was trying to breathe through the space of a small tube.  Thor had surgery in mid August thanks to many donations.  Poor guy labored through the hot months of August, Sept & Oct. having to go potty by leash and then right back inside.  One of my girls reminded me that I always carried a dishcloth around to wipe his chin and face b/c he drooled excessively and would shake it!!  We made the decision to adopt and keep Thor in December. I just couldn’t bear to see him go. Would someone love him like I did?  Would they understand he would always have difficulty breathing? He could never get overheated.  He would regurgitate his water and food daily with loud gagging noises.  (It’s weird to write about this b/c it just became second nature to us)

Thor turned out to be my longest adoptive dog. 5 ½ years approximately. 

About 2 months ago I had to him Dr. Van Brunt b/c he refused to come inside and did not want to get up or take a treat.  We did lots of x-rays, a sonogram, blood work.  Nothing significant except some back pain.  But I knew he possible would not make it through the summer.

Over the past week before he died he was very lethargic. Spending lots of time alone and wanting to go outside and not come back in.  Tuesday morning he refused to come inside and eat or take any treats. He walked away when I was petting him. I called Century and made an apt for the next day. I wanted to have the evening to spoil him.  But Rachel called me when she got home from school and said Thor was just laying there and shaking.  I drove home, called Century and said I was on my way and Michelle helped me get Thor in the car.  Of course, he immediately sat up and I rolled the back window down. He drove the whole way with his head out the window sniffing every scent he could. A last rally.  He sat with his head in my lap for about 30 minutes and was snoring from the sedative when Dr. Van Brunt came in.  Unfortunately it took 2 shots to stop his heart.  She said his circulatory system was so bad the medicine was difficulty getting to his heart.

Thor was a sweetheart to the end.  Deeply devoted to us, he patrolled the fence line religiously.  He did not like male foster dogs and had many scuffles to prove he was still in charge.  He was a scoundrel who always took the pool towels and flip flops of visitors and dragging them to his secret hiding place by the air conditioner.  There were a few kids who did not want them back after his drool and teeth marks were in place.  He was extremely thunderstorm phobic and spent many a night in the bathtub panting.

We know Thor is in a wonderful place, free to run off the leash, breath easy and eat whatever he wants without worry.

He will always have a special place in our hearts.

 

Thor...

Thor and all of us here at GRR thank you for your generosity and support.  Because of you, Thor  has  receive d  his operation  and he is feeling better than ever.  For all of you who have become fans of Thor you will be happy to know his foster family has adopted him.  Thor won their hearts and they could not imagine life without him.

Greetings Everybody!

My name is Thor and I am named after the Greek God.  I do try to live up to my name as much as possible.   I am 4½ years old and have been told I am a blond beauty.   I have this great foster family I am staying with until I can have surgery to fix my breathing problem.  I sound like a broken muffler or a train when I breathe.  I can tell ya I’ll sure be glad when it’s all fixed and I can get down to some major squirrel patrolling.  I have been having a great few weeks here in foster care.  The food is good, although my foster Mom has been kinda lean on my meals.  What's with this “Diet” thing anyway?  Man, I love to eat.  I bet I am the fastest eater this side of the Brazos.  I can clear my bowl in 30 seconds flat.  Mom has been trying to slow me down by putting my food on a cookie sheet but I still can finish lickety split. 

I love a good treat too.  I can hear the refrigerator door from the other room and the smell of cheese can wake me from a sound sleep.  I get half a pill a day and Mom puts it in a little cheese then adds it to a treat.  I almost bit her hand off the first few times I was so excited.  Now, she makes me sit patiently and tells me "easy".  OK, so I’ve learned to go easy on the grab.  Don't want to make her mad, after all she feeds me this great stuff.

Boy, do they have squirrels on this property.   They twitch their little tails right in my face!  My foster brother, Rusty, and I go nuts.  We go from window to window watching and whining until somebody opens the door.  I am always the first one out and almost caught one of those rascals the other day.  I was so high I could almost see over the fence.  That's me looking through the fence to see if I can see where he went.  Oh, it hurt to miss him... of course I haven’t quite figured out yet what I will do with one if I do actually catch it. 

I should tell you I sort of have a thing for socks.  Just can't keep my paws off of them.  I love to pick up three or four at a time and pile them in the dining room.  Not sure why, it’s just my quirky habit.  That and stuffed animals - have you ever gotten hold of a fresh stuffed animal?  You know the kind that are smooth and have never been in a dog’s mouth before.  Ooohhh, you just slobber all over them and then they are yours forever.  No kid will want them back but you should hear those girls squeal, "TTHHOORRRRR" when I snatch one.  I just run with it and toss it in the air grinning with glee.  They always forgive me and give them to me to keep.  I have three or four good ones here now - man life is good.

Speaking of good, I love to be with those girls.  The older one always sits on the floor and I go up and push my big head under her arm and just stand there.  She always gives me a good ear scratching.  This is for all you new pups who try to get attention:  It takes persistence.  Just keep your head down and elbow it under their arm ever so gently and then stay there patiently.  They are bound to start petting and scratching eventually.  It feels SO good that sometimes I moan so loud they can't hear the TV over me. 

I sound too good to be true right?  Well I have a few bad habits, but who doesn't.  In addition to the sock & stuffed animal fondness, I'll admit I am not that good on a leash. I pull hard but what's a big fella to do with all of those smells around?   I gotta go check them out!!!  I also like to stick my big nose up to see what's cooking for meals.  Hey, I've never actually grabbed anything but, Mom doesn't like me doing that and makes me sit at the end of the kitchen.  Jeez, she can be tough sometimes.  Can I help that her cooking smells so good?

Well, now you have heard all about me.  I hope to hear from a few of you also.  I want to say a big personal thanks to all of you who help pay for my surgery.  Don't worry about me, I'm going to be fine.  Just a few days out of pocket and then I'll be chasing those squirrels down faster than before.    Maybe I can get some ice cream for my sore throat if I play my cards right…

Thor was born as part of the Operation Tie A Gold Ribbon puppy mill shutdown of 1998.  A total of 97 dogs were rescued when this puppy farm was closed.  Thor was born in care shortly after his mother was rescued.   He was placed with a family as a young pup and when they moved to a new home they could not keep Thor.  They called GRR (which was formed after and as a result of the puppy mill rescue) to care for him.

When Thor arrived, we found him to be a big handsome blond fellow that loves children, other dogs and soaking up attention from his foster family.    We also noticed he had loud and unusual breathing.  He seemed to tire easily, pant a lot and drool profusely – none of which affect his happy disposition and love for life.   Initially we felt this was due to the stress of leaving his family and the hot weather.  When it persisted, we took him for a vet check up.   The vet suspected a throat problem and sent him to a specialist.

Thor was diagnosed with laryngeal paralysis.  In short, Thor’s vocal cords do not open and close properly and are paralyzed in the closed position, leaving only a small area for air to pass in and out of his lungs.  This creates respiratory difficulty for him as well as the noisy respiration, panting and stress (all of which are the results of his labored attempts to breathe).  This boy literally can’t take a good & normal breath of air – imagine living life trying to breathe through a straw!   Fortunately, there is a surgical cure for this but it is expensive.  They stitch one side of his vocal cords into the open position creating an open airway for him to breathe through normally once again. 

 

Thor received this operation due to the help of our Extra-Ordinary Golden Fund.  Please help this fund if you can so we can save the next dog that may need extra attention and money.

Over 475 dogs have entered our program in the last 4 years!

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