Sophie

At the tender age of two, Sophie has already qualified as an Olympic-class hurdler… well,  metaphorically speaking, when you consider all the obstacles she has already overcome. Now we’d like to see her jumping those hurdles literally—though we would certainly settle for mere race-walking! Before she can use all four legs easily, though, Sophie is going to need help.

Sophie arrived in GRR care on March 1, along with three other shelter Goldens—Gabriel, Hemi, and Cora.  They’d likely been used for breeding, and they hadn’t had the best of care—all four had heartworms. But while her friends were healthy enough to start HW treatment quickly (in fact, all three are now finished with their injections), Sophie had to wait. She was terribly undernourished & weak. “She needs to gain AT LEAST ten pounds  before we start,” said the vet. She was very scared, timid, and confused, too, but her loving nature soon won through, and she began settling into her new life as an indoor dog.

It wasn’t long, though, before another health problem showed up… a persistent limp on one front leg that eventually became severe enough to keep Sophie from using the leg at all. She opted just to trot along on three paws when she needed to motor! It was back to the clinic for Miss Sophie. The diagnosis: a dislocated shoulder that’s basically popping in and out all the time.  It’s probably an old injury that went untreated; based on the condition of the shoulder and the amount of muscle atrophy, the trauma occurred at least 6 months ago. The vet proposes surgery to tighten the joint  capsule and alleviate Sophie’s pain.  Post-op, Sophie must wear a special splint for 3 weeks to hold her shoulder absolutely straight; she’ll then have to wear hobbles for 4 weeks, to keep her from extending her shoulder too far as she heals. That’s a pretty lengthy and demanding rehab for both dog and foster family—but “the only other option is amputation,” says the vet. Sophie really is in a lot of pain and cannot use her leg with things as they are.

The good news is that, personality wise, Sophie has really blossomed in the past couple of months! Just listen to her foster mom: “Sophie is a precious little girl. She is absolutely everything a dog lover wants in a Golden. She is mellow and loving, and just wants to be with us every waking minute. She is so smart and so very willing to please. Since she first came into our home she has just oozed sweetness. She is every bit a lady. She has gained those 10 pounds since arriving here in March, undernourished and very scared. Her vet says she is a HAPPY DOG now. That is music to our ears! Sophie is going to make the GREATEST companion for her Forever Family, when that time comes. We know she is going to be a PRIZE GRR Adoptee!!”

Unfortunately, Sophie’s  foster family has travel plans they cannot change, so in addition to gathering funds for Sophie’s surgery, we’re hunting hard for a rehab family for this special girl. Her foster mom puts it perfectly: “We  need to find another loving, caring home for her, where she can continue to blossom and can receive the love and care she SO deserves as she faces the next hurdles in becoming the healthy dog we know she can be.  We are so proud to have been able to have had the experience of helping her to this point.  Right now, we are just praying for the perfect Foster Family to come forward and accept the TOTAL BLESSING of having her with them while she endures the next weeks of her quest for the BEST LIFE EVER!”

Sophie has already had her first heartworm shot, and the plan is to do the second injection and the surgery at the same time.

Can you help Sophie? The heartworm treatment will be about $500 total; the surgery, around $1,350. Please donate to our Extraordinary Golden Fund. You can make a general contribution or ask that your dollars go to caring for Sophie in particular. Any amount will help. And if you are interested in providing a loving home for her while she recovers, please fill out an application and let us know.

Thank you from all of us at GRR!

Adoption Procedures