Remi

Little Remi was surrendered to a local shelter when his owners had to move out of the country suddenly.  Fortunately, the shelter had a foster home for him while ODH looked for a suitable permanent home.  Remi, weighing under 7 pounds, was underweight and had severe mobility issues with his back legs.  He was also intact.   Other than what we could see, we don’t know his history or how he became ‘differently abled’.

When I saw Remi on the ODH website, he really called to me, and fortunately, I was chosen to be his permanent foster home.  He joined two other Chihuahua mixes (Remi is likely a Chiweenie) so we now have a pack of three!  When I first walked Remi in my back yard, I discovered that when he goes to the bathroom, he does a hand-stand (since his back legs won’t support him).  Very athletic indeed.  He had a vet exam the day after he arrived and they found he has some feeling in his left hind foot, but none in the right – so he spins to the left when unsure of his footing, so he doesn’t fall over.  Other than his mobility issues, and lots of teeth needing extraction (and being intact), his exam didn’t show any major concerns.  We proceeded with the neuter and planned to schedule a dental after he had more time to settle in.  Unfortunately, it took him several hours after the anesthesia before his back end worked at all, and he was dragging both hind legs.  We were worried that even the limited function he had would not recover, however, he is a determined little fellow and after a day, was again able to somewhat use his back legs.  He really doesn’t let his lack of mobility hold him back and finds a way to do whatever he wants!

Now that he’s been with us for two weeks, he is able to run down the hallway (running is easier as he gets momentum going and it doesn’t require as much from his hind end), go down and up two stairs and even use the small stairs to get up on the bed by himself!  He first lifts his hind end up to the next step and then can use his front legs to get to the next stair.  He is one very determined little fellow with the loudest bark of the pack.  Although he was pretty nervous when he first arrived, he is now getting used to his new home and more able to relax – and LOVES to sleep on his back right next to you.  He has been cranky at times with one of his brothers, but that has been settling down with time (for the hormones to decrease).

At this point he has gained weight and getting a bit stronger.  We will wait and decide about the dental depending on if his mobility improves as we don’t want to make that any worse.  He loves browsing outside with his brothers and is more than wiling to share his BARK if anyone else finds something to bark at (squirrel, bird, strange noise, delivery…).

I am very grateful to Old Dog Haven for letting me share my home with Remi and for making sure that all the ODH pups get the very best veterinary care so they can truly live their best last chapter.

Remi is sponsored by: