A tall Australian Shepherd mix, Ryan came into a shelter with a ghastly-looking left hind leg. All the skin was gone from midway in the long bone down to almost his toes – perhaps scraped or sliced off on a sharp object? We’ll never know, but it was ugly. Besides that obvious injury he had bladder stones – this poor dog was miserable. Our vets went to work and removed the stones; he needs prescription diet to prevent recurrence and will have regular monitoring lifetime, but that problem is behind him. Getting his leg to heal was a bigger challenge. When healthy skin started to cover the leg we really celebrated – and this coincided with the 2014 Super Bowl victory for his namesake, the Seahawks punter, and the rest of the team! We guess that the injury caused nerve ending damage to that area so Ryan wears a bandage or a boot full time to keep him from licking it raw again, but he is a happy guy who loves long walks and meeting folks. His ODH mom adores this big fluffy guy. And how could anyone resist those eyes?

Ryan’s body gave out, just after the Seahawks win on Sunday night football. He’d become a frail old man with too much pain, but still had that wonderful smile. He was loved by everyone who knew him and especially his two ODH families – he will be missed.

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