Yogi Bear – Rainbow Bridge

04/02/14 Update:  We lost Yogi this morning at 10:37 am.  I will provide details shortly.  He will be greatly missed.  I would like to thank Sarah White for pulling him for us, and Brittney Myers for fostering him.

04/01/14:  It is with great concern that I share Yogi’s current medical condition. All bloodwork and fecal testing was negative. His increased thirst and weight loss is our main concern. Dr. Oliver opted for an x-ray, and the x-ray revealed a large mass on his spleen.

It doesn’t take a degree to see that Yogi is declining, and that cancer is probably the reason. I will be meeting with the staff at Newman today, and again tomorrow to discuss our options with Yogi. While we weigh all of the options, know that his comfort and quality of life comes first.

I am thankful that Yogi was never adopted while in foster care with us. I would hate to put a family through this.

While at first, we thought his condition was due to allergies, and the change in diet and allergy medications did help, but they only helped ease the symptoms, not the root cause of his problems. I can only assume that Yogi has had this cancer for quite a while. If only dogs could talk.

02/14/14 Update:  Woo Hoo!  Yogi’s hair is growing back.  That means we did it right!  I don’t think it was allergies so much as it was poor care, lack of  nutrition and a lowered immune system after being on his own for so long.  Yogi is not a hyper dog, he is very much a couch potato.  He is also not “in your face” and needy.  When you want affection, he is happy to comply, but he is not what we call a velcro dog either.  Yogi has the perfect temperament, happy to be near you, and comply with your desires!

02/07/14 Update:  Clearly, what Claire Bear taught us helped Yogi immediately.  A combination of medications and his new food has cleared up his skin issues, and he’s ready for his forever home.  Yogi will be a loyal and noble companion… you can see it in his eyes, that he is starving for a true friend.

01/27/14 Update:  Yogi is responding well to treatment.  He will be ready for foster care any day now, and will be ready for adoption!

Yesterday, I asked Sarah White-Buxbaum to visit Halifax Humane Society, located at Daytona Beach for us.  There, she met Intake Manager, Michael Dombrowski and introduced The Dog Liberator as a potential rescue partner.  Mr. Dombrowski is a very proactive coordinator, is determined to increase the number of dogs saved, and decrease its euthanasia rate.

It was quite an experience for Sarah, with permission, she took many photographs, walked through the facility, and talked about a future relationship between Halifax and The Dog Liberator.  But the real purpose of her visit was to meet and evaluate one dog – his name was Dylan.

Sarah shares her experience with us in detail below, but first I want to introduce you this gorgeous boy who we have renamed Yogi Bear!

Deciding if we were going to pull this dog was not easy.  Judging from his shelter photo, it seemed like a no-brainer, he looks like a TDL dog, but looking closely we saw massive hair loss.  The shelter was kind enough to send us more photos, and we saw even more hair loss and severe redness.  Immediately we thought about Claire Bear.  But fixing his problems is a no-brainer to us!

Once he arrived, I got a closer look at him, and realized he might not be a border collie, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.  Then, it dawned on me… it’s BoBo, and he’s a collie/border collie.

You can see more photos of Yogi on Facebook.

Do I think it’s going to be hard to fix Yogi?  No!  I already bought him the right shampoo (he’s getting a bath today) and delivered Natural Balance Vegan food to our vet so he can start eating the right food right away.  Yogi will benefit from our experience with Claire Bear!

Written by Sarah White-Buxbaum:

01/23/14:  On the heels of our post, Casting the First Stone, I am excited to write about my shelter visit today! Today I ventured to Halifax Humane Society after receiving information about a border collie in the shelter. Upon arrival the staff pointed me in the correct direction to meet the Intake Manager/Foster & Transfer Coordinator, Michael. I must say I was impressed with how he worked and the changes he has made. He expressed a desire to work with rescues to save and transfer 1,000 dogs this year. It is exciting to hear the passion he has for helping dogs find their second chance and we are excited to continue working with Halifax Humane Society in the future.

After a brief chat I met Dylan (who we are calling Yogi Bear) and I admit, at first, I wasn’t impressed. He stood, gave a little woof from his kennel, and that was about it. We took him out to the play area which was complete with agility items. At first Yogi stood and soaked in the sun, sniffed around, and observed the world around him. After a few moments I called him his name and he trotted right over. After a scratch and a pet I saw him transform into a new dog.

Gone was the quiet and aloof dog from the run, now he had transformed into inquisitive, attentive, talker. We tried playing with a few toys (a ball, a stick, and a disk) which he watched me throw but he wasn’t too interested, he had other plans! He showed me how he could sit, and then showed me the gate “Let’s go! Let’s bust out of here!” I played dumb and he led me to the gate, put his nose through, pawed it, and sat down. I picked up the leash and he gave a happy woof!

I was able to see him interact with two of the other shelter dogs, one who was a little pushy/dominate and one who was more mild/friendly; he did well with both!

When it was time for paperwork we had to put him back in the kennel for a few minutes. As I loaded him in I promised him, “Don’t worry buddy, you’ll be out in a few minutes!” He looked at me as if to say “well, okay… if you promise” and then slowly trudged in.  As soon as the paperwork was done the staff brought him back out.

The moment he saw me again, his ears went up and he pranced over. I asked him if he wanted to come with me and he proceeded to have a full conversation with me, sat by the door, then nuzzled my hand and quietly woofed again, “Let’s go!” The shelter staff in the lobby celebrated his second chance and wished us well.

As we walked across the parking lot one of the staff asked “Hey are you busting him out?” I stated that I was and he gave a joyous “Yeah!” Yogi Bear couldn’t be happier as he stood by the bumper, prancing in place, waiting for me to hurry up and open the car! He loaded up with no trouble, settled right in, and traveled like a champ. He also walked fairly well on the leash.

Yogi Bear is currently receiving treatment for a skin condition which has left him with a few spots of thinning fur but he hasn’t let that phase him and hopes you won’t let it phase you either. We will continue to update you about Yogi Bear as we learn more.  ~ Sarah