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Long Term Resident - Rosco

Rosco is a handsome 2 year old merle male who came into our rescue in February 2006. Shortly after he came into rescue I noticed that he would struggle and whimper when he walked down the stairs, tried to lay down or if he had to back up too quickly. We immediately had an appointment with Dr. Landry who, through x-rays, confirmed that he has severe spondylosis. This is a condition in which calcium builds up between the vertebrae in the spinal cord. Almost his whole entire spinal cord is affected by the spondylosis and there is one vertebra in his neck that is also affected. This was the most severe Dr. Landry had seen in his 6 years of practice. Rosco was immediately put on pain medication.

After we heard the results of his x-ray, I actually told Rosco (and to this day, I know he understood) that if he could not be adopted…he would always have a forever home with me as a long term foster. I loved this sweet boy far too much to let him go. It was obvious that Rosco could not be put up for adoption. We simply did not know how much longer he would have.

For the present, Rosco does not need his expensive medication (approx. $200/month) but we have it on hand when he needs it again. It is inevitable that he will need this medication again in the future. The most painful part of spondylosis is the growing of the calcium bridges, and he will grow more of them. For now, he is the big 155 pound puppy that he deserves to be. He runs, plays, and jumps like every puppy should. When he is not playing he is trying to squeeze into the smallest space on the couch to be close to me.

Although he is a permanent foster in my home, he is now part of our family. With two other dogs to play with, he is never without an adventure. I love him as my own and he even has his own giant-sized bed (although he often has to fight for it). There is not a person that comes in contact with him that does not fall head over heels for him. You can rest assured that anything you can give to help dogs like Rosco will give them the quality of life they deserve until their time comes.

08-21-2010 - Rosco still appears to be a strong healthy dog. About 4 years ago he was diagnosed with severe spondylosis. Ever since then we have gone on regular walks, fed him high quality food and given him glucosamine supplements. Over the years he has slowed down some as most dogs do but he still enjoys his regular walks and although his bones are getting a little creaky these days he still insists on stopping to smell the flowers (well...maybe just check his "pee"-mail :o) ). He is a strong boy and enjoys regular visits from my friends and family. He loves to play with tennis balls and will entertain himself for hours with one tennis ball. He never runs after the ball, just quietly lays on the floor and goes between chewing on the ball and pushing it around with his nose. He is a really fun dog and most days he just enjoys sunning himself on the deck.

What a great day to be out in my sun spot!

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