KONG

Kong 10/25/07

(Shelter Photo of Kong before arrival at CODA)
( Purebred Male Boxer)

Kong was rescued from the Auglaize County Dog Pound in Wapakoneta, OH
We were contacted by a wonderful volunteer who was working hard to help the dogs at this shelter
This volunteer made us aware of Kong's plight
Kong supposedly had a broken femur on his rear leg per the information given by the shelter staff
Kong had been picked up as a stray on 8.20.07 and had been sitting at the dog pound until we rescued him
on October 22.07 with absolutely no treatment for his injured leg
The shelter supposedly had Kong's leg xray'd by a local vet who determined his femur was broken

We agreed to rescue Kong

The shelter staff was kind enough to transport Kong to Columbus Ohio to a boaring kennel the Volunteer
had arranged to board the other dogs she helped save from this dog pound
The volunteer paid transport fee's to the shelter to get the dogs safely to the boarding kennel
The volunteer also paid for Kongs $90 shelter adoption fee so that Kong could make it out of the shelter and safely to CODA
Special thanks to Ron Huntley for driving down on short notice to meet Kong's transport and drive Kong back to
Cleveland Ohio to our main facility so he could receive immediate veterinary care


Kong arrived horribly filthy dirty, flea infested, ear mites and has a pretty good case of demodex mange on the top of his head
Kong's leg had no open wounds but it was apparent he was unable to use his leg or put any weight on it or bend it at all
Every rib on Kong is totally visible.He is so underweight the word emaciated would describe his condition
Kong also has a mild case of upper respitory infection.

Kong was very happy to be out of the shelter and gave us lots of kisses and wagged his little stub tail like crazy upon arrival
Kong spent some time checking out the new dog park we're building for the special needs dogs and stretching out after the
long ride to get to CODA
Kong then settled in for his first night here and ate a nice sized bowl of good nutritional food

Very early the next morning Kong was on his way to our Vet's office for a full exam
Kong stayed at the vets all day and was anethesized so Dr. Brian could xray his injured leg and hip area
Kong also received a much needed thorough bath while under anethesia and was treated with capstar to kill the fleas on him
Kong's ears were cleaned and his nails trimmed and his teeth cleaned up a bit while he was under anethesia
Kong is approximately 2 years old and his teeth are in nice condition with no major dental decay or dental problems

We were very surprised to learn when we went in to pick Kong up later in the evening that Kong did not just suffer from a broken femur
Dr. Brian pulled out the xrays and showed our Director the xrays
Kong's femur had been blown to pieces by a GUNSHOT most likely from a shotgun based on the large
amount of gunshot fragments embedded in his femur bone and muscles/tendons surrounding his femur bone
Kong's femur was completely severed by the gunshot and his muscles have healed around the wound although somewhat elongated
which is why he cannot bend his leg at all

Dr. Brian suggested we have Dr. Vogt examine Kong's xrays to see if he is a good candidate to have a plate implanted
in that leg to help stabilize the leg
Dr. Brian did let us know that the operation may not be a possibility due to the many gunshot fragments still in Kongs leg and bone
Dr. Brian confirmed it was indeed demodex mange on Kong's head
Kong will not be a candidate for his neuter surgery until he has gained weight and has time to heal from his various ailments
Total cost of Kong's Vet care today was $213.00

 

Kong is on antibiotics for the next two weeks to help with his severe flea dermatitis and to help in curing his demodex mange
Kong is eating very well for us and is very happy to be receiving good food, love and kindness in addition to proper exercise
and attention to his needs
Dr. Brian also stated there is absolutely no way any Vet xray'd Kong's leg while at the shelter and diagnosed him with a broken femur
Dr. Brian said there is no competent vet who would not have immediately realized Kong has been shot in the leg if xray's had
ever been done as this shelter as indicated on Kong's release paperwork.

Kong will be working on healing his demodex mange and gaining some weight for the next few weeks.

We will have Dr. Vogt examine Kong's xray's to determine if anything can be done to improve his leg through surgery
Dr. Brian did state there is absolutely no reason to amputate Kong's leg if he isn't a candidate plate implant surgery because
the blood flow is good in that leg and Kong has learned to compensate for the injury and uses that leg to help balance himself
even though he can't put his weight on that leg very much.

 

Kong is housebroken and crates well and is very friendly, lovable and sweet!
A typical goofy, happy boxer boy in personality
We've determined that Kong is not deaf as originally suspected based on his lack of pigmentation and coloring
Kong appears to hear JUST FINE:)

UPDATE 10/25/07
A GOOD VIEW OF KONG'S DEMODEX MANGE
( It's improved already in a just a few days)

The demodex is isolated on his head/face only so we expect to have the demodex healed soon
The demodex was most likely due to the stress of being injured and in a shelter environment and lack of proper nutrition to support
Kong's immune system.
Kong is feeling MUCH better already and was acting very silly enjoying some playtime in the new
CODA DOG PARK

Kong is so anxious to play with the silly puppies Sara Bella, Wizzard and Kashi
but we're still keeping him quarantined right now since he just came in from a shelter environment
So Kong decided to get a little silly all by himself today when he found a rope toy to play with!

Kong watched the feral kittens feeding with their mom and listened well when told
" Stay, don't bother the baby kittens"
Although the playing kittens did peek his interest:)
Kong has been eating well and is starting to fill out a bit already

Who could resist this face?

UPDATE 11/7/07
After reviewing Kongs xrays of his injured leg and hips
Dr Vogt feels that he may be able to do something to help repair Kong's damaged leg.
Dr. Vogt would like to examine Kong in person so we scheduled the first available appointment
for 9 A.M. 11/20/07
Kong continues to do great , putting on weight nicely and his demodex is barely visible at this point in time
Kong will have his follow up visit with Dr. Brian tomorrow to see if he's gained enough weight
to neuter Kong , and to check on the progress of healing his demodex mange

UPDATE 11/10/07
Kong was neutered on November 9th 2007
He is doing well post surgery
Dr. Brian was concerned about an abnormality with Kongs heart so he decided to do chest xrays
after re testing Kong for heartworm.
Since Kongs heartworm test results were negative Dr. Brian was curious as to what was causing the abnormality with Kongs heart
and Kong also had a rib that appeared to be protruding that we thought may have been an old break.
The Chest Xrays revealed that Kongs rib is fine but Dr. Brian found what appears to be another bullet
in Kongs chest cavity near the lower ribs
Kongs heart has adheased to the side of his chest cavity and is not in the center of his chest like a normal heart would be
Dr Brian's educated guess is that Kong was shot in that side of his chest with the bullet entering and nicking the edge of
Kongs heart but not entering the heart
The bullet injury caused internal bleeding and during the healing process the heart attached to the side
of Kong's chest cavity
Dr Brian is concerned that any long surgery to repair Kongs leg from the gunshots might be problematic
with the additional injury in his heart area from another gunshot
So we will have Dr. Vogt review the additional xrays Dr. Brian took today to ensure any type of surgery
would be safe for Kong to undergo with his heart issue
It's amazing this loving dog survived in order to make it to CODA
It's pretty obvious someone had tried to kill him using a gun
Thanks to Dr. Brian and Project Noah for covering the cost of the additional xrays and heartworm testing
Saving us $98 on Kongs Vet Bill today

Our total cost for Kongs neuter surgery was $127.00

UPDATE 11/20/07
Kong was examined by Dr. Vogt the Orthopedic Surgeon/Specialist today.
Dr. Vogt stated after reviewing the xrays of Kongs chest that he did not believe that the triangular image on the chest xrays,
was another bullet fragment. He believes that it's something undigested such as a piece of stone or rock that is in Kongs upper abdomen
He also stated that Kong's heart is positioned strangely because of a congential birth defect common to boxers in Kongs Sternum
A defect that could have been corrected when Kong was a young puppy but nothing that can be done for it at this stage in his life
The defect causes the sternum bones to turn upward towards Kongs chest instead of being a flat sternum plate
where Kongs heart should normally rest. So due to the sternum defect Kongs heart cannot sit flately on the sternum plate and is off to one side
of his chest cavity.

After examining Kongs leg xray and Kongs leg Dr. Vogt feels that any surgery to repair Kongs leg may not produce the desired
results because this is an older injury and the bones have set around the shattered knee fragments and bullet fragments causing Kongs injured leg to be somewhat shorter
than his good rear leg.
Due to the age of the injury and the difficulty of a potential surgery which would require sawing through 2 bones
and then trying to fuse them back together by inserting a plate, that Kongs leg would most likely heal
in a very ridid position and may not give him any real increased flexibility
Dr. Vogt also felt that since Kong has adjusted so well to the injury as it healed and since Kong gets around really well
despite the injury that we are better off leaving well enough alone
The surgery would cost over $3,000 and would require Kong to go through a lot of pain during the healing process
and would require many months to heal and many months of rehabilitation and still might not result in better mobility for Kong
Dr Vogt was really suprised how strong the muscle tone is in Kongs injured leg and how well Kong has recovered
and healed on his own from this tramatic gunshot wound which basically blew away his knee on that leg
So after discussing all the options for Kong with Dr. Vogt we agreed that Kong has a pretty good quality of life in his current condition
and that we should leave well enough alone
Kong will do best being adopted into a home that doesn't have many stairs he would have to manuever as stairs are the most difficult
thing for Kong to navigate without the ability to flex his leg at the knee on the injured leg.
Adjustments have already occured to Kongs spine to compensate for the shorter rear leg on the injured rear leg
Kong is gaining weight nicely and looks very muscular, beefy and handsome now
His demodex mange is completely cleared up
Kongs FAVORITE treat is a piece of Panera Bread Co's Bagels:)

He will do anything for a bit of a bagel....!
Total Cost of Kongs visit with Dr. Vogt Today $47.00
( Dr Vogt was kind enough to waive his normal exam fee and just charged us the hospital fee)
SO KONG IS NOW MEDICALLY RELEASED FOR ADOPTION

WON'T YOU PLEASE HELP US HELP KONG?
UNTIL A LOVING PERMANENT HOME CAN BE FOUND FOR HIM?

If you can help us to defray the costs of saving Kong and helping with his medical bills
please click on the button below:

If you are interested in giving Kong a loving home please fill out an adoption application
We are seeking a home with a secure fenced in play area for Kong
No more than 4-5 stairs to enter/exit the home into the fenced yard/play area
We Prefer a home with Boxer Experience
Kong would do well with another boxer or friendly dog as a playmate and companion
Kong LOVES to play tug of war and to chase balls
Kong also likes to wrestle with the other puppies here in rescue and plays gently and nicely with them both small and large sized dogs/puppies
Kong is a kitty chaser though so a home with no cats is preferred




ADOPTION APPLICATION

ADOPTED
Kong has been adopted to a wonderful new dad and will share his new home with his new fur sister Winny
an 8 year old female Boxer who was very happy to have Kong join the family after loosing her companion boxer
to inoperable cancer last month
Kong will be living in Seven Hills Ohio
Kongs new home has only 2 steps in the home making it easy for him to navigate around the home
and has a large fenced in yard/play area for Kong to play with Winny without having to navigate any stairs to enter/exit the yard
from the house.
Thanks to our Northfield foster home/ volunteer Leslie for letting Kongs new dad know about Kongs need for a new home!

Or send check or money order to:

CODA
P.O. Box 44092
Brooklyn, Ohio 44144