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OSCAR WAS ADOPTED MARCH 5, 2005!
(Oscar with his new sister, Zoe, a senior rescue adopted from a shelter who was also found in deplorable condition with no lower jaw.)
Poor old Oscar. Yes, he's old, probably in his early teens, and he came complete with his share of problems from past neglect. The shelter asked us to take Oscar into our rescue group so he could get the care he needed. Quite honestly, he looked so bad when we first met him that we actually thought we would only end up putting him out of his misery rather than saving him. But we gave it our best shot and started off by grooming Oscar. Once all of the mats were shaved away, the hair was trimmed from around his face, he was all washed and dried and had his nails trimmed so he could walk, he looked quite different. In fact he looked pretty salvageable and we could see that indeed, Oscar had some quality time left in him. He did not mind the clippers, scissors, bath or any of what he had to endure go get prettied up. He was very cooperative.
Oscar is completely blind in one eye. That is the way it is and nothing to be done for that. He sees fine out of his other eye and gets around with no problems. His blind eye is the result of trauma so it's good to know there is no eye disease that might affect the other eye. Once we removed all of his mats, we found he was only skin and bones weighing a mere 7 pounds. His appetite is great and he put on 8 ounces within the first 10 days. He has a heart murmur which has been diagnosed by a cardiologist as chronic valve disease (CVD). This is an age-related change, common in small breed dogs, which results in heart enlargement. At the present, Oscar does not require medication for his heart condition. His energy level is good. He can climb and descend an entire flight of stairs with ease. All in all, Oscar's health was not near as bad as we expected.
Oscar is just the sweetest little thing and he has never shown any negative reactions to anything. If something scrares him (like the vet...), he will just dive into his foster mom's arms and bury his head. He loves everyone and approaches children for them to pet him gently. He is a true lap dog at heart and loves to be held and snuggle. Oscar likes to be close to his foster mom and will follow her from room to room. He is one of those dogs that looks you in the eye with that expression of gratefulness for having given him a chance and for having made him feel so much better. Oscar doesn't mind other dogs or cats, but would certainly not be the interactive play type. He keeps to himself around other animals and minds his own business. It's people attention that Oscar wants.
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