Lukas - Adopted
10/03
Lukas is a sable & white
male Collie that was recently surrendered to MWCR.
He will be 7 years old in August, 2003. Lukas
weighs 54 pounds and for a Collie of his size and
structure, his ideal weight will be 60 pounds. He
was kept outside but this is one very sweet Collie
boy who just wants to be with people. Lukas has an
all white chest and forelegs.
Lukas has tested positive for heartworm so he is
currently undergoing treatment. This will be about
a 4 month program. Throughout all of the testing,
poking, and prodding, Lukas remained calm, gentle,
and trusting. He can not be neutered until he tests
negative for heartworm at the end of the treatment
period.
The
little heart next to his name means that
Lukas has Special Needs. Due to the fact that Lukas
is being treated for heartworm he must be kept very
quiet and get plenty of rest. Even after treatment
is completed and the heartworms are gone, Lukas may
not have the stamina to be as active as other
Collies his age.
Lukas is very social, loves to be with people all
the time, enjoys being an inside Collie boy, and is
finding out that cats are well, cats! He hasn’t
quite figured out what to do about them. He gets
along well with our other 2 Collie girls but doesn’t
know how to play. This may be a good thing, because
he needs to be kept quiet, calm, and get plenty of
rest during his heartworm treatment.
We
find Lukas so irresistibly sweet in nature and
disposition. For being so owner neglected, he
immediately relished being walked on lead, responds
to recall, sit, and stay commands with just a few
practice sessions. He is not food, toy, or treat
aggressive.
Our
Vet office & Staff just think Lukas is marvelous.
He just seems to understand that finally there are
many humans who care about him and are trying to
heal his broken body, soul, and spirit. And there
are!
Update on Lukas - 8/03:
He lives with 2 cats and is very cat friendly.
Nothing seems to
instigate a reaction of concern (no problem with the
vacuum, lawn
tractor, visitors, doorbells, vet visits, etc). He
does not bark!
Isn't that amazing?! He is one sweet, docile, social
and very
lovable Collie boy. Almost too good to be true! We
keep looking for
negatives and to date, he is just too awesome for
words! How can he
be so sweet when he led his first 7 years, alone,
outside and
neglected? He is eating like a horse now and this is
a far cry from
when he first came and would eat hardly anything.
His owner stated
on her Owner Surrender sheet that asks what he was
fed - "whatever".
Well, he is eating a great deal of "whatever" now
and it
ain't "whatever"! Loves to go for rides in our
trucks . . .doing
well on lead & understands basic commands,is crate &
house trained,no counter surfing or jumping on people, no real
prey drive and yet
a "personality" of pleasure.
He is wanting to play and run like a Collie boy
should be able to
do. But he still must be curtailed in his activity
until we are
cleared by the vet. He has a re-check on 9/16 and
another blood draw
for HW and T4 (thyroid panel). Lukas has been an
absolute trooper
thru his HW treatment and should be named Braveheart!
He is quite a
remarkable Collie to say the least - so loving, very
soft-mouth,
kind & gentle. He would do well in any home - with
or without
children, with or without a canine companion, with
or without cats,
with or without a fenced in yard . . . .
9/19/03 update - good
news!
Lukas had his 2 week check up from his "double
whammy" Immiticide HW
treatment this past Tuesday. His blood was drawn for
microfilaria and
thyroid.
Results: Negative for Microfilaria
Normal - thyroid
Lukas goes back at the end of this month for a final
post HW check up. If
all is still going well, he will get the go ahead to
begin to "run with the
BIG boys". But, that will be halted as he will then
be scheduled for his
"snip-snip" and teeth cleaning.
A huge thank you to the Animal Hospital of Chetek
veterinarians and staff who
have professionally, expertly, compassionately and
with much TLC have
treated Lukas (and gotten us) through his heartworm
treatments. AHC has
educated us through Lukas' ordeal regarding HW.
Thank you MWCR for being there when Lukas needed to
be saved and did not
have too much time left without being treated. He
has just been a trooper
through all of this and a real dandy Collie boy!
Is this great news or what!?
One happy foster Mom here!
Lukas was fostered in Chetek, WI.
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