Beso is one of our “special needs” boys who really needs a loving home or foster! His “special needs” situation is that his back legs don’t work too well, but with the help of a harness, Beso can walk and even run a bit! He recently walked and trotted over two blocks, enjoying sniffing the grass and meeting new doggy friends on his way! Beso adores all dogs – boys and girls alike, and of course adores people too! This is his story:
Beso came from the North Central Animal Shelter in 2014. He was found covered with motor oil, seriously infested with fleas, and starved. The people at the shelter took really good care of him. One vet tech in particular made a sort of project of trying to help him. And everyone really loved him---as you know he is a really sweet dog. One of our rescue people who met him at the shelter named him Beso (which means kiss in Spanish) because he was so sweet. When I came to pull him for Dobies and Little Paws, under the LA City Shelter's Good Samaritan program, four animal control officers---the guys who go out to pick up dogs, who are not usually the sentimental sort-- came out to see him off. They were actually tearing up they were so happy to see him saved. At that time. he could not walk - he had to be carried out.
The shelter took x-rays which showed that he had a curvature in the cervical spine but no current injury. I was hoping that a regimen of prednisone would help him out. And it did for a while. At Pasternak Veterinary Center where he was being boarded and treated , he got much better and progressed to the point where he could walk considerable distances---around the block for example--and even run a little, in an awkward way.
But some months later, his condition started to deteriorate for no known reason. And after a while, he was "down" again. We were hoping that he would recover from rest (which wobblers Dobies sometimes do). But this did not happen. And Beso does not have Wobblers. Meanwhile, one of our volunteers, Andrea, was trying to help him with physical therapy and exercise (exercising on the "peanut" ball and massage), and the Pasternak vet techs were taking good care of him, carrying him out to relieve himself since he was very reluctant to do so indoors (Beso is housebroken and will hold his urine and bowels until he can go outside) . He had a room at Pasternaks all of his own, and a nice bed with foam.
Eventually, we gave up on the rest cure since Beso’s back legs were not strengthening. So at our volunteer Andrea's suggestion we brought Beso to California Animal Rehabilitation in July 2015 (Andrea had been to California Animal Rehabilitation/CARE before several years ago with her personal dog Kimberly, where they helped her dog regain the ability to walk after an injury).
The vets and physical therapists started Beso on a physical therapy regime that included the water treadmill, acupuncture, massage and stretching. And after 3 months of therapy by CARE, Beso now not only can walk, he can run! Beso now loves to walk and run around the block! And it is obvious that Beso is thrilled to be able to walk and run - he is so joyful ! We are really thrilled with his progress! Beso is so much stronger and better!
Attached is a video of Beso’s physical therapy and his progress! We are lucky enough to have 2 amazing benefactors for Beso and their donations cover his care in full. Though the people at C.A.R.E. absolutely love Beso, we still hold out hope that we can find a loving foster or forever home for this incredibly special boy.
p.s. We would ideally like to find Beso a foster home in or near west LA so he can continue getting help from the CARE center. Please send our volunteer, Andrea a message at andrea.halperin@gmail.com if you are interested in learning more. Thank you!!
Beso
