Klondike-American Eskimo Dog

Klondike's Story and Rehabilitation Home

Introduction

Photo gallery

Taylor and Klondike
Taylor is one of our wonderful volunteers.
She has chosen to work with Klondike and guide him in his rehabilitation process for her 4-H project.
Taylor will also be responsible for taking him to the vet, and writing updates as to his progress on this web page.
She will also be taking him home with her on weekend visits.
We thank Taylor for her hard work and the wonderful chance she has given Klondike to have the one on one work, that might make the difference in his recovery. Take it away Taylor! :)

Klondike's story
On October 22nd of 2005 Klondike's world was turned upside-down.
As he was hanging out with his humans in their front yard on a nice autumn evening, when a 4 wheel ATV came flying though the residential neighborhood and struck Klondike. The ATV driver didn't even stop nor has anyone been able to identify who the person was.
Klondike was rushed to the emergency vet clinic they worked very hard to keep him from expiring. When he did come around they were able to start assessing the serious damage that the speeding ATV had caused.
He suffered a head trauma and worse, a debilitating spinal injury, seen in this x-ray
He was transported to American Eskimo Rescue and Sanctuary of Iowa after the original emergency vet released him to be in our care.
Klondike has gone from not being able to stand and having to be held up to to the bathroom to struggling but being able to carry himself for a short while before falling over
He has been rehabilitating for 8 weeks now but still has a long way to go. Although we are not sure if he will fully recover we are figuring 6 months to a year will be the total healing time for this kind of serious injury.

Please help us help more like Klondike by making a tax deductible donation >click here<

Vet visit 11/05/05

Klondike’s first vet visit was Tuesday November 1. There we learned a little more about his injuries. His previous Veterinarians had provided us with x-rays (x-ray) that shows a dislocation of one of the upper vertebrae.
This had caused some nerve damage that makes it difficult for Klondike to walk. He has difficulty controlling his left side, which is evident when he walks (he’s a little tipsy video).

His left front paw folds under because he can’t feel it and his left hind leg is not as strong as his right. To try to help the nerve endings heal, the vet put Klondike on Prednisone to reduce some of the inflammation around the nerves. The inflammation around the nerves creates a kind of kinked garden hose effect, which makes it hard for the nerves to heal. By reducing the inflammation, we are removing any “kinks” around the nerves and are helping them to heal. Hopefully between the medicine and getting spoiled, Klondike will improve his coordination. Taylor

Vet visit 11/15/05

Klondike had his second visit on November 15. The vet was impressed with his progress. He demonstrated an amazing ability to maneuver the slick tile floor which he was previously not able to do. We learned a bit more about his left paw that folds under occasionally. He does have feeling in it, but he doesn't realize that he folds the paw under. He will only do this on soft surfaces such as the carpet or grass, not on tile or cement, which makes it a bit difficult to show the vet. If it gets icy this winter we are supposed to get some boots to cover the already tender spots on top of the paw. In the meantime, he is enjoying being spoiled rotten at my house. However, he has other ideas about my cat. He thinks that she should just go away so that he can be the center of attention at all times. If my cat, Smokey, comes downstairs he will bark at her and she'll hiss at him. I think that she has realized that he's not going to go away for a while. It's quite humorous.

Unfortunately, we did have to take Klondike to the vet December 7, one week earlier than his scheduled appointment due to a rather nasty sounding cough. Fortunately, it's just a case of kennel cough and he's now on meds for 10 days in addition to the Prednisone he's already getting. He thinks this is wonderful; he gets two balls of cheese a day (little does he know he's actually taking his meds). We did combine his checkup for next week and the examination for the cough. The vet was amazed at the progress he has made. She had hoped that he would be at this point in six months instead of one month. He now ventures onto the once feared laminate flooring at my house and insists on racing to the park every time we go outside for a potty break.

Klondike is now staying at my house full time instead of only on the weekends. He likes this arrangement better than before. (And doesn't have to deal with Juno's antics) Last week we brought him into the house because it has been so cold (Woohoo, high of 9 degrees!). I have noticed that he doesn't move as well when it's cold, which is part of the reason he is now a housedog. All of this cold weather has brought snow, which Klondike loves. It comes up to his chest, but he still races through it like it's nothing. Hopefully he will continue to improve.


UPDATE 01/08/06 Klondike had a wonderful Christmas. My grandparents came and stayed with us, and of course my grandma had to bring toys for Klondike. As much as he loves his new rope toy he got, he found that he likes to steal my brother's water bottle and chews on that. Go figure. Water bottles weren't the only thing that we discovered Klondike likes. He sings for us next to the Christmas tree, and whenever one of us walks in the house. It's very cute. Klondike is getting stronger by the day. We don't walk him anymore, we run. If we don't, he's a ball of energy inside the house. He just got his prescription for Prednisone renewed at the vet the other day, so he's happy he gets more cheese (we hide the pill in cheese). The vet wants to keep him on the Prednisone for at least a year and then make a decision whether or not to keep him on it.

UPDATE 01/17/06 Good news! Klondike has finally convinced my parents to adopt him! As of this week, he's now a member of my family! Even though he needs a bath badly. (He smells like an old gym shoe) He's doing incredibly well. His coat is starting to come in on his left side (it was shorter than on the right). However, he still despises the brush. Stacie suggested putting him on a table, so I think we're going to try that next time he gets brushed. Giving him a bath in the near future will be interesting. We'll see what happens. Taylor
Please help us help more like Klondike by making a tax deductible donation >click here<