Garden State German Shepherd Rescue, Inc. Donations page

GSGSR recently became aware of a very sad looking German Shepherd at the AHS-Newark shelter. When we went to the shelter to meet Gunner, then named Shotsie, his situation just tugged at our hearts. Gunner is a 5 year old German Shepherd dog with a yearning for human contact, a wonderful spirit, but a broken down body. His front wrists and paws are deformed, his front legs kick out at a 45 degree angle and he limped on a hind leg. When Gunner sat down, his wrist formed a perfect 90 degree angle with his legs.

This poor boy lay down frequently during our temp testing and was very submissive. He rolled over on his back looking for petting and attention. According to the shelter, Gunner has had a hard life. He was living on the streets of Newark with a homeless man and was taken in by animal control. He has clearly lost muscle mass and his conditions were the result of a being kept in a cage or a small room as well as some form of physical trauma. Yet in spite of what must have been a horrendous life up to this point, he still has a unique inner strength and trusted us during the test. It broke our hearts not to be able to take him on the spot.

During the next few days we were able to work with Newark shelter and bring Gunner to the American Animal Hospital. It was first determined that he has Canine Carpel Ankylosis which is a loss of muscle mass necessary to help support the wrist joints. The muscles and ligaments in this area are flexed out and broken down which cause him to walk on his carpal pads. In addition, he has Canine Anaplasmosis, a form of Lyme disease.

As soon as possible, we found a place in rescue for Gunner and pulled him from the shelter. The ability to treat a dog with his injuries is difficult and sadly the odds of Gunner walking like a normal dog are extremely unlikely. However, he has a strong character and we are evaluating treatment alternatives with our veterinarians.

When we brought Gunner for a full set of x-rays, we were given more bad news. His left hip is out of its joint, and the ball is now rubbing against the outer edge of the socket. This is causing Gunner instability when he walks and further exacerbates the problems with his front paws as it forces him to bear even more weight on his wrists. The vet believes this injury was most likely the result of a car accident or some form of blunt trauma. Gunner will need a surgical procedure known as Femoral Head Ostectomy (FHO) on his left hip and most likely down the road need similar surgery on his right hip. Following this surgery, Gunner will need to have extensive rehabilitation work that will focus both on strengthening his hip and his wrists.

Any long-term solution for Gunner will ultimately be expensive and time consuming, but there are times when you just meet a dog and know that you have to do whatever is possible, and you know the dog will respond and make it all worthwhile. We will regularly update Gunner's story and we greatly appreciate any and all support you can provide for him.

Update 4/30/08 - During his rehabilitation evaluation and pre-surgery testing subsequent x-rays showed that he has a fracture on his right paw along the third metacarpal, as well as some micro fractures in his wrist. He is currently has a splint on his right paw and leg. He is scheduled for his surgical procedure on May 7th.

Even with the discounts our veterinarians give us, Gunner's care will cost GSGSR thousands of dollars. Please donate to our medical fund to allow us to help the dogs.

Thank you for caring.