09/16/2009 Simba attended the Doberman  Rescue Babrecue on Saturday. As you can see he had a great time. He is now able to run and play. He still doesn't walk quite right and has alot of recovery time to do. Hopefully his injuries will heal in time and he will be a happy healthy Dobie Boy. 


8/23/2009 - Hi my name is Simba, like the scrawny lion cub who grew up to be the mighty Lion King.  My nickname is Roar.  I am only 7 weeks old and boy do I have a story to tell.  A family was breeding us Doberman puppies in their garage. I accidentally got crushed by the garage door and my breeder didn't want to put any money into x-rays or veterinary care, so they dumped me off at a shelter.

The very nice people at the shelter took me home for the night and called Midwest Doberman Rescue to see if they could help.  MWDR sent a volunteer right over to get me and take me to the vet.  She was shocked when she saw me.  I was only 3.6lbs and she said a normal 7wk old Doberpuppy weighs 10-12lbs.  I also had no use of my back legs so I was just dragging them behind me.  The MWDR volunteer rushed me to the vet who did xrays and other tests.  The good news is, I do not have any fractured vertebrae.  The bad news is, I have a severe spinal cord injury.  Unfortunately there is not an immediate surgery that can be done to correct my injury.

MWDR did some checking with a vet who had seen me a few days before my injury.  It was the only time I had been to the vet so he wormed me and gave me my first set of puppy shots.

8/23/2009 - I have only been in rescue 5 days and already I am making progress. I have gained nearly a pound - I am up to 4.4lbs.  I've taken some worming medicine for the belly full of roundworms that I had along with other parasites.  I've been on pain medicine and cage rest and eating lots of good food.  I went back to Dr Tom for a recheck today and for more medicine for my tummy problems.  The good news is, I am not paralyzed.  We don't know yet how much function I will regain in my hind legs, but for now I am happy to just drag them around and play like a normal puppy.  I have some use now of my back legs, but feet sometimes knuckle under at times or get all tangled together.  At some point as I grow and develop, I will need more expensive tests like an MRI.  But for now, I am happy to be in a home that loves me for the cute baby that I am and doesn't think of me as income.

8/30/2009 - I am making great progress with using my backlegs.  My feet are no knuckling under.  The only time my injury becomes an issue is if I try to run fast.  I have to "bunny hop".  Slowly but surely I am putting on a little weight.  We switched me to a higher protein food to see if that helps.  I take my puppy vitamins like a good boy.  I am really good about not soiling my puppy pen - I squeak until my mommy gets the hint and lets me out to go potty.  That's the only time I raise a ruckus, but I sure can talk when I need something!

Simba has many months of recovery ahead.  Numerous vet appointments and expensive tests will put a tremendous financial burden on our tiny rescue group.  To contribute to the Save Simba! fund, check out Simba's story on Fundable at http://www.fundable.com/groupactions/groupaction.2009-08-21.4819624242

Good with Dogs, Good with Kids