Goliath

Update:03/11/10

Excellent news for Goliath, AKA Herman: he went to the vet on Feb. 25, and he’d already lost 7 pounds. Plus, his skin condition has improved dramatically—there’s very little odor and no crusting or inflammation (wow). His foster family left the clinic with instructions to finish up the course of antibiotics, keep up with the medicated baths, and return for a recheck on March18. We will have another update then!

In other news, he continues to impress with his genial, gentle personality. He has made friends with other dogs, adults, and kids on his walks. He wants to meet everyone he sees!  He stands still for pets, just enjoying the love. He has a special toddler pal—he lies down and lets her rub him and climb on him. He’s very easy to walk, although if he wants to sniff an interesting-looking plant, he is not to be deterred.

Really, he is just a big, lovable lug. We are well on the way to conquering his skin issues – then it’s on to heartworm treatment, and then – that perfect forever home.

Update: 02/14/10

Goliath the Gentle Giant has had an eventful few weeks! He got settled into his foster home, then headed to the vet for his first heartworm injection. He’d had his initial check-up and was cheerfully cruising the clinic—when he suddenly just vomited and collapsed. Good thing the clever boy decided to have his medical crisis in the hospital. In the blink of an eye he was getting all the supportive care he needed, including IV fluids & antibiotics and, of course, constant observation. The vet first suspected seizure, but when he thought about it further, he changed his mind: “He thinks Goliath went into septic shock. He said the skin infection is one of the worst he has seen in years—the fungal and bacterial infection that is so pervasive on the skin had just build up too high a load of  toxins for Goliath to handle. Goliath is back on the road to recovery, but what a detour he took! The vet wants to wait 3-4 weeks before  starting HW treatment—Goliath needs to be healthier, so his system can handle the stress.”

Back home, Goliath is doing very well, although those medicated baths can be tedious: his foster mom says, “Can’t you just read his mind in these photos?” To go with his new life, Goliath also has a new nickname: his foster mom & dad call him “Herman.” “Remember Herman Munster in ‘The Munsters’? He is so much like him—big and clumsy (his paws are so huge they are the size of my hand) but at the same time so sweet and a real softie. When I  tried out the name on him he actually responded and looked at me.  Just seems to fit him.”

Herman/Goliath seems to be very good with kids, gentle and genial toward the children he meets on his walks. He plays well with our foster girl Susie and he’s friendly towards strange dogs, too. We have seen one cat—I think he wanted to make friends, but we didn't get that close.  When we have had him a litle longer, we will take him to a friend’s house for a “cat scan.” For all his size, he is very good on lead – pulls a little if he wants to see something, but overall very easy to walk. He likes car rides, too, but of  course he takes up the entire back seat!

He’s well behaved and gentle indoors. He plays with stuffies and likes to carry a small football around the house.

This big guy is your typical “Velcro” Golden, always wants to be keeping you company. He’s a real sweetheart and we look forward to getting him back into peak health. He’ll be just beautiful—already looks so much better than just a few weeks ago!

At 114 pounds,  5-year-old Goliath is a goliath all right – but ONLY in size. However… warlike? No! A philistine? Absolutely not! Hostile, aggressive, ferocious? No, no, no!! This giant-size fellow is sweet and very gentle. Said our evaluator, “He let me touch his ears, belly, paws, etc. and didn’t seem to mind a bit. Pretty soon he started following me around wherever I went. He’ll make someone a great companion.”

Goliath came to the pound as a stray on January 23, but the people who brought him in said he’d been hanging around their neighborhood for at least three weeks before then. Was this sweet guy dumped, or did he just wander off from home? We’ll never know… but he sure needs help. His fur was clumped into rock-hard mats on his tail, tummy, and back; his nails were overgrown; his eyes and ears were “mattery” and infected-looking; and his tummy and legs  have raw, bare patches.  “He has the worst systemic yeast infection I have seen in a while,” said the vet.  Oh, and he’s heartworm positive, too—AND overweight by around 30 pounds. Never mind! The clinic bathed Goliath, shaved off the mats, and cleaned his ears and eyes… and now we’ll get started on a lean& healthy diet, medications and shampoos to tackle the yeast, and then take on the heartworms. In a few months, Goliath will have the gorgeous looks to match his already lovely temperament. Stay tuned…

Adoption Procedures