Mickey

Profile

Please welcome young Mickey 16-095TD to RAGOM and America!  He traveled all the way from Turkey to Chicago on May 20, where he met his foster mom, and then traveled back to Iowa from there.  Needless to say, it was a long day for him!  He took it all in stride! Mickey is approximately 9-10 months old and was a stray in Turkey when he was found with a leg injury.   While we aren't 100% sure of his story before his rescue, one thing we know for sure - this boy is as sweet as they come!  He LOVES belly rubs and any attention he can get.  As you can tell, he doesn't exactly look like a typical Golden Retriever!

We joke that he managed to fool everyone into thinking he was one so he could come live the good life of a RAGOM dog, which we are more than happy to provide for him!  He is likely a Lab mix, with white feet and a cute white mark on his forehead.  No matter what breed he is, he has a heart of gold, and I know he will find a family that loves him as much as we do!  He is 45 pounds and will probably fill out a little more, but he won't get much bigger.  He's a nice, compact size!  He looks tiny compared to my two tall Goldens!

ickey had his vet visit and is all up to date on vaccinations and has had all necessary tests/etc done.  The only concern at the vet is his left front leg.  Although his leg was splinted in Turkey and he has regained some use of it, he has a brachial plexis injury.  This means that at some point he sustained some sort of trauma that was great enough to rip the nerves from his leg from his spinal cord, resulting in major nerve damage in his leg.  As a result, he has minimal feeling in his leg and he drags it or walks on the top of his foot. 

At our vet's recommendation, Mickey will be having his leg amputated this week.  But don't worry - dogs do incredibly well with only 3 legs, and we have no doubt that Mickey will be happy and as active as ever once his leg isn't there to slow him down.  Recovery from surgery is simple, he just needs to stay calm until the sutures come out, then he has no exercise restrictions other than no marathon walks until his remaining front leg gains enough strength. 

Luckily for him, he's already been using primarily that leg, so the recovery should be pretty seamless for him!  Two things are recommended for his joint health for Mickey for the long term - keeping his weight low to prevent extra stress on his remaining front leg, and a joint supplement lifelong.  We had another foster a few years ago with this same injury, and he runs and swims just as well as his four legged brother, you wouldn't even know he was missing one of his front legs!  Mickey will also be neutered at the same time of his amputation surgery.

Mickey did have a few accidents in the first few days in foster care, but none since.  Which, if you think about it, is totally understandable considering all he went through in just a few short days and then he was in a strange home that didn't know his potty cues!  He goes out with our dogs on a regular basis and hasn't had any issues since then.  We do crate him at night and when we are gone.  He does get vocal if someone comes to the door, but then again my two resident Goldens may set him off, too!  Mickey loves toys and chewing on nylabones and elk antlers.  He also loves to get exercise in the yard and wrestle with his foster brother, Sully.  

Mickey has been around several dogs since arriving at our home and has done great with all of them!  He plays with those that want to play, and respects other dogs if they don't want to.  He also has done great with our cats.  Mickey has been around kids as young as 8 and has done well, although we are still working on him not jumping up to greet people.  Mickey came to us not knowing any commands (despite our repeated attempts to say "sit" in Turkish!), but he now knows sit (in English) and comes most of the time we call him.  He will also go into his kennel when told, assuming a treat is involved!  We are preferring that Mickey has a fenced in yard in his forever home, but that's not an absolutely requirement, depending on the situation.  I do have concerns about a tie-out with him, only because he will only have 1 front leg and our other foster who had his leg amputated always stepped on the leash and would fall.  I do think Mickey would be a candidate for an invisible fence, however.  

Mickey is a young, happy, energetic boy that would love to find his forever family!  Any family lucky enough to adopt him will definitely hit the jackpot!  I am constantly amazed at how sweet and affectionate he is for being a stray dog, but it definitely shows how wonderful of care he received in Turkey before coming into RAGOM!  

We would like to include a heartfelt "THANK YOU!" to all of those we were involved in Mickey's rescue and care in Turkey.  You picked a wonderful boy to save and we are so thankful for everything that you do!