Banjo comes aboard
Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 8:46 amOur family is getting a little larger. Banjo, a ten year old german shepherd is joining the team. We found him through the Northern California - German Shepherd Rescue (http://savegsd.org), who are a great group. They have a special program for old, abandoned and injured dogs that most folks simply won't accept. Some of us have donated to build a trust that will allow folks to take on these dogs and insure that the trust pays for all their medical treatments for the rest of their lives.
We found our beloved Romo through this organization, but he was a youngun and full of energy. Banjo is a an old fart like me and is much more wiling to watch the trash truck go by rather than chase it. He's great with the grandkids and everyone he's met, and like Romo he decided instantly that The Admiral was the boss. I don't know how she does it. She gets down and looks at these dogs nose-2-nose and after that they'll follow her anywhere. Of courses her cooking is really good too, there is that.
Banjo had been left in an apartment by himself for a long time only fed occasionally and while his "normal" weight based on his frame will be about 110 lbs once The Admiral gets him back to full power, he only weighs about 70 lbs now. He has a few medical issues that aren't serious, other than typical side effects of extreme malnutrition, so our Admiral thinks Banjo will be back up to full weight in about two months. The muscle wasting is the worst bit, but even in the last week he's put on about four pounds and is now jumping up on the couch without missing a step. In the beginning, just getting up was about his limit.
He has that stoic "whatever" attitude of an old german shepherd and at the moment I think he feels like this is either heaven or something darn close. Two little kids to pet him all day, soft bed to sleep on, and a bottomless food bowl full of perfectly prepared chicken, steak, rice, fish (he like Salmon - who doesn't) and whatever else The Admiral can figure out to put on the pounds. He's doing about a 1/2 mile on the leash every morning and evening and we'll work that up to a mile in the next week or two. He's not all that speedy, but the last time out it actually required holding him back instead of encouraging the walk. A great sign!
Well, here's Banjo on the day we helped get him out of the Martinez pound. He had to be carried to the car but never let out a peep. Half way to the vets guess who wanted to watch where he was going! There's a big heart in this guy and he will fit right in on Ranchetto Pasatiempo with the other old dog, me. It will be so good to have a dog again!
Leaving the pound
First ride to the vet
We found our beloved Romo through this organization, but he was a youngun and full of energy. Banjo is a an old fart like me and is much more wiling to watch the trash truck go by rather than chase it. He's great with the grandkids and everyone he's met, and like Romo he decided instantly that The Admiral was the boss. I don't know how she does it. She gets down and looks at these dogs nose-2-nose and after that they'll follow her anywhere. Of courses her cooking is really good too, there is that.
Banjo had been left in an apartment by himself for a long time only fed occasionally and while his "normal" weight based on his frame will be about 110 lbs once The Admiral gets him back to full power, he only weighs about 70 lbs now. He has a few medical issues that aren't serious, other than typical side effects of extreme malnutrition, so our Admiral thinks Banjo will be back up to full weight in about two months. The muscle wasting is the worst bit, but even in the last week he's put on about four pounds and is now jumping up on the couch without missing a step. In the beginning, just getting up was about his limit.
He has that stoic "whatever" attitude of an old german shepherd and at the moment I think he feels like this is either heaven or something darn close. Two little kids to pet him all day, soft bed to sleep on, and a bottomless food bowl full of perfectly prepared chicken, steak, rice, fish (he like Salmon - who doesn't) and whatever else The Admiral can figure out to put on the pounds. He's doing about a 1/2 mile on the leash every morning and evening and we'll work that up to a mile in the next week or two. He's not all that speedy, but the last time out it actually required holding him back instead of encouraging the walk. A great sign!
Well, here's Banjo on the day we helped get him out of the Martinez pound. He had to be carried to the car but never let out a peep. Half way to the vets guess who wanted to watch where he was going! There's a big heart in this guy and he will fit right in on Ranchetto Pasatiempo with the other old dog, me. It will be so good to have a dog again!
Leaving the pound
First ride to the vet
