Chuck aka My Chunky Monkey
Chuck
Chuck was truly a "Great" Pyrenees. A sweet, loveable huge dog. He was loving and very gentle. He was wonderful with all the dogs here. Although I did not let him out with the other boys, I'm sure he would have been fine with them. In January of 2011 Chuck went with us to the Canine Learning Experience in Allentown, PA. He was a wonderful Ambassador for the breed. Gentle and loving (albeit a bit drooly) he greeted everyone who wanted to pet him with a smile. It was a VERY long day for him and he slept soundly the entire way home. Tending to your adoring public is hard work! Once home he promptly settled down for another nap.
At first, Chuck was bothered by dogs leaving for their new homes and new dogs coming in to Rescue. He quickly adapted and tried to calm new dogs that came in that were stressed. He accepted new dogs readily and tried to make them feel at home and safe. He was a gentle soul with a kind heart. He quickly endeared himself to all who came in contact with him. Hard as I tried not to, I quickly became very attached to him. He slept on the bed, he snored loudly and often slept with his eyes wide open. He was a clown and loved to make me laugh. When I would scold him he would talk back to me. Always gentle, he sometimes did not want to do what I wanted from him, but he would do it eventually. Today, 3-3-2011 in the middle of the night, he woke me to go outside. I let him out and he seemed to want to stay out there. Since he was being quiet and not barking I let him stay out. I fell back to sleep ever listening for him to start barking. I woke up at some point and went out and brought him inside. He was a bit restless but settled down. I woke up again at about 6:30am and put the other dogs out to potty. Chuck was lying on his side and I noticed that his stomach was very distended. I reached down to feel it and knew it was bloat. We got him to the Vet as quickly as possible but it was far too late to try to save him. So, although he was almost gone already, we euthanized him. I was there, holding and petting him, telling him I love him while he left this life. It was all I could do for him. I just wish I could have done more. I guess he was needed elsewhere. My heart right now is broken in two. It won't be easy moving on without my "Chunky Monkey". In some way I'm glad that it happened while he was still in Rescue. I would never want an adopter to have to go through the pain we are all feeling right now. Below is the story of how he came to be in Rescue.Chuck came to us as his former owner could no longer afford to care for him. Although she loved him dearly, she could not afford Vet care. She had been trying to find a home for him on her own, and luckily, she found Rescue. Chuck was vetted 2 days prior to his actually coming in to Rescue. This was necessitated by a severe flea infestation. He was given Capstar at the Vet in the waiting room. By the time the visit was over, the fleas had fallen off dead all over the floor. It was amazing! I do not like using such meds, but in this case it was necessary. We also did a Snap4 test and he had a very high positive for Lyme disease. Both ears were infected and oozing pus. They were swollen shut and the Vet could not see the ear drums. He weighed in at a whopping 164 lbs! Although Chuck is a very big dog, 164 lbs. is too much weight for him to be carrying. He had almost no muscle tone and was quite flabby. He was dosed with Advantix to repel fleas since he would be returning to his owner for 2 days prior to actually coming and living in foster care. His overgrown nails were trimmed down substantially, (he does not like having his nails trimmed, which is typical of most Pyrs) which was quite a feat even with 2 of us trying to hold him during the trimming. Since I had not even met him prior to the visit he was muzzled the entire time. He was sent home with Doxycycline to treat the Lyme and ear medication. His ears were extremely painful as you can imagine.
We took him back to the Vet in a week to have his ears checked (Believe me, cleaning and medicating his ears was NOT easy! They were very painful for the entire week. I muzzled him, took him outside, and pinned him against the fence to do his ears. This occurred twice each day) At his re-check the swelling had subsided enough that the Vet could see there was no damage to the ear drums! He had also lost 8 lbs. and was now 156 lbs.Since he is so big and heavy, getting him into the truck was not an option. Thank you Cheryl for giving us a ride to the Vet! I was soon able to stop using the muzzle to clean and treat his ears. And I could accomplish this indoors by pinning him against the refrigerator. He still hates his ears cleaned and having them touched but he is getting better about it. There are still some mats around his ears that need to be removed but he is still problematic about touching that area so we are getting them out slowly. He quickly made friends with Jil, my little pocket Pyr foster dog and they played, and played and played. Lo and Behold he started building muscle! (unfortunately for Chuck, Jil went to her new home on 11/7) It was quite a sight seeing the 2 of them play together. Chuck at 156 lbs. and very tall and Jil at 62 lbs. and very small! His hair is starting to grow in (he has typical hair loss from flea infestation) and we are working on getting out the tiny little mats that are all over his body.Chuck's Likes:
Sleeping on the bed. Playing with the girls Dinner time My days off Chuck's Dislikes: Ear cleaning Nail trimming Me going to work Chuck is 4 1/2 years old, up to date on vaccines and neutered.| East Penn Pyr Rescue, Inc. |  |
Home Page |
|---|