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09/28/08 - see video Nick is coming
back into rescue.
He is doing well with his wheels, and we will update soon on his current
needs. (see new pictures)
Right now we are in urgent need of a foster or forever home for Nick.
Are you the right stuff?
03/09/08 -
With eyes wide open, a
wonderful family has given Nick his forever home. Thank you for all
those who offered to foster and adopt Nick. And thank you to his
caring foster mom and the Meadow Veterinary Hospital and staff for all they
did for this great little guy.
02/16/08 - UPDATE AND URGENT REQUEST
Many of you have been following the progress of Nick and we thank you for
your e-mails expressing your good wishes and donations to his care.
As hard as Nick tries, his back legs still do not fully cooperate with
his amazing spirit. Nick is so anxious to experience every part of the world
that he doesn’t give his back end a chance to catch up with his very strong
front end, sending him into a spin. But he never gives up – not our Nick.
Yesterday, Nick had a chance encounter with a wonderful board certified
surgeon, talk about being in the right place at the right time. Upon seeing
someone new, Nick did what he does best – he wiggled, he kissed, he ran
after and loved up on the doctor. By the time Nick was through with him, the
surgeon was completely taken with our little ambassador of boxer love and
spirit. As luck would have it, the good doctor has been certified in stem
cell implantation; a procedure he believes will allow Nick to improve
the use of his legs. They will “harvest” the stem cells from Nick’s own fat
so there is no chance of rejection and apparently, spine problems/injuries
are very receptive to this procedure.
I’m sure you know where this is going – the procedure is expensive -
$1,500 and we are asking for your help to finance this for Nick. I wish each
of you could spend some time with Nick – this puppy is just amazing! His
spirit soars, his heart is as big as they come. He’s rowdy and playful and
full of life and fun but if you need a little loving, a warm soul to make
you feel good, Nick fills that role with ease. We are doing everything
possible to make the future for this puppy wonderful. But you know we just
cannot do it without your help. Please, while the pictures of Nick are fresh
in your mind, make a donation now. You can earmark it for ‘Nick’.
We’re all very excited about what the future may hold for Nick. Of course
we’ll keep you posted on the outcome of this very special boy’s next
procedure. In the meantime, keep those good thoughts and prayers coming
Nick’s way – he’s counting on you.
01/31/08 - Special Update On Nick
NICK IS STARTING TO USE HIS BACK LEGS!!! Yes, as unprepared as we were to
hear that ‘Nick would probably never use his back legs’ we were even more
unprepared when Nick decided that he’d had enough and with no warning at
all, he started to walk on all 4’s. One minute he was dragging his back
legs and the next minute, he was using them. Now before you get too
excited, he can only take about 4 or 5 steps at a time but if this is any
indication of the future, “it’s one small step for rescue and one giant step
for Nick” (ok a little paraphrasing never hurt anyone!) Nick’s future is
looking brighter and brighter.
Ready for some more good news? NASCAR driver
 Greg
Biffle and his wife Nicole of the Greg Biffle Foundation made a very
generous donation to help AABR with Nick’s expenses. As you know, Nick’s
surgery was very expensive and the Foundation gave us the funds to pay for
Nick’s surgery without having to pull any funds from any of our other
wonderful dogs awaiting homes. We’re so grateful to the many people like
Greg and Nicole, who know how hard our work is and don’t hesitate to help as
much as they can. Another boost for sweet Nick.
Now, if that isn’t wonderful enough, the news gets even
better. Nick will still need to use a wheelchair – whether he will need it
temporarily or for life, we can only wait and see. Knowing that we had to
get a wheelchair became a research project and we found that most chairs
seemed cumbersome and too heavy for Nick and they come in standard sizes.
Yes, Nick’s a boxer but he’s tiny (26 pounds) and he’s still growing and
nothing about him seems to be ‘standard’. Fortunately, Nick’s foster mom
remembered a story she had seen on Animal Planet’s “Animal Precinct”. It
was a story about Sweet Pea the Pitt, rescued by the NY ASPCA and fitted for
a wheelchair by Eddie’s Wheels. Sweet Pea was eventually adopted by Leslie
of Eddie’s Wheelchairs for Pets who fell in love with her and has given her
a new and wonderful life.
We contacted this amazing company and spoke to Leslie
(Sweet Peas mom) and sent her Nick’s page so that she could get to know our
little Nick. Without hesitation, Leslie assured us that Eddie’s Wheels
would DONATE a wheelchair for Nick, a custom built, modified just for Nick
wheelchair that he could use while he is still a growing boy. This generous
donation was totally unexpected and we can never thank everyone at Eddie’s
Wheels enough. We strongly recommend that you go to their site (www.eddieswheels.com).
I was left speechless. Animals who would have had miserable lives or would
have to be euthanized are living their lives comfortably and happily. Ever
see a dog ski? I have now.
We all hope our wonderful companions live long and
healthy lives. But sometimes, reality has a way of creeping into our best
plans. If you ever find your dog/cat/llama/goat/horse, etc. needing help
like Nick does, contact Eddie’s Wheels. And as soon as Nick’s ‘wheels’
arrive, we’ll be posting video updates so that you can continue to be part
of Nick’s journey
01/22/08
Update on Nick If ever there
was a puppy that has a bigger heart or more spirit, I’ve yet to meet him.
This little boy has had major surgery, has been poked and prodded, and
through it all, he is just a little love bug. His spirit is just amazing.
His brain does not give his back legs the message to walk, but don’t even
think about the word ‘disability’. Nick doesn’t. He scoots around the house,
plays with his toys, runs down the hallway and when he falls, his
determination to right himself is shown all over his beautiful little face.
There is not a boundary you can put in front of Nick that he will not
conquer and the look of satisfaction that he gets can only make you smile.
Nick is not crated, but when he gets tired, he puts himself in the crate
and will sleep. He also puts himself in the crate at night – we think he
just loves the soft bed and blankets that he calls his own. He loves other
dogs, but when he’s in my arms and he spots a larger dog, this little bugger
will bark and carry on like he’s king of the world – what a character! He
has no idea that he’s such a little guy.
Nick was seen by the neurosurgeon today. Unfortunately, the news is not
as good as we were hoping. It is unlikely that Nick will ever have full use
of his back legs, but there is always a chance. He will soon be fitted
for a wheelchair. We’re going to be completely honest with you – Nick will
never be an easy dog to live with. His daily needs now require that he wear
diapers. Because of this, he cannot go to a home that is gone a full workday
– like any baby, he needs diaper changes. And we believe that a home that
has easy access to the outside would be wonderful for Nick – with easy
outside access, he can run and enjoy being outside in his ‘wheels’. Because
he drags his back legs, Nick also needs to wear booties on his back legs so
that he doesn’t hurt the upper part of his toes. We told you we were going
to be completely honest.
If you think that Nick will have a limited future, well, the limits you
set will be the only ones he’ll have. As far as he’s concerned, there is no
limit to what he can do. As a matter of fact, Nick would be a great
candidate to become a therapy dog. Nick’s attitude would be perfect to bring
into hospitals and share with kids that are ‘different’; kids that may need
a soft touch, a little determination and a warm kiss to get over life’s
hurdles – just like Nick. Of course, AABR will work with the family that is
lucky enough to share their lives with Nick. He’s a special boy and we know
there’s a special family out there to love and treasure him as much as we
do.
12/30/07
Nick is in need of a special
foster home that can care for him while he tries to recover.
If you can offer Nick the TLC he needs, please contact AABR and we can
tell you more about his needs.
12/22/07
These are
x-rays of Nick’s spine. He is now in the care of a board certified
Neurologist and surgeon. There is no way to determine whether this was an
accident or he was born with this deformity. The decision is if we
decompress his spine with surgery he will be able to walk without falling
over.
The surgery went well. It will be a while before we know how well
it worked.
12/19/07 -
Nick is having neurosurgery today.
The neurologists give him a 50/50 chance of being able to live a
normal life. He will never walk perfectly but if this works he will be able
to stand and walk without constantly falling over. If we don't do this
surgery he will just get worse over time. They will relieve the pressure on
his spinal cord by decompressing the discs that are deformed.
12/18/07
Nick is undergoing extensive
tests to see why he has trouble standing and walking. We are doing
everything possible for this little guy.
We'd appreciate any help you can give by donating to his medical
expenses.
Nick and AABR thank you.
12/13/07
- Nick
Our volunteer who picked this little guy up from the shelter and got him to
safety has appropriately named him “Nick”. He literally rescued him in the
“nick” of time. Sadly, his little life was going to be snuffed out within
hours. This is one very amazing young boy. He is approximately 14-16 weeks
old and was found as a stray in the city. While at the shelter, the reports
were he could not walk or stand properly. He was not steady on his feet. He
has been in a foster home and we are learning more and more about him every
day.
He is quite capable of running and playing, and is the most happy and
coordinated when he is allowed to run and play freely like any normal puppy
does. He is unsteady in the morning when he first gets up; he improves as he
starts to move around. His energy level and enthusiasm is very typical of a
young Boxer puppy.
We are in the process of having further evaluations by a
second specialist; his first diagnosis is he has a congenital malformation
of his spine which alters his gait/movement from being normal. It
doesn’t appear to slow him down any and at full speed he is very graceful,
at a slower pace (walk) it is noticeable. How one so young and with this
disability ended up a stray on the streets of the city is very disturbing!
He is a love of a boy – very happy and loves everyone he meets, humans and
other dogs alike. He is in no pain and we are hopeful he will have a very
normal life. We will update his information once he has been evaluated
further. Please consider giving this boy a wonderful forever home where he
can have a life filled with love and care. One quick look at his photo and
you immediately can see his magnetic personality jumping out – he’s a real
keeper!! |
