Tiny Tim is a forever foster
Sponsored by Charlie and Blue
Let me introduce myself, hi, I am Tiny Tim, I am a 1-year-old Poodle Mix
So, the story of my name, Tiny Tim, it is because my back legs do not work properly. Even when I was just a little puppy, they would not always do what I wanted them to do. As I am getting older and bigger, my back legs seem to do even less of what I want them to do. As my symptoms progressed, my primary veterinarian, Dr. Tara at Kingsdale, referred me to the neurology department at the Ontario Veterinary College. My angels at the rescue made sure that I had the best care and I had an MRI. Unfortunately the MRI found that I have something called Spinal Arachnoid Diverticulum. Some doctors call it a Cyst but it is not what we imagine a cyst to be. This causes cerebral spinal fluid to accumulate and compress the spinal cord. Everyone was so sad to learn, that in my case, there is so much damage that surgery would have little to no effect in helping me. Even if we tried the very risky surgery, the cyst would recur before long. It is expected that the damage will continue to get worse and that eventually I will lose all function in my back legs. It so also possible that my front legs will become affected as well. Sometimes even now, I cannot control my bowels or bladder the way I would like to. My foster mom says that is ok though, it is not my fault. I know I need to go outside, but sometimes I just cannot make it that far. Sometimes I even get my foster mom wet, but she does not care, she just laughs and says, “oh Timmy.” I need more baths than the average dog as I sometimes get myself wet too!!
I am a very active puppy, right now, I run on three legs as my one back leg seems to like to stay bent. Sometimes I even run on my two front legs! My other back leg stays straight most of the time, I have trouble bending it, but I can run like the wind on it.
I chase and play with all the other 4-legged kids in my foster home. My foster mom said I am a little terror. I love car rides and going to work with my foster mom, everyone there LOVES me, and I get lots of treats and attention. I go for scooter rides with my foster dad, he puts me in the basket of his scooter and away we go. I just LOVE going for scooter rides. I get to meet lots of new people and my foster dad lets me run around when we get to a grassy area. When I get tired, my back legs do not work at all, and I sometimes end of dragging them. So that is when I need to rest, or my foster parents carry me.
My foster mom and dad take the best care of me and know that my needs will increase with time. After a very thoughtful discussion, with the Save Me board, it was decided that it is in my best interests to become something called a “forever foster”. No one knows how quickly my health will decline but I know that I am going to be so loved and cared for, for the rest of my life!
If you would like to contribute to my on-going care please consider making a donation to donations@savemedogrescue.ca
