Gideon is safe with us now, but he has a very long recovery ahead of him. It is believed that he was hit by a car and then dragged. He is missing most of the skin on his left side and pockets of skin are missing on his right side. His injury is a few days old and therefore there is a lot of necrotic skin. He is resting comfortably under the care of a wonderful vet team. Dr. Wheaton feels that even though this is the largest degloving injury he has ever seen, with vet care, patience and a lot of love, we can pull him through! His recovery is going to be a minimum of 6 months.

The next few days are critical for Gideon as they try to stabilize him clinically. He is on antibiotics, pain meds and fluid therapy. We need all of your well wishes and paws crossed so that he can stay strong through this next critical period. Any donations are greatly appreciated.

Here is the original information we received about this sweet boy from the shelter:
He was found in a park in this condition. He has a large patch of skin missing from his left side. It is a very bad degloving injury that has left his muscles exposed on that side of his chest. We cleaned it up and removed the maggots, but there is not a lot else that can be done. It is likely something that will needs a skin graft or something major to repair it. The dog is young and friendly, but we have to decide if it is fair to maintain him in this condition if there is no one to come for him after the four day holding period. Please contact me by tomorrow morning, if you can make arrangements to pick him up after his retention, if not claimed by his owner. We will treat him until Friday if someone will commit to taking him. He is getting IV fluids, antibiotics and pain meds at this time.

Update 12/09/08:
What an amazing boy! Gideon continues to amaze us with his will to survive and his wonderful temperament. He has SO many fans! Gideon is now walking on his own---actually trotting most days! His wound looks a little bit better each and every day. He still has a LONG way to go, but is healing nicely.
Future updates will be made on his Blog. We also have updated pictures of Gideon. Due to the extent of his injuries the pictures are still pretty graphic, so we have posted his pictures on Picasa!

If you are interested in meeting me, please contact Beth via email at beth.coastal@gmail.com. Don't forget to fill out our online application.

The minimum adoption donation ranges from $400 to $500. This amount only partially covers the cost of veterinary care, boarding fees, and other miscellaneous expenses involved in the temporary care and adoption of our dogs and is 100% tax deductible.

Prior to placement, all dogs will be spayed or neutered, receive current vaccinations, and are usually microchipped. If not, arrangements will be made on an individual basis. Special consideration may be given to those willing to adopt older dogs or dogs with physical problems.

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