Romeo

Romeo was taken to a local shelter because his caretaker was moving away and didn't want to take him with her. "He supposedly has food allergies. He smells bad and I just don't want to deal with it any more", the caretaker explained. The shelter where he was left was not in a position to take on his health issues and asked us for help. (a larger view of Romeo)

One of HEART's intake coordinators met Romeo and found him to be sweet and affectionate. He has a great personality despite his obvious discomfort and pain. HEART agreed to bring Romeo into their foster program and take on his medical care and expenses. HEART contacted the caretaker's vet for more information about his condition. He was one large scab from his head to his tail and the only hair on his body was a puff on the top of his head. The vet records showed that the caretaker had been told three times to place Romeo on a low allergen diet in hopes of reversing his hair loss and crusty/scaly skin. The caretaker did not do this and his condition simply worsened.

Dr. Trey Rodgers of the Veterinary Express Mobile Clinic examined Romeo not only for his severe skin condition, but also for his locating patella. This is a condition where the knee cap slides out and does not go back into joint on its own. Unfortunately, Romeo is going to need surgery after his skin condition improves to correct this deformity. Dr. Rodgers placed Romeo on a low allergen diet, antibiotics, and a special shampoo to treat his skin infections.

At the time of this write-up Romeo has been in HEART's foster program for four weeks. His low allergen diet seems to be helping his skin condition and he is improving weekly. He will be re-evaluated in two more months to see how his skin and hair have improved. His knee surgery will have to wait until his skin condition has been healed and he is considered healthy enough to undergo anesthesia.

• 1-16-08 Update: Romeo went to visit his orthopedic specialist on Monday to determine his eligibility for surgery. He's ready! His hair is growing in nicely and his health is good. His surgery will cost almost $1000. So, once HEART has been able to bring in enough donations to cover the cost of his surgery, we will be able to get his leg repaired. He will then have eight weeks of physical therapy. After that we will have him re-evaluated for adoption.

• 5-27-08 Update: Since our last update, Romeo has had a set-back. His skin condition has begun to worsen again. We now believe his condition is not only an allergy to food, but to other allergens as well. In an effort to keep from having to medicate him with steroids and to help him feel better, we are now moving into having him tested for allergies. Once we know what he is allergic to, we will be able to start him on monthly allergy shots for the summer. This will more than likely be something he'll have to continue for the rest of his life. On a positive note, for some reason, his severely luxating patella is no longer so severe. He is now walking on his leg and his knee cap appears to have re-set itself. Our vet has suggested we leave it alone for now and hope for the best. It was a surprise to all of us, considering how severe it was. Not sure what the future will bring for this part of Romeo's life, but we will hope for the best!

Romeo and other dogs and cats like him are why we charge an adoption fee and why your donations are so important to our organization. Our organization is fully funded by donations and adoption fees, HEART does not receive government or municipal funds to help with expenses.

Romeo's care and future surgery will be expensive. If you'd like to help Romeo and other dogs in our program that require extra special care, please send your donation to HEART at P.O. Box 897, Youngsville, NC 27596 or online. A big THANK YOU! to Romeo's HEART Buddies: Gloria F, Charles H, Sheryl A, John J, Ruth L.

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Last modified: 05/31/08