Riddle – Pittsford, NY

ESRA Special Needs Springer


ESRA #2009-0170OH
Age: 5-6 years
Gender: Male
Color: Tri-color

Friday, February 20, 2009, Medina, Ohio, temperature 12 degrees, a call was made to the dog warden to pick up a stray. Before they could get there, another call was made to the police because of the obvious cruelty and neglect of the dog. The police arrived, picked up the stray, and took him to the shelter. The shelter records this dog as feces covered, matted, in bad shape but of good temperament. The dog smells so bad, the stink consumes the entire shelter. Estimated age, 5 to 6 years old.

Monday, February 23, when an ESRA volunteer, Sandy Bookman, went to the Medina shelter to check on another possible Springer, it was impossible not to see this very distressed boy. The shelter employee was very happy to notice that our Sandy was looking at this sad and stinky mess of a dog. Sandy asked her if he was a Springer, which she thought he was. She did not know for sure because of his condition, so she snapped two terrible pictures of the saddest dog she had ever seen, and sent to Judy Manley for breed verification. Judy verified this boy as a Tri-Colored Bench bred Springer. Sandy told them, if they could clean him up, ESRA would likely take him.

Wednesday, February 25, Sandy went back to Medina to check the Shelter Boys. Only "Stinky Boy" remained, freshly shaved completely down, very distressed, and barking non-stop. They happily handed him over to ESRA, no fees paid.

His groomed body exposed more of his story. Most noticeable was a deformed and callused front leg that appeared to be an old injury that was never attended to. The other bothersome wound was a huge welt-like bump about the size of an orange on his head. It looked like someone had beaten him with a bat or something. The wound had been oozing but was starting to heal. His ears were infected shut and the smell was overwhelming. When Sandy was leaving the shelter with this boy, she also observed the roach in his spine, a sinking look in one of his hips, and he wasn't using one of his rear legs.

Sandy made her next stop a veterinary clinic for an assessment of her new foster boy.

First we had to name him. Hmm! What happened to him is a mystery, how do we solve this? Its sort of like a Riddle. OK, that's his name: Riddle!

Now onto what it will take to solve this Riddle:

He has a large welt on his head from being hit, and broken teeth. This will be monitored.

The vet says it looks as if Riddle had been hit by a vehicle or something which resulted in two broken legs and a dislocated hip. He said this poor boy probably laid on his chest for months while his bones fused as they are now. He had to be in an enormous amount of pain and still has to deal with a lot of pain because he wasn't properly taken care of.

Here are his injuries. Forgive my lack of proper medical language.

  1. Left front leg. Hyper-extended carpal-luxation at pastern. The joint has fused where the injuries were not repaired. He has been walking on his ankle aka pastern since he was able to get up on his own and has developed calluses on his ankle from walking on it. The veterinarians recommend the joint be repaired by separating the joints, removing the cartilage, shaving down the bones of each side to match, then installing a plate to give him the support needed for the leg.
  2. Rear left leg. Hyper-extended tarsal - grossly dislocated. The joint has also fused where the injuries were not repaired. Riddle cannot use this leg. He puts no weight on it.
  3. Left hip. Dislocated. The repair will require a surgical procedure called Femoral Head Ostectomy. FHO is a surgical procedure that removes the femoral head and neck from the femur. FHO surgery is performed to alleviate pain. It is a salvage procedure, reserved for condition where pain can not be alleviated in any other way.

We are currently getting medical advice on how to do what would be the best procedure to follow to put Riddle back together. It is going to require a lot of financial assistance and the devotion of a loving foster home. His foster mom is impressed with Riddle's good nature and describes him as a "marshmallow."

Can you help us solve this Riddle?

Riddle has now undergone the first of his three scheduled surgeries — the FHO, femoral head ostectomy. His recovery has been so amazing, we want to share his progress with all you who have shown interest in his story! He is truly the most determined boy ESRA has ever heard about and those who know him will never understand how he could have survived for weeks, lying immobile on his belly all alone and suffering with pain like nothing we could probably imagine! The lucky family who one day gets to call him a member of their family will have quite a wonder on their hands!

Update April 6, 2009 from Riddle and his foster mom The Little Riddle Man has been quietly handling this latest round of pain, something he is obviously familiar with, with dignity and perseverance. Surgery was Wednesday, arriving back at the Mudpuppy Inn, late Thursday. He earned his pain meds for sure. I've been sleeping on the floor, so he can be comfortable and close to me. He likes it, and it's his moment in time.

Friday had to be spent in an "E" collar, due to his wanting to remove his staples himself, and my need to go off to work. He fared quite well. Friday evening was spent observing Riddle's level of pain and mobility. The most obvious thing was that he didn't seem to be in any MORE pain than he had been in BEFORE the surgery. He seems to wear his pain, on his face. His expression was, much the same as before, pain, pain, go away!

He is able to walk, manages steps in and out of the house. No potty accidents :-) His back leg is floppy, and toes are knuckling under, and dragging :-(

Saturday: I wish you could see this — it's 2 pm and something clicks in this dog! He's peppy! Eyes bright and happy! Face beaming! He's following me around all day, jumping onto and off of the couch, unassisted — WOW! His leg is not quite as floppy, he is learning to use his muscles again. The toes, no longer are knuckling under. To my amazement, he lopes through 2 rooms, to be near me. This dog has never moved like that, since being rescued. You need to remember that Riddle had no use of that rear leg for the past year or so. He held it up all the time, occasionally touching the tip of his toes to the ground, for balance.

Sunday: Today, Riddle is stepping on his foot, actually applying pressure to his foot. His toes are spreading apart, showing that weight is being borne on that leg. It's working! I get chills, seeing how fast these improvements are happening. The pain in his hip, must have been excruciating. He looks at me, and I can see the relief in his eyes. It's like he's saying "Thank You God" for sending me this human, and ESRA. Then I grab his cheeks, and he lays a big, warm, wet, KISS, straight up my face.

A Kiss, meant for all of YOU! YOU made this literal "First Step" possible for him.

The Little Riddle Man and his humble caretaker Sandy

Update April 16, 2009 Riddle went to get his staples out yesterday. He has healed beautifully but was a real crybaby when they removed them — had everyone in the lobby looking at each other, wondering who was making all that noise! HA! I guess he was voicing his opinion about it. He did the same thing when they removed the Fentinal Patch a week ago. At home, he is completely quiet, hmmm.

He weighs in at 45lbs up from a starting weight of 39lbs. So, he is at a good weight and his skin is not paper thin anymore :-) His teeth have cleaned up, on their own, with lots of rawhides, and kibble to chew on.

The full recovery time for the hip surgery is expected to be 6 to 8 weeks; we have completed 2 weeks now. He still does not have strength in that leg, but he is gaining some control of it. I have noticed, that he is lifting and placing his foot, with some control, and placing weight on it. He has a long way to go, to build up any muscles though, due to this leg not being used at all for a very long time — probably about a year since the injury occurred.

He continues to be the "BEST" dog in the house! Is happiest lying on his bed, under the Dining Room table, keeping an eye on me. He does get fussy, when I go to the basement, where he can't go, but settles down after about 10 minutes. He is a fussy rider in the car — who knows what he associates that with! After about 20 minutes, he does better. I took him Tuesday, on his first outing, of course to the Medina Administration Building, where he has a HUGE "fan base." Everyone was stunned and amazed, and in tears as well. He wasn't too sure what was happening, and was a little too nervous to enjoy all the attention, but did pretty darn good for a first outing.

Oh! I almost forgot to tell you, Riddle can RUN!! This boy has legs now, and can really move! He can actually be taken for a walk now. He still has pain to deal with, but I dont think it's anything he is concerned with at the moment. The front leg really sets him off balance, but it doesn't stop him from going forward.

He is just a really nice dog! I hope you all get to meet him personally. Meanwhile he asks that I send this special message from him to all of you:

XOXOXO, Mr. Riddle

Update July 1, 2009 from Riddle's foster mom: Riddle's story has not been updated in a while because he has needed time to just flat out recover from his FHO surgery — the removal of the stem and ball that goes into the hip socket. There is a normal six to eight week recovery period for a healthy leg, but Riddle's leg was not healthy. It was withered, atrophied, frozen, and in immense pain. He required much more time to recover, which he has now done to a very good degree.

The leg loosened up immediately after surgery, but it had no muscle tone or strength. It was the first time this boy has been out of pain in over a year so there was no need to push him then. But the Inn (his foster home) is not a permanent place to hang his hat, so Phase Two has begun for the "Riddle Man." He is now undergoing twelve twice-weekly sessions of underwater treadmill therapy with constant monitoring by his therapist Amanda, who then consults with his surgeon Dr. Henderson every week. He has already been to two sessions, so I wanted everyone who supports this guy to know how he is doing.

I'm ashamed to say, I let your boy get FAT. The "Riddle Man" currently weighs in at 60lbs so he is now on a diet, which leaves him wondering what he did wrong and where his next meal is coming from, HA! He is a stocky built bench-bred boy so his weight is really not too far off but he needs to be lean to be carrying a cast around for six to eight weeks, as projected when he undergoes his next surgery. So his current therapy sessions will not only build up his overall strength, it will also reduce some of his weight. He may actually have some additional sessions of underwater treadmilling tacked onto the twelve he is currently going through until the doctor gets him to the point he wants him.

By the way, his first session ended in exhaustion, as was totally expected. He made it to three and a half minutes. His second session made it to four and a half. His goal right now is to make it to ten minutes or a maximum of fifteen minutes. A normal dog can make it to a half hour. Riddle will not be given that challenge. His other hip is dysplastic, so care will be given to that, and weight reduction is a must for that as well.

Well that's it for now. If anyone has any questions at all, please ask away.
Riddle's humble caretaker

Update July 14, 2009 For all of you who have been following Riddle's trials and tribulations, I want to make you aware that Riddle had his left rear leg amputated today. After long and hard deliberations on what would be best for this boy, it was decided with the opinion of highly respected professionals that this would provide Riddle with the best chance at a good life. As of this afternoon his doctor reports that the surgery went very well. Riddle is recovering and is comfortable. He has a fentanyl patch for pain, but until those meds really enter his system he is comfortable with other pain meds they have administered. He did very well in surgery and I quote his amazing surgeon "Bar none, we made the right choice for Riddle." Once the vet got into the tissue, he explained that the muscle was so fibrotic and atrophied that he had a hard time delineating the muscle fibers as they were so full of scarring. He also said that in the condition as that leg was (which, until you really get in there, you often don't realize how bad it really is) he would not have done well with the Arthrodesis surgery and that may have really impacted his life in a negative way. After long and hard consideration on the route to go with Riddle's treatment, we are all very relieved that what we have done was most definitely in Riddle's best interest.

Please keep Riddle in your thoughts and prayers and send as much positive energy in his direction as you can. He has come so far, but still has some hurdles to overcome. It is your generosity and numerous donations that have made it possible for this boy to have the chance to be a happy-go-lucky boy with a bright future. Here is a new photo of him taken just a few days before this procedure. In spite of his pain, this little boy still has a love for life like no other I have had the privilege to meet.

Update July 17, 2009 Riddle is doing amazing!! Never in our wildest dreams would we imagine that a dog could come through such a traumatic event as amputation of a limb and already be walking around and strutting his stuff! Oh sure, he is still in some discomfort, but it is minimal — or at least it seems to be from what he is telling his foster mom. He came home last night and walked out to do his business with minimal assistance. He even rolled over on his back for belly rubs this morning and has continued giving his foster mom, Sandy, those sweet Riddle Springer kisses. He is truly one of a kind and a little bright spot to so many of our lives. If you ever think you've got it rough … just remember this little sweetheart and all he has been through. He is our miracle boy.

UPDATE FROM RIDDLE'S FOSTER MOM September 19, 2009
Riddle has got to be the happiest dog we have ever had the privilege of meeting! He has a determination and a spirit that just doesn't quit! He is now being fostered in New York and lives with three other dogs, a cat, and soon five alpacas! He navigates the pastures from front to back every single day, making sure that all will be safe for the new arrivals! He is most definitely a "barn dog" and is extremely happy when he can spend time in the barn with his foster mom and dad while they are working hard. He really tries to work hard too but has learned that Alpaca Maintenance feed is really not something that he should be eating! He is a laugh a minute!!

His left front leg was casted a week ago so that a special custom orthotic device can be made to help stabilize his very deformed left paw/leg. A specialist in Colorado is making him a very special custom brace that will hopefully provide the leg with needed stability and strength, which could very possibly eliminate the need for any further surgery for this sweet boy. He has been through two very invasive surgeries this year alone and seems so happy and content just the way he is right now. Giving him that little something extra that might really help the quality of his life is all we can ask for right now.

Please keep him in your good thoughts and prayers as he goes though yet another phase of treatment. He is one sweet, amazing, boy! We wish you could all meet Riddle. He would certainly leave a lasting impression on you — an impression of love, happiness, and never-ending determination.

Contact: Linda Lintz llintz@rochester.rr.com or Sandy Bookman mudpuppy2008@yahoo.com

CLICK HERE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SPONSOR RIDDLE

RIDDLE’S GENEROUS SPONSORS TO DATE:
Linda Lintz  
Julie Redden  
Phil and Janet Sproat  
Sandra Pancoe  
Elsa V. Parsegian  
Merrie Corbett In memory of all the abused and neglected dogs that were never rescued
Angela Mesarchik In memory of all rescued Springers
Betty Green  
Corene Finley In memory of Sam who came to us through ESRA as a rowdy 4 month old pup
Debra Westrick  
Allie Kannenberg  
Diane Chmielewski  
Lynnea Berr  
Janet Mitchell In honor of my parents, who lived in Medina during WW II
Michelle Reichlin/Fido's Companion  
Ray and Monica Smith With paws crossed for you, Bailey, Chance and Benji Smith
Julie Seiter  
Michele Martin and Tom Moore In memory of Frankie, Dollard, Quinn, Maggie and Baxter
Linda Gibbons Matched by LexisNexis
Colleen Williams In memory of Benny
Bruce and Terry Cooley  
The Falko Family  
Donna Lilley In memory of Benny
Steven and Patti Adkins For Riddle: Hang in there, buddy! Your fellow rescue Springer, Mr. Riley
Paula Levine Springer Ruby wishes Riddle will get well soon!
Gayle and Michael Roberts ESRA is a great organization with a huge heart. We have two ESRA boys, Barnie and Noble, who are 11 1/2 years old now and are the best boys in the world. We are thankful that we have them to love.
Karl and Linda Lintz In memory of Whitney Lively's very special dog, Casey, who lost his battle with congestive heart failure
Cary Branthwaite  
Cathryne Slaughter In memory of Duchess, Belle, BlackJack and Barney
Michael Black In memory of Taylor
Linda and Denny Boyle In memory of Cody, Kelsey, Millie and Cookie. God bless ESRA and a special thanks to Sandy Bookman!
Barb Chadwick In memory of Molly who was my heart—the most beautiful Springer who ever lived
Lori Proctor In memory of Pee Wee and Nick and in honor of Rosie
Robin Bennett From fellow ESRA rescue, Betsy — ESRA is the best!
Matched by JPMorgan Chase
Kris Specht A gift in the name of Beverly and Jonathan Rohde in memory of Lucky
Julia Riley In honor of Belle and Cypress who came from ESRA
Val Strachan In memory of Gary Frechette who made Springer rescue a big part of his life
Scott and Cheryl Dunn In memory of Richard Friend
Donna Frisk In memory of Cricket, Misty, and Zack
Julie Hogan  
Tony Comando In memory of Tony Comando Sr. and Chester
Anne Saywitz A gift in the name of Paul and Martha Fritts in memory of Winston Fritts
Annette Vota A donation in memory of Tracee Siade-Jones's beloved friend Oscar, made by her Benefits and Compensation Team
Joyce and Dick Garrison In memory of Michael Amato
Mary Lyons In memory of my special girls Jasmine and Jessie
Kim Olsick  I'm saddenedd to see that someone in my town could be so cruel to this beautiful guy.
Mary Dobbins  
Mary Blowers  In honor of the Lintzes and their amazing work, generosity and love for Springers
Steven and Patricia Adkins  Your fellow rescue, Mr. Riley, says "Thanks for hanging tough!"
Jillian Caldwell  In memory of Buster, the most patient Springer
Sandra Philipson  In memory of Max
Diane and Tony Foos  In loving memory of our sweet Maple. We miss her every day.
Clara Costello Springers Abby, Ginger and Roxy say "Get well fast, Riddle. Springers are the best!"
Kathleen Kalinowski In memory of Peko
Jeanne Holland Newton In celebration of Sydney's first year being my ESRA miracle Springer pup!
Kitty Carpenter A gift in the name of Mark Amenta to honor the sweetest boy ever, Reginald the Sweet, one of the lucky ones. Rescued by Mark, he lived a long, full, fun-filled life. Wish all dogs could enjoy the same.

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