Special needs great dane pup needs a home

[ZooCrew]

I was perusing on petfinder today and came across this little guy:

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=11465904

Sugar Ray


Please e-mail Hannak at intheruffgreat danes@yahoo.com This puppy is not at this rescue, I am reaching out in the hope that you will be able to help me find a home for a Great Dane puppy I've affectionately called Sugar Ray, a black with white markings born May 9th 2008. Sugar Ray's mother rejected him at 12 hours old. I took on the responsibility of bottle feeding Sugar Ray every 4 hours and we had a hard struggle; he maintained his body weight for the first week but did not gain, but this little boy is a fighter! He survived and quickly touched my heart. When he was 4 weeks old and not developing as most 4 week olds’ should we took him for a specialist vet consult. That’s when he was diagnosed with Cerebellar Hypoplasia; a condition where the cerebellum is not developing and the puppy suffers from a lack of coordination and motor skills. http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dcerbellhyp.html Sugar Ray is normal in every other aspect, he eats like a champ, he plays, he barks and he looks at you with adoring eyes. He is even house breaking himself; when ever he has to potty he will whine to let us know he has to go outside, once he’s placed in the grass he potties and wants to be picked up. He unfortunately lacks the coordination to walk. We have built him his own 4 wheel drive “wheel chair” which he is learning to use, but unfortunately he will probably have to be in a 4 wheel cart for his entire life. Please see http://www.eddieswheels.com/html/quad.html Many people have said it’s best if he was euthanized because “who wants a large dog that can’t walk”, but I can not give up on such a wonderful soul. I’m hoping there is a family out there that will look past the fact that he can never play fetch, but he loves you twice as hard. Please e-mail Hannak at intheruffgreat danes@yahoo.com This puppy is not at this rescue,

[GoldenPyrs]

I love this person's dedication to this sweet puppy.  I hope that they make certain that he goes to a wonderful home that deserves such a special boy.   

[Guardian Angel's White lightning]

i don't want my head bitten off..but....i would love to have that pup myself, and talked with the hubs about it. Although, he made a point in saying...what kind of life is it for that puppy? What other struggles are going to happen to this pup? Sometimes i know that the mother disregards a puppy because they know that something is wrong.  I am not starting a fight or wanting to fight or anyhting, i am just thinking about the dogs life and not what us humans want.  This person did do a wonderful thing for this puppy in help saving him, although what about the puppy?  What about the pups quality of life?  I do hope he finds a home, although that must be a huge home for a dog that has to have a four wheel wheelchair for the rest of his life!!!

[ZooCrew]

Topic Summary
Posted on: Today at 03:55:17 AMPosted by: Jaz and Mr. Wiggles 
Insert Quote
i don't want my head bitten off..but....i would love to have that pup myself, and talked with the hubs about it. Although, he made a point in saying...what kind of life is it for that puppy? What other struggles are going to happen to this pup? Sometimes i know that the mother disregards a puppy because they know that something is wrong.  I am not starting a fight or wanting to fight or anyhting, i am just thinking about the dogs life and not what us humans want.  This person did do a wonderful thing for this puppy in help saving him, although what about the puppy?  What about the pups quality of life?  I do hope he finds a home, although that must be a huge home for a dog that has to have a four wheel wheelchair for the rest of his life!!!
 

I did think of that while reading the plea.  I agree that having a giant breed dog requiring a full wheelchair would be a great undertaking for any dog owner and it would take a special kind of person to take one in.  I looked at the link provided about the condition and here's what it said:

The symptoms do not get worse as they age. As the kitten or puppy grows it will learn to compensate for its condition but there are usually lifelong signs of a decreased ability to coordinate movement. Almost all dogs and cats with congenital cerebellar hypoplasia can live happily as pets with a little special care to compensate for their disabilities

It sounds as if with physical therapy, it is possible he may be able to walk on his own?  i don't know, then again he may require a wheelchair his entire life.  If he had chosen to put the pup down after it was born I wouldn't have thought he was doing the wrong thing. But at this age, I think the pup has every right to at least try and live a semi normal life, depsite the difficulties that this may bring.