Coastal German Shepherd Rescue

Gideon's One Year Rescue Anniversary!!

2009-11-18T12:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of Gideon's rescue. It was a great reunion with Gideon, his new family, Dr. Wheaton and all of the staff and Alicia Pet Care Center. Gideon is a complete lover boy! He smiles and wags and demands love from all! He looks great and wears his "badge of courage" well. He has a lot of new fur and some scars but we love the way he looks!! This boy is the image of courage, determination and will. I know that when my days seem rough, I think of Gideon and how strong he was to get through so much! Keep Gideon in your thoughts as he enters his second year of his new life!

Update on our Miracle Boy!

2009-07-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

I figured it was time to update all of our faithful followers! Gideon is doing fabulous and couldn't have asked for a better home. His family adores him and the feeling is very mutual! I'm planning to post new pictures of Gideon soon. :)

Living the good life!

2009-03-14T14:46:00.000-07:00

It's amazing to think of what Gideon has gone through and then to see him romp through his new home with his lil brother Tobey in tow! He is one happy dude. :)

Gideon's surgery site contiues to heal and he is already growing fur! We expect that he will be fully furred in no time.

The OC Register had a story about Gideon last week and I wanted to share it with you. The wonderful reporter had followed his story from our initial rescue of Gideon.

It has been absolutley heartwarming to see the number of people who have followed the story of this injured boy and were pulling for him all along! It's a testament to the good will that is amongst us.

Go Giddy!

Comments!

2009-02-21T15:43:00.000-08:00

I love the comments that have come in on Gideon's blog! The only problem is that I cant reply to them directly. (Unless, of course, there is a trick that I do not know of!) There have been many times along the way that I have wanted to respond to you but without an email address, I couldn't. If you would like me to respond, include an email address on your profile or in your comment and I will get back to you. Thanks for following Gideon's journey--your support has been so valuable! :)

Home Sweet Home!

2009-02-21T15:23:00.001-08:00

We got the great news about 2 weeks ago that Gideon was ready to have the surgery to close his wound! No skin graft was needed and they were able to use his own skin--which was very exicitng as this means that Gideon will most likely grow all of his fur back.:) Gideon came through the surgery with flying colors and the best news of all is that he did not go back to the hospital to recouperate! He went to his new home. Gideon has been adopted! Not only has he been adopted, but he is now the proud member of an amazing family that includes Toby (pictured above) and several feline friends. Gideon is one very lucky boy! His transition to a home has been just a little bumpy as he has lived in a hospital cage for 3 months--however, he is now getting into the swing of things and has settled in nicely! Dr. Wheaton and his staff miss Giddy, but I hear they were getting a visit from him today!

Gideon has touched us all and we can only hope to be able to help so many other injured dogs like Gideon! His complete recovery in pictures is here.

Of course, more pictures and updates will be coming......Stay tuned!

Could it be?

2009-01-24T07:14:00.000-08:00

Could it be that Gideon has found his forever home? We shall see!!! Gideon had his first meet and greet and got to meet Toby. Toby was ever so gracious and allowed Gideon to put his entire head in his mouth! Oh, the joys of being a little---or should I say medium---sized dog! (Sorry Toby!) Toby and Giddy hit it off and went on a walk together and wrestled on Dr. Wheaton's back grass! A good day was had by all! We shall see if Gideon gets to go home with Toby---that day isn't too far away!

Gideon's healing is going great! The little island of skin that was growing in the upper section of the wound is now attaching to the outer skin. Good bye Island....hello peninsula! Hopefully this "peninsula" will continue to grow and attach on all sides. Fingers are crossed!! Gideon also has a consult scheduled with the surgeon who would possibly perform the skin graft on the lower section of the wound. Hopefully by end of the next week, we will have a good idea of what that portion of his recovery will entail!

Thanks to all for keeping Gideon in their thoughts---I know it has helped him along the way!

New Year--New Photo Shoot!

2009-01-07T14:21:00.000-08:00

So many people have asked me to post new pictures of Gideon's wound, so this week we took Mr. Gid out for a bandage-free photo shoot! His wound looks so good and is so much smaller than it originally was. The new skin is coming in and he is even growing new fur! :) More pics are posted on his Picasa page.

Wanna play?

2008-12-29T18:58:00.000-08:00

Gideon has learned that playing is so much fun! He actually gallops in excitement when he sees his toys and a patch of green grass. His limp is now minimal and he has a great level of energy. He received so many toys for Christmas from the wonderful vet staff at Dr. Wheaton's office that he now has a plethora of squeeky toys within a paws reach!

Gideon loves his couch!

2008-12-26T16:03:00.000-08:00

Does he look comfy or what?

Merry Christmas Gideon!

2008-12-26T16:01:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned that Gideon is SPOILED?? This is the couch in the breakroom at Dr. Wheaton's office. Gideon has claimed it as his own! :)

His wound is continuing to heal nicely and while he still has a long ways to go, we are all thrilled with his recovery thus far.

New pics!

2008-12-11T19:58:00.001-08:00

Check out Mr. Gideon's new pics!

New color for Gideon!

2008-12-11T19:51:00.000-08:00

Gideon is wearing red this week & it looks so very regal on him. It is apparent from his general goofiness that he is feeling so much better. He talks to anyone who will listen and makes friends with all! He has a new trot in his step and the vet staff has realized that leash-less walking is not going to work anymore! Giddy needs a leash now! This is pretty exciting, considering that when he first came to us he could barely take a couple steps!

Big Weekend For Coastal!

2008-12-05T11:34:00.001-08:00

As we are rolling into the weekend, I was about to write an update on Giddy and then realized that this weekend is huge for Coastal in general and wanted to emphasize that! We are right on the heals of a double adoption weekend and Santa Paws.

What does this mean? Well, first....it means that my husband will be dressed up as the jolly-old-guy and oh what fun that is going to be....and secondly, it means that we have the opportunity to place a number of dogs this weekend!! With our Aliso Viejo event on Saturday and the Irvine event on Sunday, it is bound to be a spectacular weekend for the dogs. :) For more info on these events, check out our events page!

PS....Gideon is doing great! Baby steps. I have to keep telling myself, baby steps. Dr. Wheaton says we are a 10th of the way through his recovery. Giddy, aka Skinner & Sugar, continues to amaze me with his strength, will and general goofiness!

Have a great weekend and wish us great luck with our orphaned shepherds this weekend.

More pics of Gideon!

2008-12-01T14:08:00.000-08:00

Gideon's recovery in pictures is on Picasa!

Giddy loves his new toy!

2008-12-01T13:58:00.000-08:00

Thankful Gideon!

2008-12-01T13:45:00.000-08:00

All I can say is that Gideon has a lot to be thankful for this holiday season!! The shear number of supporters and fans that he has is amazing. Dr. Wheaton and his staff are fantastic and he could not be getting better care. Today, Gideon was full of personality! His spirits were great and he even showed us how much he loves he squeaky toy. His wound looks a little bit better every day. The recovery is sslllooowwww...but definitely progressing. His appetite has improved dramatically and he has a new found energy!

Gideon makes the news...again!

2008-11-25T12:50:00.000-08:00

Our wonder dog, Gideon, has continued to warm the hearts of so many. We are truly in awe over the number of people who have donated and inquired about his progress. Yesterday, we were interviewed by The OC Register and are thrilled to see Gideon is print today!

Here is the story

Gideon Slideshow

2008-11-23T10:07:00.000-08:00

Gideon

2008-11-23T09:43:00.000-08:00

Check out Gideon on TV!! FOX featured Gideon and Dr. Wheaton (and me) on last nights news. YAY!!

Gideon is doing better each day. However his wound is still very necrotic and he is going to have the dead skin removed on Monday. We all have our paws crossed that he comes through this surgery seemlessly.

2008-11-21T13:32:00.000-08:00

This boy is amazing. There is no other way to describe him. Who would sit and tolerate a bandage change to this wound? Here he is just before getting the wound dressed and re-bandaged.

Saving Gideon!

2008-11-21T13:29:00.000-08:00

He 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 of Alicia Pet Care Center feels that even though this is the largest degloving injury he has ever seen....that 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. We are grateful for the determination, patience and caring support that Dr. Wheaton and his staff have had with Gideon.