Gideon is a one year old, white German Shepherd who has endured one of the most horrific injuries. He was found in an Orange County park in terrible condition with maggots covering over half of his body; he was then impounded with Orange County Animal Shelter. Coastal German Shepherd Rescue was asked to assist with rescuing Gideon and getting him the appropriate medical care. He was rescued from the shelter on 11/18/08 by Coastal German Shepherd Rescue, a 501(c)3 charity organization.
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.
We are reaching out to our generous adopters and followers to help us fund the enormous medical bill that we are going to be facing. We are anticipating medical bills exceeding $12,000.
We have given this boy the name Gideon, hoping the power behind the name with bring him strength. Due to the severe nature of his "degloving" injury, he will need to the strength and faith of the great warrior to survive the battle he has before him. He is very stoic and although he is in unimaginable pain, he rests his head on your hands to look up to you for reassurance. He is no more than a year old and will be a stunning boy once he heals.
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. The course of treatment could potentially exceed 12K. We simply had to give him the opportunity for a second chance.....he is so very deserving.
Gideon's medical journey will be charted in pictures on Picasa. Please click
here to see more pictures of our boy. These pictures are not pretty...but we are optimistic that he will be looking better soon.
***Update November 22, 2008:
Gideon is doing pretty good! After a scare on Thursday when Gideon needed a plasma transfusion, he has been doing much better. His spirits are up and he has decided that food is good! We are all inspired by his will to live.
Gideon...aka Skinner, Sugar & Loves....has a lot of fans. The vet staff at
Alicia Pet Care Center absolutely adore him and are giving him the very best of care. His wound is looking a little better every day. However, the areas of dead skin are going to have to be surgically removed on Monday. He has a considerable amount of dead tissue that needs to come off so the new skin can grow. We also have learned that his hospitalization time is going to be longer than expected. Due to the sheer size of the wound, he is probably going to need to be hospitalized for the next 2 months. Follow Gideon on his
blog!!
This afternoon, Gideon, Dr. Wheaton and I were interviewed by KTTV! With any luck Gideon will be on the news tonight. (10 o'clock, channel 11 here in So. Cal) Gideon was a love, as usual, and got some good shots taken by the camera man. :)
*Update 11/23: Watch
Gideon on KTTV!
*Update 11/24: Gideon continues to have an amazing will to survive. He is a very strong boy and has kept his stoic attitude. We are all amazed at the out-pouring of support by so many people who have been touched by Gideon’s story. Please continue to forward this firstgiving page along to your friends and family. Let’s make this Thanksgiving one that Gideon will be thankful for!
*Update 11/25: Gideon is in the news….again!! Check out the story
here!
*Update 12/9: 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.
His pictures are posted on
Picasa!
Thanks to everyone who has become a Gideon fan! Your emotional and financial support has been terrific!
Please make a donation today to help Gideon! Your well wishes and positive thoughts are also appreciated. Thank you!