Onyx

Onyx, mid-life neutered male Bouvier

Onyx, 7 year old male Bouv was rescued from the Riverside , CA shelter by SCBDFC's Judy Kasper and Kathy Santana in mid-March , 2006. He had been brought into into the Riverside shelter as stray. The shelter found a microchip and tried to contact his owners, who did not respond nor re-claim him. Because he was not adopted by any member of the general public within a reasonable time, the shelter allowed the club's Rescue program to take him.

He was neutered within a few days of his rescue and vaccinated for Rabies and DHLP. The microchip yielded the information that he is seven years old and identified his breeder.

In grooming him Judy discovered a large, hard, irregular shaped lump in his groin area, and became concerned that this might be a cancer. So she phoned me to see if I could take over his foster care and get him treatment at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, VMTH , which has an excellent Oncology service. Judy was coming to attend the BCNC Specialty Show (about an hour's drive from my home) on April 1 & 2, so Onyx could ride with her and I would meet her at the show and take over from there.

I phoned the Vet School to set up his appointment and found that currently Oncology is booking Oncology appointments only for patients who have a confirmed diagnosis as being cancer. (They have had to do this because at the moment the service is overloaded with incoming patients. So undiagnosed lumps come in through Outpatient services instead of through Oncology.) So we had Judy's vet take a fine needle aspiration biopsy and the results came back came back as showing no cancer cells, thus it was very unlikley to be a cancer, but was probably rather some kind of an infection. So yesterday (3/28/06) he did surgery to remove the lump. The lump should be going to the pathology lab to make sure that it really is benign. That report should be back a few days from now.

To judge from his photos : He is a very good looking dog, cropped and docked. in some of the photos he looks black and in others dark grey, so I am not sure which -- but does it matter to anyone ?

Anyway here is what is known about him so far, information from Judy (first section) and then from Kathy :

(soon after intake, 3/17/06 : )
Onyx is now neutered, had some eye treatment meds and flagl for what looks like giardia. All shots including rabies.His weight is only 76 lbs and should nearing 90. Very lean. Kathy will tend him post neuter and get him on the road to better body weight. In the busy vet office he was strong and wanting to visit all the dogs, it seemed that he meant them no harm. He has not attempted to harm Kathy's Poms (Pomeranians) or even respond to them, but the mass in the vet office intrigued him. She will be picking him up in a couple of hours and will no doubt report his condition
 He knows sit, has a pretty good leave it and will roll over for inspection. His heel is not so good. Seems like he was not used to walking leashed. I was going to photograph the mass, but when he is on his back it sinks below skin level so as not be seen.
( 3/28/06 : )
Now that he is feeling better, his behavior not as good . He wants to eat any small animal that he see's . Prey drive high, so he needs some one that will give him lots of training. This dog is very strong headed. Took him in to have the mass removed this morning. Needless to say he tryed to eat every small dog that was in the place. also definitely no cats. He is very good with people; don't know about small children.
(and in response to my question about how small is small : )
When i said he went after small animals I mean little like Poms. He thinks little dogs are fair game. He will sit and lay down on leash when told, but I think he needs his training updated : I think that he as had some but needs reminding. He is still a sweet boy I think you will like him.

So it seems to me that this is a good dog for an experienced Bouv person who has good Alpha personality but probably not for an inexperienced one or one who is not a natural pack leader. There should be no cats and no really little dogs in the home. We will check out his attitude towards children, but I find that most Bouvs who like adults also like children. However much a dog likes children, all young children must be vigilantly supervised and monitored by a responsible in all interactions with all dogs.

At this point it is still a bit up in the air whether he will be coming to me to be fostered in Davis or not. As of earlier today, the plan was still for him to come to me , but later Judy and Kathy's vet said he should not move until his drains are taken out of the lump surgery site. I do have plenty of experience with the kind of after-surgery care needed and I think I can foster him more easily than Kathy, as I don't have any really small dogs here.

If you want to contact his current foster home, it is Kathy Santana who is SCBDFC Rescue Chair. phone is (951) 681-0599 and e-mail is <ojsantana@msn.com> (Her replies will have Oscar, her husband, as the apparant source ; they share the e-dress). Or after the April Fool's weekend, he may be here with me, Pam Green at (530) 756-2997, or e-mail to <pamgreen@cal.net>

UPDATE (4/6/06): Onyx will continue to be fostered by Kathy Santana; see paragraph above for contact information. The pathology lab report on the removed mass came back (today) as definitely NOT cancer. So this very affectionate seven year old dog has the whole second half of his life available to spend with the right adopter. If he sounds right for you, make a date with Kathy to meet him. This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

UPDATE (4/27/06) : Onyx was ADOPTED about a week ago by a wonderful home, very experienced with Bouviers, whom I had the pleasure of interviewing. Onyx will be a cherished companion and will have oppertunity to be a Therapy Dog if he likes that job.