My name is Denise Ridgeon I am the president of Central Florida Weimaraner Rescue and I want to bring you all Josh's Story and why we are reaching out for help for Josh. The help we are seeking is to fund Josh's Second major Surgery which has to be carried out by a orthopedic specialist. Josh is a beautiful 4 yr old Weimaraner probably the sweetest boy you could ever meet he is a happy and grateful boy despite all his injuries. We first heard of Josh's plight at the beginning of February he was found wandering in Louisiana attempts were made to find his owner to no avail Animal control would not intervene, Josh was underweight his eyes were virtually closed all matted with goop He was trailing his back leg his foot curled under which was swollen and bleeding from the sores that had materialized through walking on hard surfaces. His 2 front legs are bowed out leaving him with only 1 good leg , Josh was in such a mess the man that was dealing with him thought he was senior dog and said it was better to euthanize him. Looking at his photos we knew it would be a long road for Josh but we wanted to give this boy a chance. Josh was taken to an Emergency vet in Louisiana to be cleaned up and treated as much as we could before getting him to Florida to our base where we could really determine the way forward. Josh spent a month in our primary vet having tests and trying to get the back paw to heal to a point where we could have a custom boot made for him that would allow his foot to be straight and balanced They did not recommend amputating his leg due to his front 2 legs are bowed with Arthritis and are not strong Josh is a big boy, We had the custom boots made and they do work well for him but we are unable to leave them on 24hours they have to come off to let his foot breathe, When he is not wearing the boot his paw swells with movement and trails again and it is impossible to put the boot back on him due to the swelling, Josh has had many tests x rays and consultations. Josh recently went through a big surgery for his eyes he had entropian surgery on both eyes on upper and lower eyelids his surgery was a success and we no longer have to bathe his eyes to remove goop several times a day. In recent weeks Josh has been back to the Orthopedic specialist in order to decipher a way forward with his other issues The news is disappointing and not what we wanted to hear Josh has been hit by a car and the injuries he sustained and left untreated have left our options somewhat limited he can struggle with the boot and keep him on medications or it is surgery to amputate the foot and his pads will be sewn onto the stump to give him the cushioning eventually it would reach the point he would need this surgery, His foot will never work he has severe hip dysplasia and the nervous system that operates movement to his foot is completely crushed and not repairable now after such a long time. The injury is old we have no idea how old but the specialist thinks maybe 3 - 6 months prior to us getting him, In our Drs words Josh has a lot going on. We have opted to get this surgery taken care of as it will give him the chance of a better life Josh as big as he is gets around pretty well, When Josh has healed from this surgery we will move on to front legs to see what can be done Yes the road is long and unpleasant but we are committed to doing the very best for him and eventually place him in a forever home that will love and take care of this precious boy unconditionally. We have brought Josh so far Please join us in his journey. Donate if you are able if not please Share his Story CFWR Thank you in advance for anything you can help us with on this campaign for Josh and we know this precious boy will be so grateful We will update with photos and videos xx
