Hi, my name is Megan, and I am helping fundraise for a good friend’s family puppers, Wolfie. Please see the story below written by Jackie: On May 5th I received a panicked call from my dad. Wolfgang had fallen over and couldn’t get up. I left work and rushed over to their house thinking it was his hips but when I got there, it seemed he was having a seizure. He was rolling and flailing and very disoriented. He is a 7 year old 125 pound King German Shepard, and I could barely keep him still let alone lift him, so my husband and his brother also came over to help and we rushed him to the emergency vet, hugging him tight in the back of the car so he wouldn’t hurt himself. The local ER treated him here for one night thinking he had an inner ear infection, but then ultimately they transferred him two hours away to Penn Vet emergency in Philadelphia the very next day. Wolfie was here for almost a week getting tests, MRIs, and daily support to figure out what was happening to our sweet boy. We learned that he had suddenly suffered from a massive infarction in his left cerebellum, causing him to have a massive stroke. Wolfgang is the love of my dads life. He always wanted a German Shepard, after serving with one in the military on his marine base. So I somehow convinced my mom that they were ready for a dog again and we found Wolfie, a pup who was lined up to go to a different home but something happened and those people bailed at the last minute and never came to get him. Lucky for us we got to bring him to our home. I was living in South Carolina at the time and I drove through the night with baby Wolfie snuggled on my shoulder, taking the 10 hour drive up to Pennsylvania to surprise my dad. From the very moment we plopped baby Wolfie into the bed where my dad was sleeping, they were best friends. My dad now is aging and has a lot of health issues, he’s a cancer survivor, he’s had open heart surgery amongst other things, and lately he’s been having trouble walking. Having Wolfgang these past 7 years has giving him a second life and so much joy and purpose. So to watch Wolfie go through something like this and see my dad so worried and terrified has been absolutely gut wrenching for my whole family. Wolfgang has been the absolute best and most perfect dog for our family. My brother has autism and sometimes has outbursts without warning. Wolfgang helps the family through it by staying calm and moving about the house. He never becomes aggressive or irritated towards my brother even at the worst of it. He is just so gentle and loving. After almost a week at Penn Vet, Wolfgang was released to come home and we were so thrilled, but scared as he has a long and tough recovery journey ahead. He needs intensive support and care at home. He cannot get up on his own and will need to learn to walk again. Ever since then I’ve been staying at my parents house all day every day to help take care of Wolfgang. He is very heavy and very strong; due to my parents age and health issues we can’t risk them attempting to take him on their own and getting hurt. So I take him outside often to work on walking skills and for potty breaks between my work meetings. I bring my dog Henry with me every day. They love each other, grew up together and have been best friends since we brought Wolfie home. Henry encourages Wolfie to try to get up and run on his own. When Henry gets here in the morning is when Wolfie is the most motivated to try and move and get his legs under himself. They just want to run side-by-side in the yard together again. At first Wolfie could barely move his legs. He had no strength under him. His head was very tilted and he still seemed so dizzy, he had no balance. When we are walking him, he leans heavy over to his left and will fall that way. At first it took two of us to lift him and get him up. But as the days go by and he got stronger, we can do it with just me, which is much safer. He didn’t even bark for the first few weeks after we got him home and couldn’t control reliving himself. We had furniture removed and made him a comfy little corner in the living room lined with potty pads. And my dad slept on the floor with him in the living room for the first week or so when he got home. The first few weeks were rough. He could barely sit up on his own and was slightly swaying back-and-forth when he did. He could barely move his back legs when we were trying to get him to walk. He just had no strength underneath him let alone balance. When Wolfie eats or drinks now he leans to the left too. His brain is relearning and rewriting how to find the bowl and make his way there, so it’s been a little messy. Thankfully I found help in our local pet care service and after coming over and meeting Wolfgang for a test run, they have started supplementing my work with him during the week to help us out and relive me of some of the pressure. It’s been very hard and taxing on my entire family but we’re doing the absolute best we can for him. The doctors are hopeful he can make a full recovery and we’re trying everything we possibly can. Physical therapy everyday and acupuncture every week. We’re even looking into a chiropractic adjustment for him. Progress is coming very slowly but every day we can see very small signs of improvement. He’s at the point now that he can take a few very wobbly steps on his own before he falls over. He gets very motivated when his other dog friends in the neighborhood come outside and will pop right up and try to go bark at them them. We have a long road ahead but Wolfgang is so happy and determined to get back to his life! Every penny will help Wolfie’s family on his care and recovery journey such as: Professional in-home canine care trained to provide outdoor walking therapies and routines up to three times a day, Weekly acupuncture treatments, follow up veterinary neurology office visits, replacement walking harnesses, anti-slip floor mats, traction grip dog boots, etc. any expenses not covered moving forward will help his family pay for his $11k plus medical bills currently on credit cards.
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