As the weeks have progressed, Prince and King now feel right at home with us. After waiting on vet appointments to open up, they have both finally been neutered, Prince had a mass removed, and they both had their dental treatments.
Speaking of Dental treatments, Prince had to have 21 teeth removed. That is not a typo, he legitimately did need 21 teeth removed. Keep in mind that adult dogs have 42 permanent teeth and he was already missing some. Due to his previous living conditions, he now has less than half of his teeth remaining. King on the other hand only had 11 teeth removed which is still a lot. The dental bills alone for these guys are in the thousands.
Recovery from their medical procedures was not smooth. Prince popped stitches where his mass was removed and King popped stitches in his mouth. Prince also had one area in his mouth that did not heal correctly and will need to go back for one more procedure. The dental work and the neutering were done at different times and different Vets. The dental work was done by a dental specialist. Prince had his dental first since his teeth were by far in the worse condition. During that time, King had his neuter done. After they healed from their first procedures, they swapped and had the opposite procedure done.
Following the dental work, we can only surmise that they felt so much better that they lost their minds and began acting like 1-year-old dogs. Prince had his neuter after he healed from the dental and felt so good that he hurt himself at the vet's office before he even made it back to the car to go home. King even decided, after his procedures, that he needed to lead an expedition under the fence and into the neighbor's yard to hunt down the squirrel that they like to chase. Prince and our other foster Lugh went with him to help. I am sure you can imagine our embarrassment when the neighbor turned up to tell us.
The amount of energy these two have is astounding. They are appreciative of everything we have done for them. They take nothing for granted. What that means in dog terms is that they crave our attention, they love being inside with us, they love their soft bedding, the toys, and everything they get now. They love their new lives and it shows. They are good around the house and picked up toilet training very quickly. They no longer have accidents and can be trusted with free-range when we go out.
When the time comes to place them, the average type of home who would normally want senior dogs will not do. They are so active that they will need people who can keep up which is not something you normally associate with senior dog care. They can be rather talkative and expressive. Prince in particular likes to vocalize, not to be confused with barking, what he does is more like whines and small woofs as he tries to tell you what he wants.
In the coming weeks, these guys will finally be ready for adoption. The road to get them here has been long and expensive. To get King and Prince back to good health from their being overweight with rotting teeth and the mass has cost the rescue over $3k. Because of NBRAN's willingness to put up that money, their lives have been greatly improved and time has been added to how long they get to live. Periodontal disease in dogs is quite serious and shortens a dog's lifespan. Please check out this PetMD article to learn more about periodontal disease in dogs.
If you would like to help with the costs, you may donate at the NBRAN donation page. Donations are tax-deductible and help the rescue with everything including vet care, food, etc that these dogs need to have the best chance of getting their forever homes.