Ralphie when we first found him!		Ralphie NOW and with attitude! :)

Ralphie is about 8 years old, only 8 lbs, and just a precious little boy. He loves to sit next you and watch television. When he is ready for you to sit down and be with him, he will follow you around and just stare at you until you give in to his pitiful little face! He loves to play with the other tiny dog in his foster home and he loves being warm in his little handsome sweaters. He is now in heaven!

Ralphie was found down by the lake in horrible condition (see above photo). He had fishing wire tangled in his coat. His nails were curled around and were digging back into his little toes. His hair was matted over one eye so badly that he could barely see and his ears were solid with filth and hair. His condition did not occur quickly. He has been seriously neglected for many years!

Ralphie's Vet Visit and Vet Needs:

Ralphie's vet check went well. His blood work came back very good but with an elevated white cell count due to the infection in his mouth. We have put him on antibiotics and it has already helped tremendously. However, his teeth are so bad that he can only eat tiny bites or soft food because they hurt. We need to get his teeth cleaned and most of them will need to be pulled.

Ralphie has a slight heart murmur. Before we can put him under safely to do his teeth, we have to do an echocardiogram on him to ensure his heart is strong enough to handle the anesthesia.

What is an Echocardiogram:

An Echocardiogram is a test in which ultrasound is used to examine the heart. In addition to providing single-dimension images, the echocardiogram offers two- dimensional images and is capable of displaying a cross-sectional "slice" of the beating heart, including the chambers, valves and the major blood vessels that exit from the left and right ventricle. This allows the doctor to see the sizes of the chambers, including the thickness of the walls AND the pumping function of the heart, which allows them to access whether it is normal or reduced to a mild or severe degree.

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