Lexus

INTRODUCTION As told by Lexus

Let me tell you, this is one big fascinating world we all live in! I didn’t know this until my breeder gave me to As Good as Gold due to some congenital issues I have, which foster mom will explain below. Believe when I say those issues do not slow me down!

I feel like I’ve hit the jackpot! I have a big, fenced yard to play in, two canine foster siblings to play with (one of them has an ectopic ureter just like me!) and watch over me, and great vets taking care of my medical issues.

Foster mom and dad really seem to enjoy my puppy antics; foster mom often exclaims “Happy, happy, joy, joy!” as I race around the yard. She says I can really scoot. She’s amazed at how quickly I learn things and so is my foster dad. He says I’m an exceptional dog.  I sit for my meals and treats, go to the doors when I need to relieve myself, know my name, know “let’s go out” means we’re going outside and now we’re working on “come” and “leave it,” because, well, I’m a puppy and I explore the world with my mouth.

I haven’t had a poop accident since my first 24 hours in my foster home (and that was because of diarrhea – I quickly figured out that if I whimpered foster mom would scoop me up and get me outside lickety-split). I’ve learned to be comfortable in my crate when the big dogs go for a walk: I get a Kong stuffed with frozen cream cheese (yum!) and dog music videos on YouTube on the TV. I also sleep nicely in my crate all night next to my foster mom’s bed; she really appreciates that! Although I do complain for a few minutes about going to bed.

I can’t wait to see what awaits me in my forever home on this grand adventure called life! Will that be with you?

MORE ABOUT LEXUS From her foster mom

Lexus is a little girl with a big personality and strong opinions! She is smart, inquisitive, friendly, resourceful (i.e., problem solver), resilient and gives the best chin kisses! She is, indeed, an exceptional dog and has no idea she has health issues. She just wants to have fun – 24/7 if she could! Lexus plays hard, rests hard and is likely to mature into a take-charge gal. She’s springy and athletic; she’d be an excellent agility dog (our ectopic ureter girl loves agility and her fancy pants – diapers – don’t slow her down).

So, what’s an ectopic ureter? That’s when the kidney and bladder aren’t connected, making the dog incontinent. In Lexus’ case, we initially suspected neither of her ureters were connected to her bladder due to severe urine scald on her abdomen and legs (that is healing nicely) and the amount of urine she was leaking. Testing revealed that one of Lexus’ kidneys never fully developed and is not functional; testing also showed that her bladder is small and tube-shaped rather than balloon-shaped. She had ectopic laser ablation surgery done to connect her functional kidney to her bladder on Nov. 14. Time will tell how successful the surgery is; she is scheduled to see the vet Dec. 26 to assess how she’s doing and whether further surgery will be beneficial.

As for risks down the road, it’s hard to say, but given the severity of Lexus’ deformities she is likely to leak for her entire life. Once the vets determine how successful her surgery is, options include another surgery, managing with medications and an occuluder as a last resort. Of the many dogs with this condition that AGaG has helped (our adopted golden being one of them), one required a second procedure, and the others did not. They all are taking various medications to help control the leaking; they dribble at times and have urinary tract infections occasionally. Our girl has not had a UTI for nearly two years; we are vigilant about keeping her clean and following her medication regimen. She wears diapers when we go to class, because excitement and exertion tend to make her leak – and also at night because she often sleeps in our beds. Taking care of her is routine to all of us and very manageable.

While Lexus is with us, we are working to ensure she’s comfortable with diapering, cleaning, being handled in her nether regions, etc. She’s doing quite well with all of it!

Since Lexus is a special needs dog, her adoption fee is $200. AGaG is open to doing a foster-to-adopt placement for Lexus in hopes of getting her into her forever home sooner than later as that would be best for her and her new family. That means AGaG would continue to cover her medical costs until we’ve addressed her needs to the best of our ability before making the adoption official.

Lexus is a treasure and will be a wonderful addition to a family open to dealing with her condition.