Gather 'round--to hear the story about a young dog that acted old, a Greyhound mix that wasn't, a rescued dog that needing rescuing, and a corrective surgery that helped the young dog act young again! Ranger was posted on a Facebook lost and found page. To many of us, he looked like a Greyhound. The family that saved him from the streets couldn't keep him because his presence had ignited chaos and discontent among their pack of small dogs.  A local adoption group had placed him several months earlier and when the family that had adopted him asked to return him; the group wouldn't take him back--and he was let loose on the streets.
A Place for Us Greyhounds entered the picture and took Ranger to their rescue kennel. He was limping and in pain--he wasn't playing or acting like a one-year old puppy. He was taken to Dr. Chattin at Live Oak Clinic, who diagnosed Ranger with Osteochondritis Dissecans--a genetic/developmental issue affecting large breeds of dogs which results in painful cartilage deposits.  Dogs with this disorder do not feel well and every step is painful; it's akin to how each step would feel if one had a rock in their shoe--but with Ranger it was affecting his shoulder.  The surgery to remove the deposit was successful! Ranger is recovering nicely. He might get to move to El Paso and live with Nala. Wow. And--back to the story line--Ranger's DNA results were:  25% Boxer, 12.5% Chow, 12.5% Treeing Walker Coonhound, 12.5% German Shepherd, and 37.5% mixed breed that did include sighthounds. Please consider sending a donation to help pay for Ranger's surgical expenses--which were $916.  This just in--Ranger has been adopted--he is enrolled in "good manners" classes, and he feels so great the he jumped a 4-foot fence. Wow!

We've included the story of Ranger to point out that we want the best for a dog--even if it is an expensive surgery and also to try and emphasize how important we believe it is to not only try and find homes for dogs to be responsive whenever their adoptive family cannot or will not keep them. It makes us sad whenever a home doesn't work out--but APFUG has a policy to take back any of the dogs that we place regardless of our availability of foster homes or personal feelings that we have about the reason(s) that the dog is being relinquished.