June 2016 This tiny little boy is our newest addition. He was turned over to rescue because of his poor health/condition. Hershey is almost four months old and is a brown, 1.7 pound toy poodle. He's not ready for adoption just yet - our vet has checked him over and found no cause for him to be so weak. We suspicion he had no room to move and develop his muscles, so for the next two weeks, we are going to feed him plenty of food and encourage him to run and play and act like a puppy, building up his muscles. In two weeks, we will have him examined again, and hopefully be able to release him for adoption at that time. I'm sure there will be a number of applicants wanting this little brown bundle, so get your applications in now so we can get your reference checks and home visits done in preparation for him being deemed ready for adoption! Update 7/14/16 - Hershey has gained weight - he's now 2.5 pounds! That's a great gain for such a tiny little guy! Our vet was impressed at his mobility improvement showing he's building muscle and improving his coordination. He is starting to explore and want to play, and he's getting SASSY! He still has a cough so are starting an antibiotic to treat for a possible upper respiratory infection. We would like to determine what his final size might be to help us place him in the best home. Our vet would like to do a recheck again in two weeks to make sure the cough is gone, give him his next round of puppy vaccinations, and determine at that time if he's ready to be released for adoption. Update 7/25/16 - We found out today at the vet visit that Hershey has a serious deformity in his neck.  X-rays showed a malformed area between his first and second vertebra in his neck where there is a potential for movement that can pinch nerves and also his spinal cord. Surgery is not an option on a young, growing puppy and can be tens of thousands of dollars on an adult dog. But the good news is some dogs have this condition and aren't diagnosed until they are old and start having problems, so no one knows how long Hershey will be able to live with this condition called Atlanto-Axial Instability. His muscle weakness and clumsiness are a side effect of this condition, along with the horrible start to life he received. He also weighed THREE POUNDS today at almost five months old. We are putting Hershey on a medical hold while we pursue a specialist to advise us on a possible plan of action to treat this boy. This will be expensive, so if you are able, please donate in Hershey's name to our PayPal account or contact us directly for an address to send a donation. Update 8/17/16 - Our Neurologist saw Hershey today - he weighed FOUR pounds at the visit and was a very cooperative patient! After assessing Hershey's initial condition, we have been advised to wait one more month to allow Hershey's puppy bones to complete more hardening, making the success rate of his surgery higher. He also prefers to do the MRI on puppies diagnosed with this condition right before the surgery so they are only sedated once - their necks are very fragile when they are out, making the risk for injury very high. So we have scheduled the MRI and his surgery in one month, Wednesday, Sept. 14th. This vet's success rate for this surgery is 90%, so we are feeling very confident we are in the right place doing the right thing for this sweet little guy. We also were told that the inclusive cost would be about $4,500. That is much lower than we were expecting, so great news! Now on to more fundraising in the next four weeks! Please donate if you haven't already done so! UPDATE 9/14/16 - Hershey had his surgery and the surgeon is optimistic. He doesn't want to make any predictions on when Hershey might be able to leave their care - we are taking his recovery one day at a time. The MRI  showed there are a couple more genetic defect issues that will probably need to be addressed with surgery. UPDATE 9/17/16 - Our little guy came home today. His suture looks really good and barely visible! He is also very energetic for just having major surgery, and he's eating well. I think he's already feeling remarkably better. He gets his stitches out in 10 days with more instructions on his care to follow at that exam. UPDATE 9/26/16 - Hershey's stitches are out, and his neurosurgeon is extremely happy! We are to allow Hershey to slowly be the playful, bouncing puppy he's wanting to be - he's a little spitfire now, feeling so much better! We are to return in three months for a follow-up exam. Hershey will remain in foster care until we are sure we have addressed all his neck defect issues. UPDATE 12/28/16 - Hershey had his leg cast removed. CAST? Yes, the little goober broke his left front leg in a moment of thinking he was Superman. This isn't surprising since his activities have been limited for most of his life with us while waiting to be diagnosed, then waiting to be old enough for surgery, then waiting for his neck surgery to heal. The x-ray at 5 weeks actually showed the break healed, but we felt it wise to leave the cast on for 10 more days thru the Holidays while family/friends were here and our normal routine was enhanced. Next is getting his Neuro visit scheduled to find out our next step with his neck issue. If his wild and crazy antics are any indication, he's feeling SUPER! UPDATE 3/2/17 Happy Birthday to Hershey! He's one year old and doing great! We see the neurosurgeon on 3/15/17 for a checkup.  UPDATE 3/17/17 - Hershey's update is not what we wanted to post. The neurosurgeon's examination found that Hershey's neck issue is not as stable as what he had hoped for. Even though the pins are holding the vertebra in place, there's more deformity to the vertebra and more movement in the area between C1 & C2 than what he wanted. At this point in time there's really not a "fix" for this deformity. We will watch the other two areas and address them as they become an issue for him. He reminded us that more than 60% of dogs with this genetic defect die, so Hershey being here at 1 year old is beating the odds.  Hershey will remain in permanent foster care unless a remarkable home able to take on future extreme medical bills like the $4,500 surgery he had in September would step up wanting to adopt this special boy. UPDATE 5/31/17 Hershey was neutered today. He has been becoming aggressive with the newly neutered breeder dogs we've had here, so we decided we were going to have to take the risk of having him undergo surgery for a neuter and eliminate his feisty hormone levels. So far so good, but he's wanting to lick his sutures so having to make him some tiny panties since he cannot wear any form of cone because of his neck instability. UPDATE 5/31/18 This little guy is still in foster care and doing fine. He's almost 7 pounds now and not had any new neurological issues, which we are thankful for. He is still being considered a permanent foster because of his genetic defects which make him fragile. UPDATE 1/4/21 Hershey's still here and doing great with his mobility limited so he doesn't hurt himself. UPDATE 3/2/22 HAPPY 6th Birthday, Hershey! I don't think anyone thought you'd be able to stay safe and live this long!  You are happy and know no difference in your limited surroundings!  UPDATE 6/30/24 This boy at 8 years old is still a bouncing little poodle. He likes to fuss at the other dogs who come to get a toy out of the toy box near his ex pen. He loves to be cuddled by foster mom and dad. He does show signs of pain every now and then when he moves wrong or when we pick him up. There's nothing to do for that at this point because 99% of the time he acts normal. Hard to remember this little guy is so fragile.