Zumo's Story as told to Jodi Marcus

Zumo: Well, HELLO !!!  I am Zumo  aka Azumi aka Lakota.  I am 11 months old and if I may say so, a pretty good size for my age..and I am very good looking, too.  And nice, I am very nice also.  I have my own fan base in my neighborhood;  the local young ladies LOVE to fuss over me.  Why not?  I flap my very cool red eyelashes at them and they swoon.  Okay, okay, you want to know how I ended up in rescue.  I will turn you over to Jodi for part of my story.

Jodi: The message was left on the rescue answering machine.  A five month puppy who had been injured and spent the last month at the vet recovering from surgery to fix his front leg. He was coming back to the shelter in Lynchburg  in the next few days.  Could rescue take him?  Jodi called them back to get a little more information.  He had been tested for food and toy aggression and had no reaction.  He was a little shy, but warmed up quickly and had stolen the hearts of most of the shelter workers as well as the employees at the veterinary hospital.  All the shelter knew about his background was that he had been dropped off as a stray.  His left front leg was twisted around and he was "down"  on his right front leg, the foot up to the elbow touching ground as he attempted to walk.  The shelter had a vet evaluate him and he went in for surgery and treatment.  He would need some physical therapy done at home to help keep his elbow flexible. Jodi agreed to take him.  He was returned to shelter, arrangements were made to have him neutered and a date set for him to be picked up by rescue.  In the meantime, a local law enforcement official saw the puppy at the shelter and made inquiries.  He was told that rescue was going to take the puppy, named Lakota, and to contact them.  He called Jodi saying his neighbor was interested in adopting the puppy.  Jodi suggested he call the shelter, to which he replied he had already done so and they said to call rescue.  She gave him all the particulars about adopting and how to get to the rescue website.   Soon after she received an email with the name of the puppy's (backyard) breeder.  Puller googled the name and came up with a phone number; it wasn't the breeder, but instead was his father who was happy to give the breeder's number to Jodi after a short conversation.   Jodi called the breeder and found out more background info on the puppy.   There were two litters in the yard.  One was planned, one not.  Lakota belonged to the second group.  When he was about 8 week s old, one of the older puppies or adult bit him in or near the elbow, injuring a growth plate.  He was taken to the vet, and the breeder complained bitterly that he got very little for the money he paid.  Because of that, Lakota was not taken back to the vet even though his condition considerably worsened.  Finally the breeder asked a friend to take the puppy to the shelter as a stray.  He was about 4 months  old at this time and having difficulty navigating with one useless front leg and the other not much better. 

He spent his first months in rescue with Jodi who renamed him Azumi.  After an initial evaluation period, Jodi contacted Hillary and her husband George, who had expressed an interest in fostering to see if she wanted to take the plunge and foster this boy.  Zumo needed a lot of socialization, something at which Hillary and George excel.  He was good with family members, but a bit spooky with strangers, which was not helped by the other dogs at Jodi's who initially bark at all visitors.   Hillary agreed to foster if things worked out with their dog Sen, so a first meeting was arranged. (Sen was adopted from ARMAC ).  There should have been a symphony playing, and a beach scene with the two dogs slowly bounding toward each other.  It was love at first sight !!  There was a second meeting: Hillary and George agreed to  foster after Hillary returned from a business trip.  Azumi became Zumo.  Shortly afterward, Sen blew out a cruciate ligament and the two had to be kept separate, with very highly supervised interactions.  On the advice of her vet, Hillary started hydrotherapy with Sen and took Zumo along with her.  Zumo needed a life jacket to stay afloat because he was not moving his injured leg well enough to keep him afloat. Sen's leg did not improve, so surgery was scheduled.  After getting the okay from her vet, the hydrotherapy was resumed with both dogs.  Zumo was showing marked improvement in his swimming and his leg seemed to have more flexibility and strength after the hydrotherapy, so he continues to go along with Sen.

Zumo: So, here I am in my foster home, loving life.  I am still very gangly:  sometimes my legs and body go places that I don't want them to because I am at what is called a "clumsy age" : rapidly maturing body, slowly maturing mind.  Hillary takes me to obedience class every week and I am becoming much better behaved (or so they say..HA HA).  I go to all the adoption events and get along really well with another available orphan, Romeo, who usually attends them too.   I occasionally bark at someone with whom I am uneasy, but for the most part feel very comfortable and love going to the events.  Now I am looking for my own home.  If you want a nice, easy to train,  good looking, young guy with energy and amazing red eyelashes, come and meet me !!!  I have no doubt I will steal your heart !!

Zumo is housebroken, c rate trained, obedience trained, mostly non aggressive with other dogs, ignores kitties, and rides well in a car. His front legs both work well and he is somewhat cow-hocked in the rear , something we believe will show improvement with age.  (One of my own dogs was worse than him and her legs  straightened out pretty well as she matured. )  Just remember he is a young teenage male, who, like all teens will push your buttons as well as his boundaries.  But this does not overcome his essentially sweet nature. He shows signs of being the great adult and wonderful companion he will become as he matures.

2/7/10  Zumo has recently been diagnosed with bilateral elbow dysplasia and a torn cruciate ligament.  We are currently raising funds to pay for his surgeries.   

 7/14/10  Zumo did not have elbow dysplasia.  One elbow was clear, and the other had a large bone chip floating around, which was removed.  He had ACL surgery on his left rear leg and is now in hydrotherapy to help him heal as quickly as possible.