Madoka's Story

This page is dedicated to Madoka.  It is her story being told by us, as she has no voice that people will hear, outside our backyard.


(better days - 2004)

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Sunaze Madoka
DOB: 16-07-2002
Weight: Currently 26kg (ideal is 34 -36kg)

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18-03-2010

Madoka came to us after a long wait back in September 2002 as an eight week old puppy.  We had waited for the right litter out of a breeder we had carefully scoped out and had long soulful discussions with.

We got Madoka as we had recently lost our beautiful boy Bastian and didnt want to be without one of these wonderful dogs.  We were also looking for our very first bitch to be the foundation of our breeding programme.  We had very high hopes for this little girl and she was given the best of everything.

Madoka grew up into a lovely energetic lady....well....maybe not lady, she was a very full on girl.  Always into everything, exploring, making friends and playing the fool.  We would go swimming at the dog pool with our doggy friends from Kimbastaff and Maddy would exhaust herself playing for hours with them.!

Another favourite was going for bike rides.  At nearly two years old, Maddy was in training for her endurance title, when we had her hip and elbow x-rays done and got the devastating news she had failed.  Her scores were not too bad, and had she been a pet it would have been a non-issue.  But we had to make the hard choice on whether to keep her or try and put her into a forever home where she could live out her days as a family pet.

After a few months of deliberation we decided that it would be best to find a home for her where she could live out her days.  So we started looking around.  After a while we were contacted by someone looking for a dog to do security work with, and as they were fairly well known in the dog circles we felt comfortable with her going to this new home.


Time passed.....
Then on Saturday the 13th of March 2010, we got a call from the RSPCA in Victoria.  They had picked Maddy up roaming the streets and we were the current contact on her microchip paperwork.  We were informed she was in very bad condition and if she was not claimed, then she would have to go through the adoption programme, but due to her age it was not very likely she would be adopted.  There are just not that many people looking for an eight year old german shepherd.

Stuart and I had a heart to heart and both decided we wanted to bring Maddy home to see if we could rehabilitate her and find her a new home.  The next step was getting the council to release her to us and getting them to hold her for a few days so we could organise to get down to pick her up.

Stuart, with the help of Tanya Evans of GSD Rescue in Yass, negotiated with the council and RSPCA to have Madoka released to our care with no reclaim fee's and they were even able to hold her till we could get down there.!!!  Things were looking up.

On Thursday the 18th of March, we made the road trip from Canberra to Melbourne to pick Madoka up.  Upon arriving we filled out all her paperwork and waited anxiously in the adoption foyer for a glimpse of our little girl.  We heard her first and I couldnt help myself..!  I called out to her when I heard her round the corner and she came tearing out dragging the young girl behind her.!  I think it was safe to say she remembered us and was happy to see us.!  



(the picture doesnt show the extent of weight loss)

It was a happy/sad reunion.  Our first sight of her confirmed some bad fears we had had.  Maddy was extremely underweight.  Almost 10kg underweight, having both ears partly eaten away by flies and with most of her coat missing or matted to her once muscular body.  It took all I had not to cry.  This was not how we had envisaged her being cared for.

The trip home was a sombre one.  Both of us lost in our own little world of worry and thought.  One thing we agreed on though was that we were glad she was coming home with us and that with a bit of loving she would be a different dog.

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19-03-2010

After a good brushing, a bath & blow dry, a decent meal and a good night sleep inside she was looking a little bit better already.!  The spark she had as a youngster was already showing itself.!  Still a happy girl she has a long way to go before we will be letting her go and her new family will be very special indeed to be entrusted with the care of our Madoka.!



Things are looking up for me now I'm home....I'm clean, I've had a good brushing and with a full tummy, I can look around with renewed interest.!
Parks are a really cool place to catch up on play time.



(a fluffy clean coat hides a lot of skin problems & poking-out-bones, but it sure makes you feel better)

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20-03-2010



Today was a day of lazing around the house and sleeping in.  Maddy is spending a fair bit of time just sleeping and following me around the house.  It seems now she has found me again she doesnt want me out of her sight....the feeling is mutual.!  Although, when we went out to the yard to play fetch and hide-n-seek...she was tearing round like a youngster.  

Then when she was all tired out we went inside to play games and practice old tricks.  Its like she never left....straight back into the tricks and doing a little bit of obedience in the front yard.  We are not doing too much with her at the moment.  Just easing her into the swing of life in the Sokari pack.  Its a good life if we do say so ourselves.!

Five to ten minutes of play seems to wear her out a little bit though, which is to be expected due to her age, but true to form she just wants to keep going regardless.

Once she has put on some weight and is better condition we will start trying to integrate her back in with the other girls.  It seems she has not had a lot of positive dog contact since she left us years ago and she has developed a bit of reactive dog agression.  Hopefully this will be a passing thing and will disappear after a little while.  (fingers crossed)

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21-03-2010

Day three.  Maddy has settled in well and is starting to get used to the routine here.  So far she has not been allowed to freely interact with our girls as we have yet to assess whether she is dog agressive or not.  This will not be for a little while though as we want her well into the swing of things first.

This morning when we woke up, it was to a loud banging from Maddy's crate.  Coming to inspect, it was soon evident that she did not approve of our sleep in (0830) and wanted to be up an outside playing already.  I hope this was just a once off but have a sinking suspicion she is a morning girl......I'm not a morning person, for those of you who dont know me...LOL.!

Maddy watched as I geared up Cricket for her evening bike/run and was eagerly waiting for her turn when we got home.  Much to her disappointment I think she needs to put on a bit more weight before she starts running again.  Although once she is ready I doubt it will take long for her to get back in the swing of things.  I think we are both looking forward to that, as she was a wonderful dog to go riding/running with.!



After another short play session this evening I got a few more pictures of Maddy.  I am taking a lot as I want people to be able to see the improvement day to day as we go about getting her back into the condition she should be in.!  I know it is soon but I think she looks a little bit better today already.  She is eating her fish oil capsules like lollies (all the girls love them) and it is starting to show on her coat.  She has a bit of a shine to it again and the regular daily brushing is helping settle her skin as it stimulates the circulation.  Its looking positive already.



Her energy is already through the roof and she is bouncing round like a puppy again.!  It is nice to see she is feeling a bit better already and it makes it even better to see the happy glint as she races round with a ball in her mouth.!

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24-03-2010

A couple of days have passed now and I havent had time to update on Madoka as Stuart is away and I am trying to do everything on my own.!

Each day spent here see's her more relaxed and settled than the last.  Her energy has come back with a vengance and she seems to be thriving on the routine (and regular meals) and while it could just be my hopeful nature, I am pretty sure she has already put on a couple of kilo's of weight.!  :)

There is still a long way to go but it is nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Unfortunately, her old coat is falling out rapidly, and at this rate she will be mostly bald in a couple of weeks.  I think it is just because it was so poor that the body is now shedding it and it should start regrowing.!  Then it will be nice and healthy and shiny.!

Tomorow I am hoping to have her outside for most of the afternoon as I should be home myself.  I am planning on getting the eggee toy out for her to play with.  She has so much energy the last couple of days and if I dont give her something to do I worry what will happen to my house...!

For those of you who dont know what an eggee is, stay tuned as I will be trying to get pictures of her playing with it if she will stay still long enough.!

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31-03-2010

Ok...so its been two weeks since we brought Maddy home with us and about a week since i put pictures up.  I wanted the next ones to finally show the progress I knew she was making on the inside.

Well, today we took new pictures because I can finally see her condition coming back.  Her energy is skyrocketing.  She always had lots of energy and that old spark is back in her eye's.  She is settling in really well and is such a loving girl.  

Unfortunately she seems to have had a few bad experiences with dogs since she left us and becomes defensively agressive when she is with the other dogs.  So we have stepped back to where she is comfortable and for now she is interacting through the run partitions.  She is happy with this and will sit and lick noses and talk and throw balls at the fence for hours if we let her.  It will come eventually if we are patient.!





As you can see in the pictures, her coat is starting to grow back a bit and the colour is returning.  Most of her coat fell out and she was nearly bald just after her last pics..but thankfuly the good food and love is helping her heal and it is growing back nicely.  It is still very rough but the new hair is a lot softer and is getting its wave back.

We will be taking her in to weigh her in the next few days and if she is back up to her good weight then we will be able to start formal exercise with her soon.  Probably in another week or so I am hoping.  This will help her even more, as the exercise will help purge her system and clear her mind, allowing her to settle a bit more.!

Things are looking up.!

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10-04-2010

Wow.!  Its been ten days since we did an update on Madoka.  A fair bit has happened since then, including myself getting sick and being able to spend all day cuddled up on the couch with Maddy.!



Yesterday Maddy went to the vet for another check up.  She has now hit a whopping 32.15kg and is starting to look a lot better.  We made the decision to risk the anaesthetic and have her desexed and also to remove a mammory tumor.

Surgery went well and we picked her up while she was still groggy.  We took her home and let her have the run of the house and access to the yard on supervised (and assisted) toilet breaks.  She really took the anaesthetic hard and it wasnt until this morning that she started coming out of it.  But like the champion we know she is, she is starting to get the spark back.  

She will be kept quiet for a week or more to allow the stitches to heal on both the incisions and will be getting lots of cuddling time to make it that bit more bearable....LOL.!  Then once she is back up to par we will start her exercising again.  I think she is looking forward to it as she see's me get the bike and helmut ready and looks heartbroken when i hook one of the other girls up to the harness.  All things in time Maddy.

I havent posted pictures for a little while because her coat is going through another of those awful healing phases.  She has gotten a couple of hotspots and such which are healing still but now that the coat is thinned out they look much worse.!



Once her coat starts improving and she doesnt look so impoverished I will post another picture update.!

At this point though everything is looking good.  Great in fact.  She has faced all the major hurdles so far and come out the other side intact.  Most of the big things are done and it is pretty much smoothing out the edges now.  A bit more weight, some exercise and some socialisation should sort out any residual issues.  Although, we will be ever vigilant with our Maddy and will be taking the time to do this right.!

We picked up doing little bits of obedience this last week to keep her mind active and she spins around and heels like she never missed a day.  It is beautiful to watch her doing as she so obviously enjoys not only showing her stuff but the interaction that comes with it.  And we are enjoying it as well.!!!

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22-04-2010

Time is flying and Maddy is now looking and acting like she should have to begin with.  She is active and energetic....playing with toys and cuddling on the couch in the evening with us.

The stitches from the two surgeries are nearly disolved now and she is healing up really well.  I think she has had enough of the coddling though and we will be starting her exercise in the next few days.  Slow and sure.  

It has been a long process so far, five weeks today.  Each day see's Maddy returning to the dog we know she is and more like she used to be.  It is getting difficult to think about letting her go to a new home after having her here.

More pictures will be put up soon....we havent had time to give her a bath for a little while and she has been spending time catching up on her rolling in the dirt.!!!

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16-05-2010

It's now been two months since we brought Maddy home to recover.  She is doing so well and each day we an see how much better she looks.  She has gotten her weight back to between 33 & 35kg which is her good working weight.

This last fortnight has seen us start Madoka back on some serious exercise.  We spend a couple of weeks slowly working her up to walking 5km a day roughly.  She has now progressed to running 5km every few days and walks on the off days.  It is doing her good and she is showing great condition and muscle development.!

There would be pictures if we could find the camera....they will come soon.!

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This page will be updated regularly and we will be detailing Maddy's journey to her forever home as we go.  Each entry will be dated and will hopefully have a picture so you can watch our little girl as she returns to great health with a bit of love and a stable home life.

We are asking that if anyone knows who had Madoka in their "care" prior to her arriving in the East Burwood pound, could you please contact us as we feel this cannot be allowed to go by the wayside.!  There is no excuse for treating any animal in this manner and we want to ensure there are no others left to to their tender mercies.!

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At this point I feel the need to thank a few people for their help in getting Maddy home to us.

Tanya Evans of Save-A-Shepherd in Yass
Elke, Co-ordinator of Local Laws - Knox City Council
Alison Barker - RSPCA East Burwood

Thanks to their time and patience we were able to bring Madoka home and give her a chance to have the life she should be living.!