Zeus' Road to Recovery

Zeus is a one-year-old German Shepherd who came to us by way of a local K9 Officer. Zeus was training to became a Law Enforcement K9 when he became injured during a training incident. After numerous tests, vets were unable to find the source of Zeus' problem. He seemed to have difficulties using his back legs and vets suspected a neurological problem. In hopes of being able to help him, the department sent him back to the distributing company that imported him from Hungary. Zeus' previous K9 handler checked up on him regularly and when he discovered he was wasting away in the kennels with plans of putting him down within days, the Officer spent his own money to buy Zeus back and save his life. He then spent approximately $5,500 to find out the root of Zeus' problem. After several vets suggested putting him down, the Officer desperately called Manatee County Search and Rescue to see if we had any resources that could help save Zeus. We fell in love with this happy boy immediately and after several hours of observation decided to take him to our vet, Dr. Hendry at Pet Care Center in Wauchula. The second opinion was promising. He diagnosed Zeus with a herniated disc of the T13 L1 vertebra. He started Zeus on a round of steroids and pain killers confirming the diagnosis and referred us to an orthopedic surgeon. Zeus' surgery, medications and additional healthcare are expected to cost at least $5,000. MCSAR is attempting to raise this money readily as this is considered an emergency situation. Zeus' outcome looks very good and should be able to continue life as a Search and Rescue dog in about a year. However, until he has surgery, his spine is extremely fragile. If he were to break his disc, he would become paralyzed for life. Zeus is an extremely sweet and loving boy who likes to cuddle and watch TV. We have great confidence that he will live a long, full life with his new family, but he has a tough rode ahead and needs as much love and support as he can get. Even if you cannot donate to Zeus, you can help by simply sharing his story. 

Note: ALL funds will go to Zeus' medical care directly. If there are any extra funds they will go toward the MCSAR K9 department to help other K9s with future medical problems as well as rescues such as Zeus.