Beauregard was introduced to us by one of the Board of Directors who works with my wife and wondered if we could foster him for a while as he needed more than Care could give him at the time. As soon as we saw him, we knew he'd be far more than a foster if he would get along with the other dogs (much smaller than him) in our household. Much to our delight, Beauregard quickly came to regard them as his puppies and fit right in.

As you can see from the 'before' picture (below), Beau was in very poor health when we picked him up end of June of 2006. Lots of TLC and a diet consisting of Royal Canin Shepherd, Science Diet large breed adult and Science Diet JD veterinary, combined with supplements such as Noni Juice, Fresh Factor, Joint Health and Missing Link helped improve his health considerably since then. Apart from that he receives raw beef/chicken liver, raw chicken and raw venison (thanks to a work collegue who is an avid hunter) to pump up his red cell count, immune system and muscle mass.

After 2 dips, his demodex mange was under control and thanks to his above mentioned diet, he started to fur in at an amazing speed. He's also finished his heartworm treatment and should come out negative when tested in about 6 months. His hind quarters are still lacking some muscle tone but time and regular exercise should improve that issue.

Beauregard is scheduled to start AKC obedience training at sub-novice level come September 14th 2006 under the tutelage of experienced instructor Donna Acevedo. Who offers these classes in Brandon.

Beau has turned from a quiet, subdued dog into a happy, vocal and exhuberant one, who is now totally at ease in his new home. He is a much loved member of our family.

03/21/07 Update

Some very good and some not so good news. The very good news is that Beauregard not only completed his AKC Sub Novice obedience class (Thank you Donna Acevedo) but went on to, on March 15th of 2007, pass his AKC 'Canine Good Citizen' test and is now a certified Canine Good Citizen. He aced all 10 parts of the test and was the first dog tested that day. Since Beauregard is very fond of children, we are looking into possibly going on to 'Therapy Dog' with him. For which the CGC certification is a requirement.

As you can see from the below picture he's come a long, long way. During his weekly, Sunday morning, visits the Seffner Mango dog park he's a fully accepted and valued member of the 'shepherd clan'. When he's mingling with them it is virtually impossible to distinguish him from the other shepherds. Which makes us very happy.

The not so good news is that apparently when he was around 5 or 6 months old, his left hind leg was broken and never treated. It healed, but knitted back at an angle. Causing him considerable pain in cold, damp weather as well as when he is to active. As soon as the weather gets warmer, we will schedule him for surgery with Dr Hay in Tampa. Which will cost around the $3500 to $4000 mark unfortunately. We are saving up for that now as we know he is well worth it.

We are planning to show him off at the April 21st Pet Fest so he can again thank all the volunteers at CARE who helped him on his way.

Have A Great Day!

Paul Kolenbrander