Polo Flynn

Fly High Sweet Polo (3rd November 2022)

Polo’s mum said, “What can I say about this boy that will do him justice. A beautiful soul, a gentleman, Polo bear was loved by all who met him. He came into my life in July, 2018, estimated at 5 or 6 years old. At a vet check the day after I picked him up (he had a limp on his front right leg) my vet told me he had osteoarthritis in every joint, together with muscle wastage. In October of that year, he had one-third of his lower jaw removed (from canines forward) with bone cancer. He bore these underserved illnesses with stoicism.

He loved his food. The morning after his jaw operation, his only priority was breakfast – the first couple of meals were a bit messy and he needed a bit of help but he soon got the hang of it!

His breakfast had to be at least half an hour after an Onsior tablet. He used to get that timing to the minute – reminding me by nudging my elbow usually just as I took a sip of tea!

If there was any cooking going on, he always positioned himself in the middle of the kitchen enabling immediate access to anything landing on the floor, which worked to his advantage on numerous occasions.

There wasn’t a bad bone in his body. He would calm reactive dogs and stand still for children to stroke “the fluffiest dog” they’d ever seen! Yes, I could groom out another Polo every week!

He was my shadow. I was his life. He followed me everywhere and there’s now a huge hole where a Polo was.”

History

HAPPINESS FOLLOWED BY SADNESS

Polo really fell on his paws when he found a loving home with Gwen, a very loyal IRR supporter, who had adopted Casey from us way back in 2006. Casey had enjoyed a wonderful life with her until he, sadly, passed away in March 2015 aged 14yrs.

Polo was welcomed into their home by the gorgeous Buddy but their friendship was all too short as the adorable little lad peacefully crossed Rainbow Bridge in January 2019.

POORLY POLO (OCTOBER 2018)

Gwen, our boy’s loving Mum told us “This is my gorgeous Polo. He became mine on the 26th July this year and I was delighted to have him as he is a wonderful dog.

It was on the 7th August, he gave us a Polo smile and I noticed a small swelling on his lower gum at the front. Nothing nasty I thought but I decided to keep an eye on it as it could have possibly been the start of an abscess. I wondered if perhaps he had caught it on a branch or something else that was sharp or I even thought it could be a sting.

Unfortunately, it very slowly got larger but never huge and it never looked nasty until the end of September when it changed. It developed a dark spot which looked like trapped blood.

A Vet appointment was undergone and it was confirmed as a tumour. A biopsy was arranged and, a week later, I heard the word you never want to hear – it is malignant.

A whirlwind of appointments followed to discuss options. We needed to check if it had spread and, if not, to remove part of his jaw. This was the right decision as it gives him his life back but it still feels so wrong.

You may have seen a Labrador go through this procedure on The Yorkshire Vet recently but, thank goodness, I had caught its early. It just shows how important it is to check the lower gums and keep an eye on any swelling, no matter how small at first.

POLO PROGRESS REPORTS

Thursday 18th October

Thank you all so much for your love and healing energy. I heard from vet and he was very pleased as it had all gone well. Polo was just coming round so I had to pick him up at 5pm. I knew the next few days may be tough but he was through the worst.

My lovely boy wagged his tail when I went to pick him up. My vet, Stuart, went through everything including showing us pictures of the op and the offending piece of jaw. He is as sure as he can be that he has a really good margin but we should know in two weeks.

Friday 19th October I am absolutely stunned at how he is coping. Polo had a peaceful night helped I’m sure by everyone’s positive thoughts. Today, I planned to try to get him to eat and drink. He loves his food and his poor tummy was rumbling very loudly last night!

He woke up alert and looking for his breakfast. After a few failed attempts together, we found a way that worked and he ate a full meal – if ten times slower than how he normally eats!! He did try drinking afterwards but gave up in disgust. Fortunately, I had made sure there was plenty of fluid in his meal so I wasn’t too worried about that.

Sunday 21st October We saw the vet yesterday to take his cannula out and for his post op check. He trotted in wagging his tail!

He has taken the last two meals a little bit more gingerly so I will keep pain meds up a bit instead of reducing them. He is still not drinking as I would like but the vet says he’s not dehydrated. All reports I’ve read seem to suggest 5 days as a turning point so Polo has done so much better than a lot of others. He’s such a stunning boy in so many ways. I’m so lucky!

Monday 22nd October

He was a bit lethargic all day yesterday although he still ate all his food. Happily, he did drink more – hooray – and there was no temperature. I’m not sure whether he was just fed up or whether he just had a bad day reacting after a mistake I made with his pain meds. He only wagged his tail when I got his lead out for a walk.

Anyway, in the afternoon, we had a cuddle and he’s back tail wagging this morning. He’s eaten 99% of his food out of his bowl without help.

He has shown me that a flat dish is better for him to drink from – to be exact the dish in the garden which is for hedgehog visitors!

I have to say a huge thank you to IRR for letting me have my lovely boy and for your sympathy and help with this totally unexpected expense which, unfortunately, counts as a pre-existing condition. However, the cost is immaterial as he is the most wonderful boy”.

We are not at all surprised that the gorgeous Polo has come through so well. He is a typical Golden Retriever …… stoic, brave and greedy, bless him.

HISTORY

6yr old Polo went into the care of IRR with Lady, a 5yr old spayed female Pointer in May 2018. They both received their vet checks and had the necessary inoculations to obtain their Pet Passports then went into foster together with Amber & Alex when they came to the UK.

It was soon obvious they probably hadn’t lived together all their lives as we had been told as Polo was old for his age and Lady was all systems go.

After a couple of weeks, Amber told us “Both dogs are doing great but Polo and Lady take life at very different speeds.

Polo is a sedate gentleman, I am yet to see him run! If I didn’t know from the passports, I would have put Polo as older than his 6 years. His behaviour is much older and more sedate than his six years and he definitely seems older than my 7 year olds. He is adorable and he does like to be with you all the time. He will follow you from room to room, preferring to be as close as possible to you.

Lady, on the other hand, is a wizz and, I think, as her fitness and strength build she will become even more active. This probably means Lady will require longer walks than Polo and a much more active life. She will require a family who are committed to ongoing training and, preferably, who understand HPR’s.

Polo is the more well mannered of the pair. As time has gone on,  we have seen the even more loving side of Polo. He is a gem.  He is not too keen to learn new things but Lady will learn quickly if she is given the right incentive.

Lady loves playing with our Large Munsterlander so, if a new home has an existing dog she will probably latch on to them rather than Polo. He doesn’t seem too fussed about that, so long as he can have cuddles with you!”

For these reasons, it was decided it would be beneficial to the dogs to rehome them separately and, by separating them, they were both placed in the most wonderful homes.

POLO’S FOSTER ASSESSMENTS  

Polo is a big and beautiful lad who is very sweet and laid back. He is not overly confident but it doesn’t take him long before he trusts you. He’s very quiet, but does like to know where you are and does love a fuss.

PERSONALITY

Polo is a sweet soul, who loves a cuddle and to be around people.

He’s not the most active of dogs, but is unphased when other dogs are more boisterous around him.

He will need work on his food manners, he can snatch when you give him treats and does bolt his food. I don’t doubt that if food were to be left around he would eat it but, considering how thin he is, this is no surprise.

He is quite alert and inquisitive, playful and happy but very calm and laid back.  

 HEALTH

Amber says “He looks a little unsteady on his front legs, I think this may be due to a very bad pressure callus, which we are treating at home and have seen some improvement. He is extremely thin, and has no muscle at all,

His calluses are getting better and he’s becoming more active and moving more freely. He does seem stiff still on his front leg, possibly due to the callus but I have ordered some YouMove for him. Of course,  he may not be with us long enough to see the benefit.

Polo needs to put on some weight and gain some muscle. With this, I think he will become more energetic. The pressure calluses on his elbows do appear to be healing so we hope he will become more comfortable when they have”.

SOCIAL LEARNING

TRAVEL:  Polo is happy and content travelling in a vehicle

HOUSETRAINING:   He is now housetrained

BASIC TRAINING:   He has had virtually no basic training

LEADWALKING: Polo walks `loose lead’ with a slip lead

RESOURCE GUARDING:  He’s extremely food motivated, and has no manners around food but, despite this, he has shown no signs of aggression at all towards people or dogs when it comes to food and no evidence of resource guarding.

SEPARATION ANXIETY:  He shows no signs of separation anxiety.

ADULTS: Polo is exceptionally friendly and very laid back. He’s very well mannered when meeting people. He likes the company of people and other dogs.

CHILDREN:  Polo is very friendly.

DOGS:    He is polite and very friendly when being introduced to other dogs and is just starting to play with ours.   CATS: I would give him 4/5 for cats.

 A DREAM HOME FOR POLO

All Polo needed was a quiet, loving home where he could take life at his own pace.

A PERFECT HOME (July 2018)

Polo found the perfect home and went to live in his Forever Home with Gwen and Buddy.