Duke is a bouncing bundle of loving energy. He has never met a person or dog he doesn't like...which is sort of why he's in rescue now. Trips across the road for visits to the neighbor dog eventually resulted in him being hit by a car, which shattered his tibia.
His owners released him to rescue when they were given the estimate to repair his leg. He is currently equipped with an intramedullary pin and and external skeletal fixator (a rod up the inside of the bone, and a metal brace up the outside of his leg) to stabilize the broken bone.
Despite his banged up leg, when he was brought in Duke was much more interested in meeting and greeting every person in the veterinary clinic than he was in slowing down for a doctor to take a look at his injuries. He started using the leg almost immediately after surgery--a little too stoic, it turns out, as he managed to bend the first IM pin, and the leg had to be re-repaired with a heavier pin and more extensive bracing.
His leg appears to be healing well this time around, but he still has a ways to go. UPDATE: Duke's external skeletal fixator (the brace up the outside of his leg) was removed 3/16. The IM pin will need to be pulled after the bone is completely solid (which probably means knocking him out).
In the meantime, Duke had daily (and sometimes more often) training sessions for several weeks, and rapidly learned to walk calmly on a leash, sit, wait for doors to be opened and his handler to go through before he followed, and to lie down. He is eager to please, and will be an excellent companion. He is a high energy pup (about a year old, and labs are often "puppies" until 4 or 5 years old, after all), and will definitely need a "job"-agility, daily jogs, or fetch, for example. As evidenced by his starting situation here, he cannot be trusted to stay home without a fence.
We are asking a minimum donation with adoption of $100, though more would be greatly appreciated-we've already put over $1000 into him. For more information about adopting Duke, or donating to his care, please contact Jes at docjesadams@gmail.com or 509-690-7343.
