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Saint Zeus

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DOB: 1/11/01

Zeus' profile at almost 4 1/2 yrs old....also sporting his new spring haircut!

 

Zeus at 4 yrs old

 

Zeus at 1 1/2 yrs old

 

Zeus at 1 yr of age

 

Zeus at 10 months, the day we signed the adoption papers!

(he was all shaved down from his previous family's allergy to him)

 

Please take the time to meet our first resident couch potatoe, Zeus.  Zeus was our very first Saint Bernard and he came to us through Wisconsin Saint Bernard Rescue at 10 months of age.  Zeus had been surrendered to rescue due to the young boy in his family having allergies to him.  The second we met him, he melted our hearts.  We took him home, and he fit in like a new glove.  Besides stealing half of the meatloaf we made the first night he was home, it was as if he was instantly trained.  We never realized how such big dogs could be so well mannered and so eager to please and so easy to train.  Zeus would be the first to escalade our addiction to the breed........5 months later, we aquired our second saint, Zena, and on down the line.  Both he and Zena sparked our erge to try to better the breed, its health, help its homeless, and to educate the public about this magnificent breed.  

But as is the case with a lot of rescues, Zeus came from a non-reputable, private breeder and no sooner than a week after we got him home, he was diagnosed with moderate to severe hip displasia.  We took him to the veterinary hospital where I was, and currently am employed for his first exam and my veterinarian noticed that he was very straight in his hocks, had little to no rear angulation at all, and suggested that we take some x-rays to check the condition of his hips.  Being new to owning the breed, our excitment at finally having our own Saint Bernard made us blind to notice the lack of angulation, and sure enough, displasia was the cause. 

Now because Zeus was a very muscular, yet petite, very agile saint, and didn't have any problems with getting up and down, running or living a normal life, we decided to manage him medicaly with glucosamine and chondroitin suppliments, Rimadyl (a canine non-steroidal, anti-inflamatory medication) when uncomfortable, and maintaining his muscle structure and lean body weight. 

To this day, Zeus still gets around pretty good now that he is 4 years old, but I'm afraid that we have found, recently, yet another malady.....Zeus has OCD (a cartilage defect) in both his hocks as well as fluid accumulation in his left knee, most likely secondary to the developement of degenerative joint disease (arthritis).  This limits his activity temendously, despite his willingness to stay active.  He is now having to take the Rimadyl more often to control the pain and inflamation, especially after excercising.

Since living with us, Zeus has become a Canine Good Citizen, has been through numerous obedience classes (up through Novice due to his hips), beginner agility (again, because of his hips, we stayed at this level for exercise and fun purposes), he has been in an Iams dog food comercial, he is a representative for Saint Bernard Rescue, and has saved many lives by donating large quantities of blood to those canine patients in need.

We look forward to having Zeus with us for as many happy years as we can....we love you big guy!!!

 

Please consider Rescue!!

For more information or to find a rescue near you, please visit:

http://www.saintrescue.org/

 

Canine Good Citizenship

For more information on how your dog can become a Canin Good Citizen, please visit:

http://akc.org/love/cgc/index.cfm