Our Rescue Shaka Makuakai..pics + story

[Ky_Isis's_Mama]

pups name is Shaka Makuakai.. Interpreted to mean “hang loose” or “right on,” the shaka is a constant reminder that in Hawaii, it is not the norm to worry or rush ..a common greeting in surfer culture, In sign language,it's one of the signs that refers to surfing.also used to convey the "Aloha Spirit," gesture of friendship/understanding between the various ethnic cultures that reside within Hawai'i) and Makuakai is the name of our friend whos a pro surfer Makuakai Rothman who taught Diari hw to surf in hawaii..and my friend Loretta( hope kennels hawaii pitty breeder) her Makua .. which Makua also is one of the most secluded beaches on Oahu..known for its incredible mountain scenery featured in the movie, "South Pacific"..truly miss hawaii with all my heart ! this pup was so lost and almost dead due to LOSER MORON IDIOTS ( not sure if i can swear on here lol)... these people literally almost KILLED him ! i brought him to the army vet...i said listen i dont have alot of money...please i know you are a teaching vet..please can you run xrays on his legs, blood work and exam i dont need any of the reports just tell me yes or no hes ok? and the commander said YES ! com to find out he was OK !!! he told me thing by thing ..it was wonderful ! to crate rest him, high grade food, all the things i knew from rehabbing Isis..



this is when we got him
end Oct 09

heres a month later
notice the front leg joints !





learned to sit in one hour !

jan 2010

feb 2010


March yup hes staying lol new Shaka collar


june


hmm what months of crate rest, good food and love will do huh?..hes a MOOSE !! hes been neutered, shots utd, and need to find some classes for him ..hes uhmm lacking in the manners dept haha..hes OK really..just a teen thats been on crate rest that has now lost his teacher and best friend Onyx

thing is that someone took the time to do his dew claws and tail VERY VERY nicely..by a vet obviously..no scars..and the wide chest, head and huge paws lead us to believe he may have been bred and stolen from either breeder or new owners? hes got some fears but ALOT better than before...he was food aggressive but that was easily due to starvation..b/c they are gone totally !..hes a RIOT !!! loves the cats & the kids but HATESSSSSSSSSSSss anyone near the back yard fence ! i have had to repair it about 15 times !!! he will rip wood planks off lol..our of bordom sometimes but we just recently got the ok to walk short walks...and sometimes someone will walk too close to the fence and bark or something and OMG he loses his dam mind !! but all in all hes my sweetie and although we sure couldnt afford it & now hubby deploying and kids having surgeries ...JEEZ ! i need to find a vet close than Texas A & M..just for routine stuff..i would fly to the ends of the earth to go back there for anything other than simple stuff..they were and are amazing and i will never in my life forget what they did for us with Onyx when we were out of options and NOT ONE SINGLE vet here in SA would help ius !! look right at Onyx gasping to breathe and they said sorry if you dont have 500 cash in hand we cant help !! thats PATHETIC and wrong !!!
which brings me to the fact that we have set up a fund in Onyxs name @ A & M..its in process of being finished with them..it is specifically for the same kind of situation..maybe the people find out about the cancer sooner but cant afford the chemo? need help...or getting the diagnosis like we needed and NOT A ONE vet will even attempt to try !.. so we will donate every month to it..as will my family, my kids, and alot of friends..so that another family might have a chance at a few more yrs with their best friend

[Frye&Dex]

That is heartbreaking! You did a wonderful job. He looks happy and gorgeous! He looks like a baby in that first pic. He was so skinny and small. And look at his legs! They look so much better!

Those pictures of the three dogs are so precious! Again, I am so sorry for your loss. He looks like he was a very loved and happy dog!

[Super Heros]

what an awesome story!!! Texas A&M was Hulk's first cardio visit, I will forever be in there debt, they taught us so much about his condition. Even though its a teaching hospital still the best experience ever!

WOW, its amazing what a little TLC can do for a dog! Kudos for you saving him--SA has so sad excuse for people(animal neglect is really high there)

Seeing the pics reminds me I need to order some Shaka collars!

[Ky_Isis's_Mama]

Shaka was a baby he was only 4 months old ..him and the baby are same age! kinda cool

SA is disgusting !! dont get me started !! i HATE it !! its ugly all around ! the people, the place...everything..and seeing a chic the other day at the BUSTOP in a bathing suit and she was uhmm way way too big to be wearing it..took the cake ! lol

ISO a good vet asap..just have to look around..obviously want one with " boxer experience" .. esp Isis whos showing her age..need to address a cough when she gets running around i just need to have my heart a little bit healed just in case..trying to find something in next week or 2..Diaris surgery is next friday so i have to search and plan..grrrr.....

[Ky_Isis's_Mama]

the A & M story is LONG but short of it is that a friend went there..knew the whole Onyx story and called there ! got in touch with Alumni assoc. who called the small animal clinic..they FUNDED the entire almost $2000.00 to diagnose and treat Onyx that day !! brought in 2 oncologists, ran ALOT of bloodwork, ultrasounds, xrays, lots of pathology tests, chest taps 2X ! to pull that 2 liters of fluid off his lungs..i mean this vet was spectacular !!! as they ALL were !! which is why we want the fund..

[Frye&Dex]

That's awesome!

[mizorie]

Oh he looks SOOO much better Ky. He's sounds liek he is coming around quite well.Definitely not a bad thing he doesn't want anyone enar HIS fence

[Ky_Isis's_Mama]

haha he gets a little uhmm psychotic about the fence though..i have to say in the last few days ALOT has changed in this house..its got an odd empty feeling..which sux ! but Isis is slowly trying to be her own girl so to speak..& Shaka is settled a little..like Onyx had a talk with him.. hes less crazy lunatic and more laid back big boy..its nice with all the things coming up i hope he keeps it up..my mom has to come here for the babys surgery in sept..hubby will be deployed already..she has 2 big dogs but uhmm not like Shaka haha..hes VERY good with me but willl TRY to run all over her..he needs manners boot camp ! lol

[moxie's mom]

hey ky! its Pam here so good to see you on this board. Sorry for your loss, I know what you mean about SA, kinda like those videos of people shopping at walmart?!!! Any way can you set up some kind of agility training in the yard? Isn't that what they did with Zulu? just a thought... got a new dog myself, her name is Moxie. 5 year old akc/ukc had so many puppies that the last batch all but one died and the owner was gonna put her down so we grabbed her. She leads the life of Reilly now! hope you and your family are all well, please drop a line once in awhile ok? love ya, Pam and Moxie

[Arbiesmom]

Shaka is a beautiful boy!! You have done a really good job with him - think it's good idea of yours to set up the fund. But I do know lymphoma is a very hard cancer to detect - my last dog had it and it only showed symptoms a few weeks before we had to send him to the bridge. He became emaciated in a very short period of time even tho he was eating (that was when I took him to the vet) It is hard to detect if there is no obvious sign of tumour - which there wasn't in my boy. He'd had two benign tumours removed three years beforehand - whether those eventually led to lymphoma we don't know.
Still sending prayers for you and all the family - that you will get to settle back in Hawai and live a contented trouble-free life!

[grammie]

great to see you ky. so sorry to hear about onyx. RIP baby. i am so sorry for the loss i know you feel.

what a great story about shaka. even his legs look straighter with your care.

You are so right, vets that will help are hard to come by. OSU wanted $1,100 and half up front to walk in the door with my neighbors dog. it's pretty sick. OU (for ppl) isn't much better. They charge list price and make you suffer through a full day of moron student doctors. wth? it's a teaching hospital. they should pay YOU. unbelievable. don't get me started.

any chance you can get restationed in HI down the road? SA is a cesspool. Anyone that's been there could tell you that. look for the good and tolerate the bad and you'll manage.

poor baby girl isis getting older. she looks good though. i think of you often with skids and all the advice you gave me with deaf dogs. she's doing great, except for allergies that drive her crazy and break our heart. scared to death to give her benedryl every day. we still don't know what she's allergic too. she's a VERY happy girl though. every day i look at her and remember that first day at the pound, knowing she would have been put down. what a tragedy and loss that would have been. she brings joy to everyone she meets.

this pic is priceless



tara can help you with shaka. she's not too far from you. it sounds like he knew onyx was weak and maybe he will settle down now and be a calm leader.

hope to see you stick around here

[Ky_Isis's_Mama]

Dianne yes this is the entire reason hubby is deploying ( w could have easily fought it and kept him home b/c of the kids surgeries) BUT he can re enlist "over there" JUST for hawaii and get it..so we will be back in HI by fall or so of 2011..yeahhhhhhhhhhhh ..sucks for the dogs with the quarentine but i am setting that up way in advance so we can do it here instead of there..so theyd only be in it in hi for 5 days which is ok since there is NOT ONE hotel on the entire island that takes dogs of any size now...new health regs...

SHaka is doing better everyday..hes taking his place..hes barking like hes supposed to..hes watching the windows and doors...hes running over to the baby if he cries and funny b/c hes SO big and heavy and really BOUNDS through the house but stops dead when he sees the baby on the floor..its quite amazing...this is all new the last few days ! Isis is being mrs bitchy pants though..she got in his crate this morning refused to get out and snapped at him for trying to get in with her lol..( was hers 2 yrs ago)..other times she plays with him.weird..shes just trying to adjust..poor girl

[Ky_Isis's_Mama]

hmmm Tara is a good idea...its going to be SO hard on us all with Alvin deploying..and the dogs are going to be VERY confused they lost Onyx last week and lose dad for a year in 2 more weeks ! order of the entire house will be totally upside down..& i dont want Shaka to feel stressed into a role so to speak..feeling that he has to be here and there and everywhere all at once..overwhelmed.. he needs manners which he is doing well but socialization is KEY ..which he couldnt have due to the MONTHS of strict crate rest..hes eager to learn food driven and LOVES to please..so thats a great thing..ill have to ask her

[Ky_Isis's_Mama]

also Grammie...we went through that with Isis for almost 2 years !! benedryl, prednisone, allergies that would break out her whole body for weeks... was HORRIBLE !!! come to find out it was poultry ! when we switched to merrick trout 2 yrs ago..weve only had a handful of break outs and not nearly as severe!!!..also fresh cut grass gets her..i use strictly horse shampoo on the dogs..buy the one for white horses for Isis..and the blackberry for well just Shaka now..its a DRIVE to the feed store but i buy a few when i go..or have my sis buy it when she goes to tack store for her own horse...this shampoo is gentle on the skin..and smells GREAT for s long...funny the one for white horse is purple ! and looks a riot on her when washing lmao ! ill take pics tomorrow when i wash them..Isis looks @ me so pathetic like im trying to do aweful things to her ! weirdo

[grammie]

oh wow i wonder if white dogs have more allergies? claire (boxerperson) mentioned this morning that she might be allergic to chicken also. they get fresh ground raw for breakfast and TOTW salmon and homecooked (chix) dog food or salmon at night. she wakes up ear flapping so bad, if she was a full blood boxer, she'd have hematomas by now. luckily her ears a smaller.

claire also mentioned that they may have something for dogs for swimmers ears. I notice when she shakes her ears they feel like they are WET, so maybe she has water trapped in there? we just filled the pool the other day, but they only put their feet in = too damn hot.

i use mane and tail on them but they only get bathed if they're dirty. There's not one thing that has changed diet, grooming wise that is different than our first year with her when she had no problems.

baytril, general anesthesia ear cleaning and examination, depo shots, benedryl. i've resorted to slipping her 10mg of predinisone about 1x a week when she's so distressed panting and pacing that i'm afraid she'll have a heart attack! it just breaks our heart.

a vet tech is the one that diagnosed the black gook in her ears, red feet and belly licking as allergies. since 2 months of depo shots and daily benedryl her ears make normal colored wax now, no red feet, no belly licking, but the ear flapping and panting is still there. the depo shots only lasted 3 weeks before the flapping started again. there is no way i want to keep pumping that stuff into her, YET i have to find relief for her. Claire told me to research Kelp for allergies.

Skids has scar tissue on both ear drums and one of her ears has a punctured ear drum. god only knows what kind of care she had before showing up at the pound.

wow alvin's going to be gone a YEAR?! holy shit Ky. 2011 will come in a hurry for you under those circumstances. you're going to have your hands full bigtime. knowing you can go back to HI in a year should keep you pumped though, so you can handle SA for a year. just don't piss the wrong ppl off there lol! you, me, tara, know how to use our italian when required, but there are some officially crazy ppl in SA that you don't want to mess with

show shaka you can handle being boss and he'll be less likely to get stressed and feel like he has to take care of you all. lol at isis wanting her crate back. she sounds a lot like vetty. quiet for the most part, but has no problem throwing her weight around with the dogs when she needs to. let her and shaka work it out, favoring neither one of them and they'll settle in w/o onyx.

thor has gotten much better socializing with other dogs since I got a mobility scooter to walk them. i can approach fence lines with dogs in the yards, without him pulling me down, so i have more control. i think all 3 of them knew they could have their way with me on foot because my legs are so weak, but the scooter is a whole nother ballgame for them.

dogs that thor used to lunge at are now playmates on the walks. well... he STILL lunges to get to them, but it's excitement because he wants to play rather than devour the scooter works well for holding him back.

maybe take shaka for car rides with the window 1/2 way down and a 'walkies' route and let him smell, and respond to other dogs and see how he does? mine go ballistic at some, but if i get out of the car to see a neighbors dog, etc they calm right down and want to lick them out the car window.

i haven't a clue what goes through dogs minds lol

[Ky_Isis's_Mama]

omg you just described Isis for 2 yrs !! to a tee !! the prednisone is making her pant!! Isis did the same ! she would shake everything ! was horrible !!! shes allergic to all poultry ! soon as i cut it out it was like magic !!! its amazing !! and PHEW so much better the head shaking the foot licking all night ..red arm pits..red eyes black gook in ears !! all of it !! same thing !

[Ky_Isis's_Mama]

Shaka is just all around still learning b/c he lost those important months having to be crated b/c of his joints...but hes really trying..and oddly enough hes BETTER about the fence...hmmm i wonder if he was defending ONYX !!!!???? ...odd that he hasnt been psycho pup one time since Onyx went...might be just that he hasnt had opportunity yet..we'll see when grass ninjas come this week..but hes MUCH calmer ..not out there barking like a maniac...he MAY have felt stressed to take on the world b/c he knew Onyx was sick and we didnt? who knows time will tell

[grammie]

oh yeah dogs definitely know when one is sick. it sounds like he was protecting onyx. that's great that he settled down.

no the prednisone is given to her after she starts panting and pacing. in about 30 mins it calms her right down. i use it very rarely. only when benedryl does absolutely nothing and she needs quick relief.

do you think she could have developed a chicken allergy after being fine the first year? i wish her ears weren't such a mess. i can't use anything alcohol based because of teh punctured ear drum, to dry things out.

she's been pretty good the past couple days. she'll come up to us or thor and rub her ear on us because she has the itchies. poor baby girl. she'll also lean into thor for him to lick her ears. Dr. Thor is always happy to oblige. if i make them stop, she leans right back in to let him do it some more, and thor just loves taking care of her.

[Ky_Isis's_Mama]

they say its ALL yeast..the ears the paws arm pits all of it.. weve broken the cycle with medicated selson blue..obviously not IN the eears..but the vet gave us a ketoconizole pill..which is the active ingredient in yeast creams etc..worked wonderful ! maybe you need that to break the yeast down THEN maintain.. id ask..b/c that pill was great ! and wasnt expensive..

[grammie]

unfortunately it's not yeast. i was treating her with monistat cream topically (many breeders use) and it wasn't that. the vet confirmed.

i took thor and vetty for shots today and he said to use OTC Chlorpheniramine Maleate 4mg twice a day instead of benedryl. he said it works better than Benedryl for the ears. I talked to the pharmacist at walgreens and he said it has more of a drying agent than benedryl and works well.

i picked up Wal-Phed PE and we started her on it tonight. it's now only her ears that we are dealing with. no belly licking, red feet, etc. hopefully this will relieve her until we can figure it out.

[Ky_Isis's_Mama]

ooo thats great!! keep me posted on how it works