Marley is such a sweetie! It is amazing when you think of how these dogs go through so much negative in their lives and can be so sweet and gentle. Marley made some good progress this week ~ he walked about a mile with us. He was not too happy along the way and kept trying to turn back, but he did it! He stubbed his paw last night and was limping for a few hours, but this morning he woke up ready to go with no limping whatsoever. The humidity is getting to him today, he's been laying around with Lucy in front of a fan.

Unfortunately, we will be saying goodbye to Marley as he will be heading to a new foster home soon. A conflict with the scheduling of his surgery has left us unable to get him to where he needs to be and when he needs to be there. He will be going to a wonderful family in New Jersey who has a Weim also. Hopefully, they will be able to have his surgery scheduled at another facility and it can take place sooner than what we were able to get. Marley is a great boy! He deserves to be able to see and play and enjoy his life like any other Weim! He wants to run and play...you can tell. Last night, Broghan & I were laying on the floor with him, rubbing his belly and petting him for over an hour, and he loved every minute of it! He even curled up with Lucy as you can see from the pic! We will keep you posted as always on his journey! We will be sad to see him leave, but at the same time happy that he will hopefully be able to have his vision restored sooner!

~Kara

week 2

Our charming man is doing very well at the end of week two! Marley has been off his leash to go outside, and he has learned his boundaries as far as the edge of our yard and the drop off to the stream. We have had so many deer in the yard and he finally caught on that they are in 'his' territory, so he sniffs them out after they leave...he reminds me of that dog on 'Lady and the Tramp' who's eyes aren't too good and his 'sniffer' isn't working too well!

Marley definitely is more at home this week, as he now sleeps on the loveseat regularly. He was sleeping with Lucy on the couch two nights ago which was a first. We even caught them 'kissing' this morning! They were right in each other's faces licking noses (and neither of them seemed to mind the invasion of personal space!)

Marley was a little bummed out earlier this week, we aren't sure if he had a belly ache or what but he was gloomy and whining quite a bit. He seems to be fine now. Although, the humidity was bugging us also, so it could have just been the weather! Although being in a slight funk, Marley did well on his daily walks this week. And enjoyed hanging out on the deck quite a bit too!

I am hoping to get him to our vet this week to check his weight. He looks as though he is slimming quite a bit. My husband thinks he is down at least 15lbs, so curiosity has me wondering! He did have a 'minor' counter-surfing adventure this week ... he was brave enough to sniff out the PB&J and a bowl of cereal on edge of the sink and from the amount of grape jelly on his head, I think he enjoyed his snack! Overall, Marley has been doing great and he is more & more affectionate each day! He still has a favorite friend: Broghan, and even slept with him twice this week. He even rolled onto his back, pawing Matt to rub his belly!

More to come!

~Kara

Week 2 has gotten off to a pretty good start for Marley! He had a great weekend outside playing with the kids and picking up the scent of our wilderness friends. Marley has been getting better and better at navigating the house and yard too. We have been walking him off the leash for a few days and he stays right by our sides. He has even figured out how to slide the back screen door open and go outside by himself! Mr. Marley also surprised us the other night by climbing onto the couch and nestling in, that was his first try at sitting on the furniture. He probably figured out that if Lucy can do it, why can't he? Makes sense, right? He has tried to come up in our bed at night also, but i am thankful he cannot jump up! Not too sure how my husband would like 2 Weims in bed with us! Miss Lucy is a complete bed hog, so Marley sleeps right next to our bed on the floor or on the dog bed ~ half under our bed.

Marley is really enjoying his walks. He even does well when the kids take him up the road without me. Although, he is not too energetic, he would rather just lay on the deck and hang out!

But, his favorite thing to do is chewing bones! He has finished 7 bones so far and currently working on two others! He doesn't care for other toys too much, but he does enjoy tearing apart tennis balls.

He is adjusting well to his 'schedule' as well. He wakes me up at 7:25AM on the dot every morning. He immediately has to go outside. Then he eats. We have him on 1 cup of food in the AM and 1 cup at 5:00pm. In between he gets a few treats, but he is doing really well with less food intake and does look like he is slimming slightly. He is also getting lots of exercise following the kids and Lucy up and down the stairs! I kept track yesterday afternoon and he went up & down 22 times. Which is awesome considering that a week ago he would not go upstairs until bedtime.

From watching him everyday, I know he had to have had a wonderful family early in his life. He is well-mannered and listens very well. He is pleasant and VERY affectionate. He smiles when you rub his belly or his chest, it is so funny!

~kara

Today Marley and I travelled to Whitehall, PA to see a specialist. After testing his eyes, the Veterinarian came back with great news: Marley is a candidate for surgery to remove the cataracts! Dr. Landis reviewed her findings with me and with Julie (via telephone) and explained his condition and what is to follow. They are confident that Marley's vision can be restored in his left eye, however, they will not know about the right eye until he goes in for the surgery, at which time an ERG test will be performed as well. The Vet explained that from what she could see today, Marley developed the cataract on the right eye first and it seems to be a more embedded into the retina than the left. So, I am working on getting him into our vet here for the pre-operation testing and a general exam then we can schedule his surgery soon after. The Dr. also explained that even if Marley can only have surgery on the left eye, he will be able to see 100% better just with one eye corrected. Oh, and his officially weight today is 100.4 lbs...we're going to get that corrected as well! We've already begun to walk AM & PM and he seems to be gaining a little more endurance each time we go out.

Marley did great on our road trip. He was such a good boy the entire trip, so at McDonald's I treated him to a little something special! I shouldn't have, but seeing how well he did at his appointment and was such a good sport during his testing, so I gave him a baby cone! He thoroughly enjoyed his treat! He is doing very well with only eating twice a day. The first day was rough for him, but he is adjusting to his new eating schedule. He and Lucy are doing great together, too. They are not growling at each other as much when one comes near the other and are being very good playmates. They are in total competition though, Lucy does NOT like when I am showing Marley affection and not her. Marley is also doing much better with bedtime. He was uneasy for the first day or so and now he sleeps right next to my side of the bed, but somehow, by morning, he is across the room on the dog bed not even close to where he started out! He is such a good boy...I can't say it enough. He will definitely make a great companion and be a wonderful addition to any family!

More to come, but I wanted to let everyone know about our great news we received today!

~Kara

Marley's First Weekend

Marley completed his trip from NY on Saturday (the 11th) and has been doing extremely well!
He made himself at home almost immediately which sort of surprised us, being that he is not only blind, but in a new environment. He actually did much better than our Lucy did when she came to live with us as a Foster. Marley's first test was when he was greeted by three very excited kids (ages: 10, 7 , 4) and passed with flying colors! My youngest was practically climbing on him and it didn't phase him one bit! My middle son was more apprehensive than his brother & sister. He was scared by Marley's eyes, from the Cataracts, but finally realized that Marley was a nice dog and took to him immediately! I have to admit, I was a bit concerned about his blindness and maneuvering through our home, well, he shocked us by how well he has adapted and found his way around! He has even started going up and down the stairs without us helping him, so he is really figuring out our house well.

I have to say, I am really blown away at how great Marley is doing. He is doing well with our 1 yr old Weim, Lucy and all the kids. He is very loving with all of us, he constantly wants us to pet him and rub his back and belly. He brings the tennis ball to us as if he wants to play 'fetch' but obviously he can't chase after it, due to his blindness. Marley enjoys being outdoors, I have been leaving the back screen open so he can just walk out to the deck...he plops down and basks in the sun! From everything we have been noticing so far, Marley has a good demeanor and has not shown any sort of aggression towards the children or us at all.

I have an appointment scheduled for Wednesday with a Specialist to possibly remove the Cataracts and restore his vision. So far, from we've noticed, despite his blindness, Marley is a great dog and if the surgery can be performed with success, he will be a much more outgoing and confident dog. We can tell he 'wants' to be more playful when the kids are running around, and when he wants to play ball...but he can't. Hopefully we'll get good news on Wednesday and we can get him out for more walks, running and playing and in turn losing a little of that excess weight!

PS. We have also started him on his new diet plan (hahaha) ...we cut him back to being fed twice a day with healthy snacks in between. He REALLY likes carrots! He had pieces of an apple with a dab of peanut butter this afternoon and enjoyed it as well.

~Kara
Marley's Foster Mama

The Journey begins...

Marley is coming into our rescue tomorrow from a private rescue in NY. He is currently completely or partially blind. He will be seeing (no pun intended) a specialist as soon as he gets here so we can determine the cause of his blindness and whether surgery will correct the problem. He's a handsome boy weighing in at 100#. He also has his full tail intact.

We are unsure of his history or how long he has been blind. We hope to give him a brand new view on life. How wonderful it will be for him to be able to see and play like a normal dog. He loves people, is cautious around other dogs as he has a tendency to step on them and was previously attacked by another dog after stepping on it. Despite all that he has been through he is quite the gentlemen. Very happy go lucky, obedient and sweet. Good with children, will probably be okay with cats (considering he can't chase them).

This blog will be used as a way for the foster home to keep everyone up to date on Marleys progress.

Jamielynn Storch
Tri-State Weimaraner Rescue
Foster and Volunteer Coordinator
jamielynn@tristateweimrescue.org