Rain Mountain Chinooks

Alki (pronounced "al" like in "gal" and "ki" like in "bye", his name means "by and by" in chinook Jargon) is a six year old Chinook in need of medical intervention. He was living with a family in Oregon who got quite lax about vet care. Rather than taking him to the vet, they watched as his left eye turned completely white over the course of just a few days. Because this inflammation or infection in his eyes was ignored, he is now blind in his left eye and has only about 20% vision in the right. He may have had a broken jaw that didn't heal correctly and as a result has problems with his teeth. He was returned to Rain Mountain when we received an email saying that his owners were going to put him to sleep because of his blindness.

A little background on Alki: As a pup Alki was placed with a young man who lived in first in Oregon then eastern Washington state. During this time he was shown in UKC conformation shows and earned half the points needed for his championship. He was neutered when it was discovered that his hips were not good enough for breeding. At age 3 he was returned to Rain Mountain when his owner's life changed substantially (full time job, full time college, and a girlfriend who did not like dogs).

Before going to another new home, Caren Malgesini, a Certified Pet Dog Trainer, helped out by providing professional training to ensure he would do well in a future placement. Caren also worked with his new owners to make sure they knew the same commands Alki had learned. For the first two-plus years he did great with this new family. Then quite suddenly we received the email saying they were going to put him to sleep. We immediately requested that he come back here.

Alki is quite the cool dude and everyone who meets him falls for his goofy, sweet nature. He is very laid back and loves every person and dog that he has met. Colleen McDaniel of the Academy of Canine Behavior (www.aocb.com) evaluated him and feels that he has one of the best temperaments that she has ever seen in a Chinook. Before coming back to Rain Mountain the end of beginning of September, he spent a few days with Susan Fletcher (Frontier Chinooks), another Certified Pet Dog Trainer with Happy-Go-Lucky Playcare and Training (www.happygoluckydog.com), who found him very easy to work with and live with. And of course our own Chinook breeder/trainer Carie Taylor has worked with him as well. His training is still quite good and he is taking an Advanced Obedience course (thanks to the Academy of Canine Behavior for fitting him into a full class) to reinforce commands. He is doing wonderful and learning new ways to cope with his limited vision. Top things off with now neatly trimmed toenails and a bath and he is looking like quite the dapper Chinook gentleman.

About Alki’s Medical Condition: Alki has had extensive vet care already at the Woodinville Animal Hospital (www.woodinvilleanimal.com). A complete blood work-up was done to try and find the cause of his sudden blindness (but nothing has yet been found) and determine his overall health. His teeth have been cleaned as best as possible. He has also been seen by the veterinary ophthalmologist, Victoria Jones, DVM DAVCO.

Dr. Jones believes Alki can have much of his vision restored. She would like to remove the cataract in his right eye and feels that he can recover up to 90% of the vision in this eye. She would also like to remove the cataract in his left eye. Though vision in his left eye cannot be restored, he may be able to sense light and, most importantly, it will prevent further complications such as glaucoma. Once the existing problems are treated, the veterinarians do not expect Alki to have additional complications or need further care. His teeth will need cleaned occasionally and in old age he may need to have his food softened but he happily gnaws beef knuckle bones today. Though hips are not of high enough quality for breeding purposes, he should never have trouble with them. It will be important that his weight is kept at a good level and that he receive regular exercise but these things are important for every dog.

How You Can Help Alki: Responsible Chinook breeders all will take back a dog they have produced at any point in its life. Taking back Alki is something we are happy to do, both because of that responsibility and because he is a wonderful dog.

Though it would be a perfect world if we could write a check today to cover this surgery, we have already spent over $500 on his vet care and the funds to pay for eye surgery are simply not available. A trust has been set up to take in donations for Alki and we are hoping that the Chinook community of fellow dog lovers will step up to help. Surgery will cost roughly $2400 for both to fix both of his eyes. The trust will ensure that all funds go directly for Alki’s medical bills.

Donations for Alki can be sent to the address below. Please make checks payable to Law Offices of Linda Brain for the Benefit of Alki.
    Law Offices of Linda Brain
    110 - 110th Avenue NE, Suite 670
    Bellevue, Washington 98004

Any funds over the amount needed for his veterinary bills will be passed on to other future Chinook rescue efforts.

Alki has now joined the Rutherford family in Eatonville, Washington. He now is the valued companion of 15-year old Julia Ruhterford. It was love at first sight. Julia wants a dog to cuddle with and run with and Alki was more than happy to fill the bill. His December check-up with the eye vet, Dr. Jones, gave him a glowing prognosis. He now has almost all the sight he once lost in his right eye.

We will continue to raise monies for The Alki Fund. If possible, we hope to raise enough money to perform the surgery on his left eye and possibly restore more vision, and to cover the extraordinary medical costs of other dogs in need. Stay tuned for more information in the new year.

In the meantime, a chapter in the life of Alki has a happy ending and he has the best home possible.

Alki has now had his second post surgery exam and is doing wonderful. He no longer has to wear his e-collar but is still on eye drops three times a day. His progress has been so good that we are now ready to find him a forever home. Requirements are:

In the Puget Sound area so he can continue to be treated by Dr. Jones.
No small children as he is still blind in one eye and has no depth perception. This means it is easy for him to nibble fingers while taking a treat and occasionally will run into something if it is on his left side.

Alki gets along great with all other dogs both large and small and is very gentle with cats thanks to training by Kitty Rory. His obedience skills are good, other than the word "stay" and he is well house trained. He is crate trained but is now allowed to sleep free in the house at night. He loves gnawing on big knuckle bones and we make sure he has a good supply.

We hope to continue the Alki Fund and provide assistance with any future medical bills he may have. Alki has a long and hopefully happy life ahead of him and I know he will make someone the best companiion ever.

If you are interested in having Alki join your family, please email info@rainmountain.net.

Thanks to the generosity of dog lovers nationwide, yesterday Alki had surgery on his right eye and is now recovering. The cataract was successfully removed and Dr. Jones feels that he should regain almost 90% of his vision in this eye. For the fist 24 hours, he needed various eye drops and medications every two hours so it has been a very long and sleepless couple of days. But when Alki returned for his morning-after check up today, he trotted right into the clinic door and was very happy to see all the staff. Our hope is to continue fund raising. Follow up care on his right eye will be approximately $600 as the pressure will need to be checked and further tests performed. We would also like to raise funds for surgery on his left eye. Now that she has had the chance to perform an ultrasound on his eyes, Dr. Jones feels that he could possibly recover his distance vision in the left eye and at worst, removing the cataract will prevent future glaucoma.

For now, Alki will wear an elizabethan collar for at least three weeks and can't wear a collar for the next couple months so that none of the nerves or circulation to the eye is constricted. He will have his next check up on November 8th and hopefully then we can cut back to medications just twice a day.

After he is out of the e-collar and off his medications, we'll begin to talk with people about a forever home for Alki. Our requirements are that it must be in the Seattle area so he can continue being followed by the vets who have been so graciously treating him. Because of what he has been through, he will probably do best in a home without small children though he is very good with other dogs of all sizes and with cats. He is truly a wonderful Chinook that would be a great addition to a loving home.

Our long term goal is to establish the Alki Fund as a permanent resource for Chinooks in need of medical care and assistance, especially those in rescue situations, and to obtain non profit tax deductible status. And of course we will keep everyone updated on Alki's long term progress.