Arklow the Irish Wolfhound Chaos Agent

As many of you know, I do my best to run Rockit Ranch Rescue and Sanctuary with a whole lot of help from folks like you: our irreplaceable friends and donors. At Rockit Ranch, I care for 6 dogs, a varying number of cats, 3 horses, and Gringo aka Bedonkadonk, one very stubborn donkey, which are all I can handle in my current physical condition. I recently took in a young Irish Wolfhound under some concerning circumstances, and the things I was told about him have proved to be untrue. To summarize, Arklow needs a number of medical treatments and tests, which I will describe below, but initially, for my safety and the safety of the smaller dogs, he needs immediate training before he inadvertently injures me.

Arklow is a handful - a rambunctious over 100-pound puppy. He just wants to play, but he’s started roughhousing me when I take the other dogs out in the morning and at other times and recently knocked me down in the process of mauling me for fun - my greatest fear is falling because I can’t get up due to severe scoliosis - and it was terrifying even though he was not menacing in that sense of the word. I fell on my already bad knee and already broken shoulder and the impact gave me a vision migraine. My neighbor tried to help me get up, but it was really hard, and I am still in a lot of pain from the incident. There is more to say about his behavior but, to summarize, he must be sent out to be trained before he hurts one of us, and that is a costly undertaking. Despite this incident, he is sweet-natured and deserves to become a loving and trustworthy member of our family.

Arklow also has cryptorchidism - undescended testicles - and requires diagnostic testing so that he can be neutered. He suffers from a very unpleasant gastrointestinal disorder and requires additional diagnostic testing to determine the cause. He is on a very expensive prescription diet and several medications and supplements, which have not proved effective. So, it's a triage situation: first, he HAS to be trained before he hurts me and I am not physically capable of doing that myself. I am trying to raise the money to send him to a training facility for 4 weeks. Second, he needs testing to determine the nature of his cryptorchidism so he can be neutered. That's critical and may help somewhat with his antics. Then he needs the diagnostic testing so we can find the cause of his gastrointestinal issues. Finally, he has a large bursa that needs attention. In other words, it's A LOT, and I need your help badly.

We have made it through an endless number of disasters with your help, and I am praying we make it through this one. Thank you so much,