Halston Poodle Mix Beaverton, OR

Meet Halston!

UPDATE!
We don't know how to explain this because none of us has ever seen it happen before, but five months after coming to us with a broken back and a severely damaged spinal cord causing him to spinal walk and use a wheelchair, two weeks ago Halston made a spontaneous recovery and started running and playing with another small dog. He even lifts his leg to pee! The x-rays don't lie. Halston definitely has a broken back, and at the time the veterinarian physical therapist saw him, he had no pain or reflexes of any kind in his hind legs, tail or back end. For whatever reason, Halston decided he was not going to be wheel chair bound for the remainder of his life and willed himself to recover. This link is a video taken two days after he spontaneously recovered. You can witness the same miracle we did:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eCKYfuJj5Q

Halston is a 5lb poodle mix (we aren't sure what with), that is estimated at 12+ years old. Halston came in to rescue with a broken back. We didn't know his back was broken at first, because he was walking on his back legs, they just didn't work very well and he would sometimes he drag the tops of his feet, or topple backward into a sitting position. We took him to two vets, one for x-rays, and one to see if physical therapy might help him, and finally we learned that not only was his back broken, but his spinal cord is either severed or severely damaged. There is no signal traveling from his brain to his rear legs, or his tail. So, it sounds like he should be completely paralyzed - why could he walk (a little)? Turns out, there is a thing called "spinal walking", and this is how Halston can get up on his back legs. It's really amazing. You should google it. Anyway, we aren't sure what happened to Halston, either he was hit by a car, or a dog shook him and broke his back.

Halston is NOT sad about his condition. He is super active, and wants to GO, desperately. We felt so sad watching him try so hard to run that we found him a wheelchair. This wasn't an easy task because his legs are long and the size of wheelchair that was light enough for him to pull was too short. The size that was tall enough was too heavy, and pulled him over backward. We finally found him the right size wheelchair, and the minute we put him on the ground in that wheelchair, he was on the move! He LOVES it! He can go, too. We were running most of the time just to keep up with him! See a Youtube video of Halston's first wheelchair walk using the link above.

We also had a dental done for Halston because his teeth were terrible and he had probably never had a dental before. Turns out he had two oral-nasal fistula's (holes that go from where a tooth used to be, up into the sinuses), and getting his teeth fixed up made him feel so much better! He started eating better and gained a pound in just over a week. Yay!

Halston is looking for a home where he doesn't have to be alone most of the time. He gets sad and frustrated with nothing to do. He loves to flop around and burrow in pillows and blankets (especially if they belong to a human), and of course, he absolutely needs to go for his special wheelchair walks. In a perfect world, the veterinary physical therapist says he would benefit from physical therapy, especially their swim therapy, but it is not a requirement for his adoption, just on our wish list :o) If you would love to have a special guy, who makes you smile and inspires you every day, Halston is YOUR GUY!! Inquire within...

Adoption Process: We are not first come first served. Indigo Rescue focuses on finding good matches between dogs and families to ensure life long adoptions. We deliver all dogs to their new homes. All of our dogs are in foster homes. We have a few of our dogs available for meets at the Tanasbourne Petco on Thursdays from 4-7pm and at PetSmart on 185th every other Sunday from noon until 3pm. Or, if you're interested in a particular dog, you can send us an e-mail with answers to the questions below. Just copy and paste the questions into your email to respond. If the dog seems compatible with your situation we'll set up a time for you to meet the dog.

Do you have other pets now? (briefly describe)
Have you had pets in the past? What became of them?
What kind of exercise will you provide for the dog? (type/frequency)
What is your schedule like? How long/often will the dog be alone?
Where will the dog be while you're gone? Where will the dog be when you're home? Where will the dog sleep?
Who else lives in the home? Do you have children? How old are the children?
Are you in a home or apartment? How long have you lived there? Do you have a fully, securely fenced yard? (type/height)
Do you own or rent your home?
What changes in your life are likely in the next 10+ years (or life span of the dog) and how will the changes affect the dog? (moving, job or schedule change, school, having children)
Anything else you'd like us to consider in finding the right dog for your family?

Indigo Rescue only adopts to homes within 30 miles of Portland because our volunteers deliver all of our dogs to their adoptive homes. We work very hard to create a family of our Indigo Rescue adopters because we want to be close enough to help in case there are any problems. We want everyone to be happy and successful!

Adoption Fees: $250 for adult dogs. $300 for puppies and $200 for seniors (over nine years old). Cats or kittens: $100.
**ALL of our dogs, puppies, cats, kittens or rabbits come vaccined to their age, spayed/neutered and microchipped.

Thank you for your interest in adopting and saving a life.