Alden is a 7.5 year old (DOB: Nov 2013) male, Cane Corso in Texas.

UPDATE: July 12 2021

Sadly, last night Sunday, July 11, Alden began to decline. He vomited many times throughout the night and into Monday, July 12. He was taken to the vet and the vet palpated something “unusual” which was later determined to be an enlarged kidney. After ultrasound, and x-rays, and blood work, it was determined that Alden‘s kidneys were enlarged and he was in kidney failure. However, Alden was also determined to be VERY dehydrated (due to all the vomiting while on diuretics) which can lead to kidney failure as well. On x-ray, something ominous was seen as well, determined to be a foreign object. It is not unlikely that dogs that come in to CCR who have been severely emaciated, end up eating rocks and debris, trash, and anything they can find during the time in which they were starving.

On the afternoon of July 12, It was determined that Alden needed to have emergency surgery OR be humanely euthanized. The problem is, he is a very high risk case because of his heart disease as well as the fact that he is currently in kidney failure.

During this difficult time, we did a heartworm test. Alden is HEARTWORM NEGATIVE!!! 

Alden wasn’t  ready to leave us today. He is the most fabulous family pet, super loving to the 3 children in his foster home, 11, 8, and 4. He loves all dogs and is super easy-going. CCR could not give up on him now. It will come as no surprise- we elected to do the surgery. Now we wait!

After Alden’s surgery, he will require 24 hour care for at least one day. Hopefully then he can return to his foster home where the medical care will continue. We beg you to help us, help Alden. Every donation amount is helpful!  And your donations go up exponentially when more people donate. Thank you!

FROM SPCA SHELTER THAT INITIALLY TOOK ALDEN IN:
The name Alden means “old friend” and it certainly fits our friend, Alden.
Alden came to us as a stray that was extremely underweight and instantly stole the hearts of our entire staff. We could clearly see his ribs, and it was worrying how thin he was, but he was determined not to let his medical conditions affect his vibrant personality. The first night Alden stayed with us was rough. Because he hadn’t eaten in such a long time, he wasn’t able to hold any food down. Our veterinarians also found that Alden has heartworm disease, which will need to be treated as soon as possible

We knew it would take a while for him to recover fully and to reach a healthy weight, so we reached out to our friends at Cane Corso Rescue so that he could heal in a home environment instead of our busy shelter.

His temperament is incredible. He is non reactive to animals and he enjoys the company of several female Corsos. He is house broken and crate trained. He loves to lay on his bed or go for easy walks. He mostly loves snuggling and visiting with humans. He currently lives with 3 children, ages 4yrs, 8yrs, and 10yrs old. Alden also absolutely loves squeeky toys!

UPDATES:

MAY 2021 UPDATE: As of May, 2021, Alden is doing amazing with heartworm treatment. We are eager to see a negative heartworm test in late summer. His cardiac meds have been decreased but he continues to receive medication 4 times a day.

Alden will be ready for his new home, late summer. Whoever gets to add Alden to their family will be so very LUCKY!

FEBRUARY 2021 UPDATE: Alden was put on 6 medications and within 3 weeks, he was stable. Alden had a follow up visit in Feb, 2021 and the cardiologist said his heart was only slightly enlarged (to the point of almost being unnoticeable)! He was no longer in heart failure and he was ready for heartworm treatment. Oh, and he had put on almost 30 needed pounds!!

JANUARY 2021 UPDATE: Alden has been in a TX foster home since Oct, 2020. In early November, 2020, we noticed some acary signs that Alden had cardiac issues. He was urgently squeezed into an Austin, TX cardiologist to find out Alden had a significantly enlarged heart, and ultimately he was in heart failure due to extreme heartworm infestation.

NOVEMBER 2020 UPDATE: HE NEEDS THE SURGERY IMMEDIATELY!!! We need to raise $1500 Surgery will be Monday we hope. waiting on call backs from a few vets in TX, 1 in LA, and 1 in MO.
If we can’t get one of those vets to do it, we have to go to A&M. cost will be significantly higher there and they give no rescue discounts.

Cost of the surgery is about $800. The vet visit yesterday was just under $500, but his meds are $150 for 2wks 😬

Alden was found as a stray in New Orleans, LA. He was severely emaciated, heart worm positive, 52lbs,but as sweet as can be. Just to give you a comparison, most 5-6mos old male Corso pups are 50-60lbs. The shelter vet worked with Alden to get him on a weight gain feeding regimen. CCR pulled him just before a huge hurricane was to hit New Orleans. We had no choice but to board him at a vet in Baton Rouge. But, there, they continued to work on his feeding regimen and look at other areas of his health. There were no other health concerns at the time.

Alden had been in a foster home for 10 days, eating 4 small meals a day, until his foster mom observed a major abnormality. Alden was taken straight to the vet. As suspected, Alden has an enlarged heart (due to heartworm disease) and there was fluid in his abdomen. it’s unclear as to the exact cause, but we ruled out obvious tumors. In addition, he is not actively bleeding! So, we are to assume this is advanced heartworm disease. The next few days, weeks, months will tell us more Moving forward he will need an echocardiogram ASAP.

Alden’s Previous Surgery Fundraiser