Fonzie

CATTLEDOG

• From: Connecticut

• Adopted: 2018

In 2018, someone dumped Fonzie on the front yard of a home in Southern California. The homeowner called Animal Control and based on his erratic movements and inability to stand normally, everyone initially thought he had been hit by a car.

Thankfully, Linda of Helping Herders Rescue went to the shelter to rescue the cattledog, which she later named, 'The Fonz'. An MRI showed that Fonzie has cerebella hypoplasia which causes him to be unsteady. Fonzie was born with this condition.

Linda needed help with finding a foster and a permanent home for Fonzie so we volunteered to foster and another rescue in Connecticut offered him a home. We agreed to foster him for a month until the coast-to-coast ground transport would arrive to pick him up and take him to his new home in Connecticut.

We drove nearly 500 miles from Vacaville, California to Riverside County to pick up Fonzie. With his unsteady gait, we were thankful we had plenty of soft places for him to land. His first day was spent at the vet. They gave him a course of antibiotics and a few rounds of laser therapy sessions to help with Fonzie’s skin. Fonzie’s wounds quickly healed after the laser therapy sessions.

Fonzie liked walking to his outdoor pen where he could watch all the action go by him, watching the sanctuary animals. On his last full day at Lucky Ones Ranch, Fonzie followed the sheep up to the pasture. It was the farthest he had ever ventured. Fonzie was picked up by the transport and taken to his forever home in Connecticut

After 2 months, it was determined that Fonzie was happier taking in all the sights and smells of the ranch so we decided to take him back and make him a Lucky One forever. We flew from California to Connecticut and drove Fonzie back home.