Mordecai, still with Doberman Rescue Minnesota

Can you believe how BIG Mordecai has gotten? Wow. Though....he's about a year old now, if he was 16 weeks when I first blogged about him in June 2013. And he's still with Doberman Rescue Minnesota. He's gone to a lot of their events in the last year.

(picture from DRM site)

So far as his health issues go, his leg is doing great from what I can tell. He has not grown out of his megaesophagus, but I'd say he's used to coping with it by now. Sit upright in a chair at dinnertime and eat soft food? Done.

(picture from the DRM Facebook page)

You can see more pictures of Mordy in a photo shoot on the DRM blog. He is a handsome Doberdude, to be sure! I think a lot of people are put off by the megaesophagus, though from what I read, it seems carefully manageable. The main issue with megaesophagus is that food and water cannot be moved along by the esophagus normally, and so there's a risk of them being aspirated and developing into pneumonia. That's the main reason for the Bailey Chair you see Mordecai sitting in above; fed multiple small meals through the day, upright for thirty minutes or so (and this includes fluid intake), it's possible for a dog with megaesophagus to consume food and water safely. I don't know what medications Mordecai is on, but there are a few which also help mitigate complications. My understanding is that diagnosis can be what the main issue is, and some with megaesophagus dogs get sick without being appropriately diagnosed. I don't want to try and gild this or sweep it under the rug; this can be a big deal, medically speaking. But a dog can have a fairly regular life too.

And Mordecai is in many ways a normal Doberman. He loves playing in the water and dock diving. He loves playing ball. He loves cuddling and loving people. He's a smart boy and walks well on a leash. 

So, if you're interested in adopting Mordecai, you can look at the DRM requirements here. On their Facebook page, they say that they are willing to adopt to apartment dwellers, so if that's something which has kept you from looking into adopting from Doberman Rescue Minnesota, maybe you should look into it! Obviously, with a Doberman, you want to make extra special sure that the rules in your living place (town, apartment, lease, etc.) do not discriminate or restrict a dog breed which you might house there. You can visit this page if you're interested in other ways you can support Doberman Rescue Minnesota.