Macho
Age: 6
Weight: 71
Other Dogs?: Yes
Cats?: unsure
Small Children (under 4)?: unsure
Crate trained? Yes
Children over 4?: yes
House trained?: yes
Separation Anxiety?: No
Obedience trained?: some
State: ME
Attending obedience in Foster Home?: no
Leash trained?: yes
Mircrochipped: Yes
Adoption donation $270
12/21/03 As Christmas approaches Macho is still awaiting his forever home. He has settled
in nicely here and gets along great with all the other dogs in the house. His favorite thing is
laying on the couch relaxing and he is still very fond of food.He does not seem to know how
to play with other dogs but really likes to have a ball thrown for him. The cutest thing about
Macho though is his smile. If you have never seen a boxer smile they tuck their upper lip
behind their bottom teeth and it is adorable. Macho does this atleast ten times a day. If he
thought it might get him extra food he would probably smile for hours. He is a very sweet
boy who has a lot of love to give. The only thing he is lacking is a real family of his own to
love him.
11/4/03 Hi Macho here. I am just writing to let everyone out there know how much I want
a forever home. My foster mom keeps telling me to be patient, that my people will come for
me when the time is right but I really want a family to love. I want to tell you a little about
myself so you will know if you are my people. I'm very very cute even when I do things I
know I am not supposed to. Atleast that is what my foster mom thinks. I smile at her when
she gets mad at me and that seems to do the trick. I am learning to behave though. She took
me to some obedience classes at another foster home and I did real well. I can walk on a
gentle leader now without feeling like I need to try to dig it off my nose. Mom says I still get
to go to more classes after I am adopted because It will help me learn to listen to my real
family. I really liked the classes. There were a lot of other dogs there and I really like other
dogs.The chihuahua that is staying here kind of scares me though. She has bitten me twice
for no reason now I stay away from her. I have tried smiling at her because that works so
well with people but it gets me nowhere with an angry chihuahua. Thats alright though
because the other boxers here like me.I really like kids too and would always try to be very
gentle with yours if you adopted me. My favorite things are squeaky toys sleeping on the
couch having my belly rubbed and FOOD of any kind but I don't get mad if you try to take
it away form me. I am on a diet right now so I get lots of apples but I don't mind because I
get to play with them first and they taste so good.Please put in your application soon if you
think you might be my forever people. I want to go home.
10/21/03 Macho has been thoroughly checked over by a wonderful vet and it has been
decided that surgery is not the right thing to do for him. The vet recommends that when he is
walked his leash should be hooked to a gentle leader that goes around his nose. This will
take the pressure off his neck and he is able to breath much better. The only time I have
noticed him having any problems is when he pulls on the leash when it is hooked to a neck
collar. With this slight adjustment to how he is walked he is doing wonderful. I have been
taking him to obedience classes and he tries very hard to please. Macho will be very easy
for his forever family to train because he will do anything for food. Treats are enough to get
his undieing loyalty. He is on a diet so I try to give him low calorie treats and he loves
apples. Every night I give him an apple and we play fetch with it until he can no longer wait
to eat it then he lays down and devours it.He gets along great with all the other dogs in the
house including the chihuahua that is staying here, even though the first time he met her she
bite him right on the nose. He has completly forgiven her and is always very gentle with her.
He would definatly have no problem adjusting to a home with other dogs and is also very
good with my son. Macho is a very lovable boy with a great big smile. He will make some
family very very happy.
9/18/03 I took Macho to the vet on September tenth and the vet did not think his palete
was long enough to be causing a problem.He did look down his throat and found that it was
very inflamed. Macho is now on medication to clear up what ever is causing the inflamation.
Then they will reevaluate him.From what I can see it does not seem like he is having any
trouble breathing now.Macho runs and plays and does not get out of breath or overly tired.
I am very hopeful that the next time I bring him home from the vet it will be with a clean bill
of health.
9/5/03 Macho has been with me for about four days and I can already tell he is very special.
He has a kind of sweet shy air about him that makes him hard to resist.He does get very
excited when ever anyone sings Macho Man to him. I have made an appointment for him to
have his soft palate evaluated and possibly operated on. This is schedualed for September
tenth and I should know more after that. I have no doubt that he will find a home as soon as
he gets a clean bill of health so get your application in now.
9/1/03 Macho has arrived safely in Maine and is a very sweet boy. He will soon have the
surgery to correct his breathing problems and will probably feel like a new man. I have not
had a lot of time to get to know him yet but I can say he has the very best little boxer smile I
have ever seen
9/1 Mr. Macho has left on his road trip to Maine for his surgery. He will be sorely missed
here at the Inn, but we know his life is going to be so much better. I wish I could be there
when he takes his first big breath and realizes he can really breath!! I’ll bet that boxer
smile of his will be plastered onto his face for a week and he will be challenging every dog
he meets to a race. After all he may not be the fastest, but with those big lungs of his, he will
have endurance to spare!!! Good luck Macho, we love you.
8/25 Macho is doing well. He has been playing more with the other dogs and showing
interest in toys. I think the stimulus of the other dogs has given him some aerobic exercise
and actually improved his breathing a little. He can now go up and down the stairs without â
€œoverdoingâ€� it, if he only goes up and down once. Stair marathons still leave him
breathless! Macho is a consummate counter/table surfer and will snatch food right off your
plate if you turn your head, you most always be alert to his whereabouts when cooking! He
is also not averse to grazing in the garbage pail if opportunity presents itself. But he is such a
good apologiser!! That, butter would melt in his mouth look, makes it very hard to stay
annoyed with Mr. M for long.
8/16 Well, Mr. Macho came home a little groggy last night, and couldn’t have dinner
until after 9pm. The results of the test show he will need surgery and that his problem was a
congenital defect. His soft pallet is too long! So Macho has had this all his life and it explains
why on first look he appears to be on the chunky side. He isn’t really overweight, his
chest is oversized by his having to inhale so hard to breath all this time, so he has â
€œsprungâ€� his ribs “extra wide“. Also, because of this he wasn’t/isn’t an
active boxer, so his leg muscles are a little flabby, adding to the overweight look. As I
understand it, the results of this surgery are pretty dramatic and we may have a new and
improved Macho very soon!! He is so funny to watch when he “plays� with the other
boxers, he loves to neck wrestle!! He growls so fiercely but rolls onto his back and then
they have to come to him!!
8/14 Poor Macho ended up having to stay at Cornell today. I made an appointment for him
and thought they would do the scope today, but they are keeping him overnight and doing it
tomorrow. It was quite cute, watching the vet student marching him up and down the stairs
and then jogging down the corridor so the vet could see how bad his breathing was with a
little exercise. I said “That’s the first time I’ve seen Macho run.� and the vet
said “that’s the first time we’ve seen Victoria run, too!� I will let you know
the results of the exam as soon as I have them.
8/11 Well Macho went to the vet today and had his Bordatella vaccine and his Heartworm
Test (mom left the fecal home so that will be done tomorrow) He is heartworm negative.
That’s the good news. He seems to have a breathing problem. At first I thought he was
panting due to stress, he was crated for most of the first day. Then yesterday the first time
he came upstairs, I saw that he was very out of breath and gulping air through his mouth,
sides heaving. I was hoping it was due to his being overweight and under exercised, but, the
vet checked him over and believes he may have something wrong with his esophagus or
larynx. She suggested that we take him to Cornell as they do not have the equipment to
diagnose it conclusively. So my Mucho Macho boxer boy will be going on a road trip,
hopefully soon. Keep your fingers crossed.
8/10 We have a new guest at the In and Out Inn!! His name is Macho, and he is a very
unusually marked. His back is a very dark, almost black, reverse brindle, but his head, chest
and all four legs are a regular brindle!! Would we call that a semi-reverse brindle?? He has
a tiny stub, natural ears and freckles all over his belly. Although he has some white on his
chest and toes he has a full black mask. Macho is 6 yrs old and a tad on the chubby side, a
little Waist Watcher Doggie food will soon fix that though. Macho is an owner surrender
and has lived with the same family for his whole life. Naturally he is very stressed out about
this whole transport and foster home thing. He has been a bit grumpy toward the other
residents, so we will go slowly with the intros. He has never been crated so that too is
something new for him. He is actually doing quite well in that department, in and out with no
fuss, for the simple reward of a chunk of hotdog. I love a dog that can be bribed! The most
interesting thing about having Macho as a guest is that Macho speaks Spanish. His dad said
he is bi-lingual but did give me the Spanish word for Come, as he listens better in Spanish.
He will need to visit the vet for heartworm and fecal tests and to get a Bortatella shot, but
other than that seems in good health. Stay tuned for updates as we get to know the Macho
man better.