‍CONDITION:  VERY GOOD

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‍Henry’s physical status has remained stable over the past few weeks. This includes rear limb shaking, standing to wet, recovery breathing with a closed mouth, rapid not-hard heart rate, and frequent “flop downs” - refer to prior weeks when his status was reported as “VERY GOOD” for specifics.

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‍Drum roll, please! Several months prior to Henry’s arrival at House of Henry, his littermate Harry was adopted by a wonderful young woman. Harry’s mom generously agreed to let the brothers have a reunion! Henry has come to love car rides and flies into the rear seat — sometimes he does this when I don’t want him to get in the car! We drove to a private bark park for the reunion, arriving ahead of schedule to allow Henry to acclimate to the new surroundings and decompress from the ride.

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‍Their meeting was a Hallmark moment. Henry wandered around, then spotted Harry and Harry’s mom coming into the bark park! After the brothers met, Henry reunited with Harry’s mom, whom he had grown to love during her visits to Harry at the kennels.

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‍Others from Better Days Rescue joined us, and Harry and Henry showered their loyal supporters with joy, love, and happiness. There are photos of the brothers running toward the fence to reunite with the rescue’s founder, and of him giving belly rubs to both dogs just before he left the reunion.

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‍It was a lot of excitement for the dogs and we spent just short of two hours together! Everyone's heart grew larger that day.

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‍On reunion day, I had the opportunity to observe Harry's movements. He apparently enjoys better health than Henry, and is more able and willing to dash around the bark park. Harry is engaged in play and toys more than Henry is, and while Harry has a “wiggle” it is not as significant as Henry’s.

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‍There is no evidence of a 'hump' on Harry’s lower spine (Henry’s is no longer noticeable.) Harry takes frequent “rest breaks” while Henry has frequent "flop downs." Harry's rear legs have resistance ~3/4 (Henry at 0/4). When they refreshed themselves with slurps of water, they each laid down to lap water out of the bowl; there was no regurgitation by either dog.

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‍Harry pants, but not with excessive lip-flewing or cheek-puffing. Both dogs panted and both were able to get recovery breaths. Unfortunately, I was not able to palpate Harry's heart rate, there was simply too many good things happening! Their personalities were so calm, social, and free! Harry even dug a hole and Henry dropped a toy inside! (No, I didn't get a picture of that.)

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‍Harry now weighs 56 pounds (Henry weighs 42). In October, Harry underwent neurological veterinary assessment. The physical exam was unremarkable with normal lung and heart sounds and a heart rate at 144 and "panting" respiration rate. Muscling was noted to be symmetrical. The cranial nerves were grossly intact. Significant findings are:mild tetraparesis (weakness of all four extremities); limb tremors pelvic limb > thoracic limb (exercise aggravated); withdrawal reflex is reduced in all four limbs (1+).

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‍Harry’s assessment is mild limb weakness that worsens with exercise, which is consistent with neuromuscular disease. EMG was inconclusive and Harry tested “negative” for Myasthenia Gravis.

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‍Harry’s Plan: Repeat bloodwork (April 2025 creatine kinase was normal, but with a reported historical elevation); infectious disease testing; await results of a comprehensive DNA test for breed composition and health risks. A muscle biopsy will be considered for Harry as that is the gold standard for diagnosing muscular dystrophy. Henry’s report has been made available to Harry’s mom.