Biff and his five siblings were born July 23, 2012 to a breeding Havanese who had been rescued from a puppy mill auction. He now spends his days running, playing, shredding and behaving like any other Havanese puppy. He loves to play fetch, tug-of-war, run with the other pups, and chase after the squirrels and bunnies in the fenced-in backyard.
Biff loves to snuggle against your chest after meals. Early on he was diagnosed as having a congenital condition called mega esophagus. Basically, right now the esophagus does not have the muscle/nerve ability to push the food into the stomach. By keeping him in a vertical position during and immediately after meals, his meals travel with the help of gravity into his stomach.
Biff has been evaluated and tested at the University of FL where he captured the hearts of everyone he came in contact with. At this time he does not need any medications but he does need to be fed his easily prepared special meals in an upright position. Biff is fed four small meals per day in this position and kept quietly upright for an additional 20 minutes. One of our HRI volunteers built a special highchair "The Biff Chair", which little Biff will be using for his meals and quiet period after.
Biff sleeps through the night in a crate next to his foster mom's bed, wags his tail non-stop when given attention and will kiss your face clean when you pick him up. He is house-trained, walks well on a leash and is quick to learn new things.
Biff is looking for a forever home where someone is home most of the time, as he needs to be fed his 4 mini-meals per day. In exchange, Biff will give back his love and devotion tenfold!
Biff’s mega esophagus is described quite well in the following articles and videos:
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/29/megaesophagus-disorder.aspx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3riLt6CscP0
http://www.caninemegaesophagus.org/index.htm
http://www.Abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/dog-needs-high-chair-to-eat-17339459
http://youtu.be/BQF19LR1rRk
Biff is being fostered in FL.
A donation will be requested to adopt this dog. The recommended donation amount will be based on the dog's age, and medical and behavioral issues, if any. A completed application is required if you are interested in adoption. Thank you for considering a rescue dog!