Special Needs This is a courtesy post, so please, do not contact Rescue Ridge, but instead, please contact Tammy at mattnbubba@yahoo.com or 908-433-1796. Max is a 15 month old neutered male German Shepherd. Poor Max has not had much stability in his young life. Max had been bounced around between family members before he came into our rescue. Max has a medical condition called Megaesophagus . The esophagus is the tube that carries food and water down into the stomach. In dogs with Megaesophagus there is a decreased motility(muscular contractions) in the esophagus making it harder to move food and water down to the stomach which results in dogs vomiting or regurging their food or water. The side effect of this is that the dog is at risk for aspirating his food into his lungs and getting pneumonia.Max is considered a mild case and is doing quite well. His previous family built him a special chair to eat in. Max loves his chair and knows he gets his meals in it! He sits up in a vertical position to allow his food to slide down into his stomach. Max is a happy, playful and otherwise healthy dog. He will need a diligent owner that doesn't mind taking a little extra time to feed him and will keep a close eye on any signs of pneumonia or vomiting. Max can live a long and happy life with this condition with just a little extra care! Max is a typical German Shepherd that bonds fast with his family. He can be a little unsure and protective around strangers but he does warm up. This little guy really needs a special home that will take care of his medical needs and also work with his fear issues. Max has lived with another dog and we feel could do so again. He is housebroken and crate trained. Please, if you love Shepherds and have a little extra time to give to a special needs dog the rewards will be endless! Max deserves his second chance at a solid stable family life. Please call Tammy at (908)433-1796 or email at mattnbubba@yahoo.com if interested in Max On '10-11-24 Max's family decided to keep him