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Health & Fitness

Medical Needs Cases at The Pet Rescue Center

This week, I am giving over my blog to my co-worker at The Pet Rescue Center, Director of Operations Casey Oliver. She shares about the recent medical needs cases at The Pet Rescue Center in Mission Viejo.

The Pet Rescue Center has a huge advantage on our side, and that is Alicia Pet Care Center. Being housed in a state-of-the-art facility, we have opportunities to save dogs and cats with medical needs more often the average non-profit rescue group. This summer has been a particularly busy time for us, and I wanted to share some of our most recent medical stories. Let’s start with a dog named Summer.

Summer is a 3-year-old, female Staffordshire terrier. It has been 3 short months since saving her from a shelter in Van Nuys, CA. The PRC caught a glimpse of her via email and spent the weekend arranging for her to travel to us. A plea had been sent out to rescue groups to try and save her from euthanasia, and because of her medical condition, a rescue was her only chance of getting out alive. Volunteers from all over OC and LA rallied to get her into our care. When she first arrived, she was terrified, shaking non-stop, and bleeding from dozens of open sores. Summer had massive hair loss and irritated skin all over her body, and it was obvious that she had been in that condition for quite some time. To make matters worse, Summer had recently had a litter of puppies, and she was still lactating the day she was dumped. A lifetime of breeding and neglect was written all over her sad eyes, but within 48 hours of being in our care, Summer had made huge changes. Immediately the excitement of being treated like a puppy took over. She must have been ignored for so long, and now she was receiving more attention than she could imagine. A skin scrape diagnosed demodex, which is a common infestation of a dog’s skin. Mites reside and feed in the hair follicles of the skin causing severe pain, irritation and hair loss. Most veterinarians believe that all dogs have small numbers of demodex mites residing in the skin and that having a few mites is normal and common. It is when immune related, nutritional or environmental stresses impact the dog that visible skin lesions from mite infestations become noticeable. Summer was definitely malnourished, and to think that she had been caring for litters of puppies in her condition was just horrifying. Lucky for her, this was a very treatable condition that just took time and patience to cure, and we were able to give her just that. In the 3 months she has been with us, she beat the demodex infection and has a new gorgeous coat. She has thoroughly enjoyed every step of her healing process, displaying nothing short of a perfect demeanor. She is gentle, forgiving, and extremely affectionate. She radiates happiness and gratitude every day. There isn’t an animal or person she hasn’t enjoyed meeting. Her tail never stops wagging and that is saying a lot for a dog that must have been very uncomfortable. Summer is a beautiful girl inside and out and truly deserves a new life with a family who loves her. We are so happy Summer found us, and it has been such a joy to rehabilitate her. She is ready to find a new home and continue her new spoiled life!

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Sarah: On June 6th we rescued Sarah, a 20lb, female Cocker Spaniel saved from OC Animal Care’s medical needs list. She was “medical needs” due to having Cherry eye in both eyes. Cherry eye is generally a quick fix under anesthesia and should be done as soon as possible to keep the eye from irritation and vision obstruction. I truly could not believe she had lived 7+ years with this discomfort, so I was happy to bring her back to The Pet Rescue Center for treatment. Sarah was also covered head to toe with matted hair with years of flea dirt collected within. She was a perfect angel for her first shave down. Her skin was raw and so extremely itchy. When the hair was off, her attitude changed immediately. If you know anything about Cocker Spaniels, then you can guess that Sarah is exceptionally smart. The first time she smelled treats, as we were just finishing up her haircut, she started to show off her tricks. We knew she was going to win someone’s heart as soon as we could get her into better health. Two weeks after getting comfortable with us and recovering from kennel cough, Sarah received her eye surgeries, a dental cleaning, and her spay. Her mouth was so badly filled with tartar and decay that she had 25 teeth removed during her 7 hour procedure. It was exciting to see her mood change as the days went on. She was finally living life without the pain in her mouth and eyes, and it shows with every step she takes. Sarah is a senior pet around 8 years old. She is now ready to spend the next 8+ with someone equally enthusiastic about giving her the life she never got to live. She wants to run, play and snuggle just like any puppy, and we know her future family will love her young-at-heart attitude. We certainly do.

Leila:  The Pet Rescue Center’s most recent medical needs patient, Leila, came to us on August 1st. Leila, a sweet, 12 lb. senior Chihuahua, was found at the bottom of an empty dumpster in Irvine, CA. As if a dumpster wasn’t bad enough, the little lady had a softball size mass in between her front legs. She was saved by a good citizen and taken to Irvine Animal Care Center for processing. According to Irvine staff, Leila was extremely sweet, but would need more medical care than they had anticipated and reached out for help. The Pet Rescue Center and Irvine Animal Care Center have worked together multiple times to assist each other with pets in need. In this particular case, Leila paved the way for us to place 3 of our harder to adopt cats with Irvine Animal Care (and all 3 have already found great homes). We were very happy to be able to take in Leila and get her feeling better as soon as possible. Her mass was horrifically large and actively bleeding, so she was taken to surgery immediately after her exam. In addition to removing the large mass, she had smaller lumps up and down her abdomen resulting in a full mastectomy. One side was removed for her first surgery. She is still healing and will need a second surgery to complete the mastectomy in the coming weeks. At that time, she will also be spayed, micro-chipped and will receive a dental cleaning with multiple extractions. Leila has completed her second week with us and she has a new outlook on life. The sweet but shy senior we met the first day, is now a bubbly, playful girl who can’t believe how light she is on her feet. It has been so endearing to watch her learn to walk without struggle. She is already so comfortable and loving with us that it is hard to think she was ever mistreated or neglected. She shows us how quickly rescue pets can forgive and move on. She is living in the present and life is presently perfect in her eyes. She holds no grudges and just wants to live every second to the fullest. Although she is pushing 8 or 9 years, she has so much life to give to someone special. We are excited to watch her progress and have no doubt that she will be ready to find a forever home very soon.

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Bobby:  Bobby was first spotted in the medical needs section of Orange County Animal Care. Walking past him to view another specific pet in the medical section, a double take was in order. A very quiet little dog stood calmly in the back of his kennel, unable to lie down. He had a plethora of gaping, infected, old wounds from head to toe. You could see the discomfort in his sad little eyes and all I wanted to do was make him feel better. I was told that he had just arrived that morning with animal control and their vet suspected his wounds came from a previous dog fight that had become infected. Regardless of what caused the wounds, he needed extreme treatment and we had to do it.

When Bobby arrived on July 15th, Dr. Wheaton and the staff at Alicia Pet Care Center started treatments right away. His wounds were cultured and then cleaned under anesthesia. A full blood panel was done and he received laser treatments and sugar-packing and bandaging all over his body. His blood work showed that he was slightly anemic, among other things, and his culture came back showing a staph infection from his wounds. We were ready to help him in every way possible and only time would tell if he would respond to treatments.

Every morning Bobby would have his bandages removed, which was his favorite part of the day. He would shake off all of the dry sugar from the day before, his ears and tail would perk up and he would take off. I always let him have “naked time” before his new bandage placement and I know he really appreciated it. He would always head outside first and enjoy the sunshine on him for a bit before making his rounds in the hospital. Usually unleashed, he would make a point to trot up to most staff members to say hello or just stare into their eyes like he did so well. He truly loved making friends. After his “naked time” it was back to treatments. Always an amazing patient, Bobby sat quietly while we would laser every wound individually and cleaned him as best we could. We treated him with a nice coat of sugar to help the wounds heal faster and a thick body wrap kept everything clean, sugared and secure, and then he would rest.

As he received love from staff and volunteers in his daily routine, there were still many challenges along the way. Bobby did not have an appetite. Most days I brought him boiled chicken from home and he was always good at humoring me by acting like it was the best thing he had ever had. After a couple handfuls, I always got the same look of “I ate some. Are you happy?” Some days it was cottage cheese and rice and other days I was happy with anything he was willing to swallow on his own. With life saving medications on board, an empty stomach would cause nausea and vomiting. Not eating was not an option if he was to get better.

After a few weeks, the wounds looked incredible. The bandaging and laser seemed to do exactly what we wanted them to do. He had lost weight, but we were still hopeful that he stood a chance at full recovery. If the infected wounds were truly the source of all his problems and we could keep him functioning properly internally, then we could get him through it.

Bobby, while fighting off the discomfort he was in, became particularly attached to me and me to him. It meant the world to me to see him happy and he appeared to be blindsided by the love he was receiving. He was never mad or resistant during the treatments we had to perform, regardless of how much he would have liked to avoid them. Each time medicating him, I felt his willingness to take them for me as if he understood and trusted that I would only do things to him out of love. The words “good boy” had an entirely new meaning with Bobby. And boy did he love to hear them out loud.

His anemia was still a very present issue. After receiving his first blood transfusion from our rescue dog, Spud, he did well for quite some time. Nothing like the blood of a 70lb Pit Bull to make you feel new again. Although it did the trick at the time, unfortunately it wasn’t permanent. Not long after, he was declining all around and in need of another transfusion. It was clear that he was using everything his little body had left to try and heal himself. Just before his last blood transfusion from Donny, a rescued Labrador at The PRC, Bobby and I shared a promise. I promised him that I wouldn’t leave his side until he was either walking out the front door with a new owner or until he couldn’t fight anymore. I stuck to that promise and he was with me from that moment on.

Having Bobby in my home, with my family and family pets, was an experience I will never forget. For a long time he seemed to be oblivious to his own health condition because of the extreme excitement he had for everyday things he had never experienced. Walking with me and my dogs made him act so confident. The little man, who had lost 1/3 of his body weight, would make a point of showing us just how fast he could run when he wanted to. He would get very excited if there was someone new to meet coming down the sidewalk. He loved getting to choose from every dog bed in the house and made a point of trying them all out before making a final choice. It was so cute to see. If I left for even a minute to get the mail, I would be greeted at the door with the happiest tail and the most enthusiastic kisses ever. At night, Bobby slept with me, rather on me, and he slept soundly through each night. His snores were so soothing to fall asleep to, just letting me know he was comfortable. In his happier moments at home, I really believed that I was seeing a dog ready to fight for survival. This little dog was willing to give every last ounce of energy to fully experience the life of being a family pet. His smiles, belly rub requests and constant tail wags will always be safely stored in my memory of who Bobby really was.

Bobby woke me up Monday morning very early. He was uncomfortable and seemed agitated. I knew bringing him into work that day that my hopes for him were changing. He was not well and there was no further treatment that he could possibly receive. His body was rejecting everything we tried giving. We were now faced with the reality of keeping him barely alive in the hopes he miraculously healed with more time or letting him go before experiencing any more pain. This decision was not taken lightly. Four doctors, 4 RVT’s and a much invested staff were all involved that day. We all knew that his body would not make it through surgery of any kind or any long term treatment plans. As a few of us we were gazing into his eyes and searching for answers, someone said “It’s as if he is doing it for you." I knew exactly what that meant as it was written all over Bobby’s face. Continuing to fight for survival was not his first choice, but he loved making people happy. I couldn’t see this previously during our time at home together. I was blinded by hope, while he was addicted to praise. Thankfully this created the best week of his entire life. That evening we gave him the last gift he could receive from us. He was trusting, happy and unafraid. So content in my arms, we stared into each other's eyes until he was no longer there. Bobby left this world comfortably, without pain and with a real mom to tell him one last time what a good boy he truly was.

Bobby will be an example of what we at The Pet Rescue Center really believe in. EVERY pet deserves a chance. He deserved the best vet care, all of our love, and a chance at a new start. Although he didn’t make it, he was in no way less worthy of a place at The PRC. His life was changed dramatically for the better and he passed away knowing how much we loved and cared for him. I will continue to learn from Bobby, and all of our rescued pets, just how meaningful life can be when you are loved.

If you would like to make a contribution to our medical needs program, please DONATE here. Sarah and Summer are now available for adoption at The Pet Rescue Center, along with our big boys Spud and Donny.

The Pet Rescue Center, located inside Alicia Pet Care Center in Mission Viejo, is a 501c3 non-profit organization that rescues, rehabilitates, and re-homes pets saved from euthanasia at high-kill shelters and other at-risk situations. These pets are provided with a veterinarian-supervised, temporary sanctuary, while The Pet Rescue Center works to find an adopting family for them. They have successfully saved and adopted out more than 600 dogs and cats in the past five years. To view their adoptable cats and dogs, to volunteer, or to make a donation, please visit them online at www.thepetrescuecenter.org or call 877.277.7938. You can also "like" and follow them on Facebook.

All interested parties must fill out an Adoption Application, which will be reviewed to find the best possible match for the pet and for the interested family. Pets are visited by appointment only, but times are flexible. Please email Casey Oliver, Director of Operations, at The Pet Rescue Center, at adopt@thepetrescuecenter.org to arrange a meeting time. The adoption fee is $300 for dogs and $150 for cats, and includes spay/neuter, microchip, flea treatment, deworming, regular veterinary check-ups, and current vaccinations. This fee helps to defray the costs of medical care, supplies, and boarding while the animals are in their care.

The Pet Rescue Center…Rescuing Pets, Creating Families, Saving Lives.


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