The overwhelming response to last week’s column, “Pets Have Angels, Too,” has led me to follow up and answer some of the questions I have received.
First of all, the dog mentioned last week is doing very well. Alice, as she has been named by one of our staff members, is a female mixed breed and approximately 2 to 3 years old. We scanned her for a microchip and, unfortunately, she does not have one. Also, she was not wearing a collar, so there was no identification at all. She was truly a stray dog.
Alice weighs 35 pounds and has short, tan colored hair. She has a very sleek body style with long legs, similar to a Greyhound, only much smaller. Alice has an extremely sweet personality and she has never offered even a growl when she is being treated, including injections and bandage changes. Immediately after being treated, she will usually turn around and give a doggy kiss, which translates to licking you in the face.
Alice did not suffer from any broken bones. However, initially she was in shock from multiple large wounds and a lot of blood loss. She had one particular wound on one of her rear legs where the joint was exposed, meaning that the wound extended through all the tissue, including the joint capsule.
Unfortunately, on the same leg she had a very large “de-gloving” wound. This is a wound where a large amount of skin has been peeled off, not leaving enough skin to suture the wound back together.
Large wounds, like the one Alice has, that cannot be sutured together, require extensive labor management of the open wound. We did perform one surgery on Alice to remove dead tissue from the wounds and allow for faster healing. For the past week, Alice has had daily bandage changes with stimulating wound healing ointment, along with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory pain medication.
Alice is healing very well, but at least one more surgery is expected to be necessary in the near future. I believe she will not be completely recovered for at least two more weeks. After she finishes healing, Alice will be looking for a good home. Other than being just a little bit mischievous, she is a wonderful dog. It is obvious that she would make anyone a great pet, as she is very loving and has the demeanor of a pet that seems to be grateful for someone finally taking care of her.
Last week I alluded to the fact that Alice had an angel in the young man, J.R. Crawford, who picked her up from the side of the road, administered first aid and brought her to the clinic for veterinary care.
Certainly, I still stand firm about the idea that pets have angels, too! However, with some additional time to look back at the series of events that took place, I believe that sometimes pets have several angels.
Case in point, just one week prior to the stray dog, now known as Alice, being brought into the clinic, a special needs fund was established at our clinic for stray and mistreated pets. Alice’s story continues with more extraordinary pet lovers, or pet angels, lending a helping hand to the homeless or stray pets.
“Paws for a Cause” is a non-profit organization that was established by a young couple named Carlie and Hayley Woosley. You see, the Woosleys adopted a dog just a few years ago from a rescue group and named her Emmy. They saved Emmy from being bounced from foster care after coming out of an animal shelter. Unfortunately, Emmy recently was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Instead of wallowing in self pity for their loving furry family member, they decided to become proactive.
They decided they would start Paws for a Cause as an organization to raise money to help stray or homeless pets. Mr. Woosley specifically stated, “A good example for the money we raise is a stray pet that gets hit by a car and has no one to care for them financially.”
Without the financial support from Paws for a Cause, Alice, like many severely injured stray pets, may have been euthanized. Therefore, in my opinion, Alice doesn’t have an angel, she has several angels.
Also, someday soon, Alice will have another angel to care for her for the rest of her life!
If you ever notice a homeless or injured stray, contact your veterinarian as soon as possible to give them a chance to live a long, healthy and happy life.
