Kimber Chin

As folks continue reading Release,
the animal rescue stories keep pouring in.

Candace Morehouse is one of my fave Champagne Books authors
(If you like men and motorcycles, check out Full Throttle).
Here is her story…

My husband and I adopted Yogi from the Maricopa County Animal Control shelter mobile bus at the annual Chandler Ostrich Festival. He sat caged in a wire enclosure on the pavement, a little black Cardigan Welsh Corgi mix with sad puppy eyes. He didn’t move around much or try to capture anyone’s attention the way the other dogs did, standing quietly on his short little turned-out legs.

My husband was hooked from the minute he looked into those soft brown eyes and petted him over the top of the cage. Soon we were driving home with our new little acquisition and we decided to name him Yogi because he looks like a furry little bear. Our big mutt Colby Jack welcomed him by slobbering on his neck and playing tag around the yard. Yogi fit right in.

Twenty-four hours later all that would change.

The following night Yogi woke up coughing and hacking and left evidence of a bout of diarrhea on the floor. By the next morning, he was listless, lethargic and showed no interest in food of any kind. I called my vet’s office and got an appointment that day.

By the time I got Yogi to the vet, his condition was worse. There was a green discharge coming from his nose and every time he coughed there were great globs of mucous left all over the floor. His gums were white and his eyes had lost their pretty shine. Yogi was a very sick dog.

Our veterinarian, Dr. Lucey, immediately put Yogi on antibiotics and took X-rays of his lungs, pronouncing he was suffering from bronchial pneumonia.

I took little Yogi home, confident that the prescribed dosage of antibiotics would have him feeling better in no time. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

We couldn’t get the antibiotic pills down Yogi’s throat because it was so sore. We had to hold his mouth closed and massage his throat for ten full minutes and when we released him, whatever remained of the pill was spit out and he promptly threw up the little bit of medicine his stomach managed to dissolve. It was when he continually refused to eat that worried me more. There was no way this little dog could get better when he was starving himself to death.

Another trip to the vet and he was injected with a high-powered antibiotic as well as subcutaneous fluids. I was given two syringes filled with the same antibiotic so we could ensure Yogi swallowed it. I didn’t have a problem injecting him; it was a quick, easy poke that was much simpler than trying to force meds down his aching throat.

But still Yogi showed no interest in food, not even chicken broth. Desperate, I called the vet’s office and asked the vet tech what I could do. “We’re not made of money,” I explained over the phone, “And we’ve already amassed over $650 in vet bills” (after paying an $85 adoption fee).

The vet tech was wonderfully compassionate. “I just want to see Yogi get better,” she explained as she offered to meet me on her lunch hour so she could show me how to give Yogi his subcutaneous fluids via IV at home, which reduced a $150 vet visit to $12 in supplies. She suggested grinding his pills and adding it to the food when I force fed Yogi (since the medications I had already bought couldn’t be refunded) with a plastic syringe. I watched closely as she poked a needle between the dog’s shoulder blades and began a drip of 200 cc of fluids. Easy enough, I thought. I’ve already given him antibiotic injections, how much worse could this be?

I had to force feed Yogi twice a day, grind up his pills with a mortar and pestle, then stir them into chicken broth to shove down his throat via syringe. The first time I had to give him subcutaneous fluids, I stupidly took the protective cover off the sharp and ending up poking myself. I finally managed to get fluids into his little body, watching a huge hump form on his back. Yogi was not happy about the procedure, but at least he was still alive.

A full week later and Yogi seemed even worse. We were beginning to despair of him ever regaining his health. Even the vet told us that if he didn’t get better by the next day, we should have him put down.

Dejected, I left for an appointment and instructed my husband to give Yogi anything that might tempt his tummy. When I returned home, I was amazed to find out that our little Corgi actually wolfed down a few dog treats. Next we tried goldfish crackers (it was all we had in the cupboards since I didn’t have time to go grocery shopping while nursing Yogi) and he ate all of those, too. Excited, we took a quick trip to Petco and bought up any and all treats we could find.

Thankfully, Yogi was now on the road to recovery. He began eating voraciously and we no longer had to administer fluids subcutaneously. His nose cleared up and the horrible cough abated. Together with a lot of prayer and daily TLC, Yogi made it through.

According to another area vet, severe pneumonia in dogs adopted from the Maricopa County Animal Control shelter is common. His theory is that during the de rigueur spaying/neutering of the animals, the vet doing the surgery is taking the tubes out of their bodies too soon, causing them to aspirate into their lungs.

How unfortunate that by doing something they feel is a service to the community the shelter is actually causing a worse problem. Few people would be able to afford the time and money we spent on our little Yogi and would probably return their sick new pet to the shelter where it would likely be put to sleep.

Yogi is truly our miracle dog. Today he is a healthy, happy little dog who is spoiled rotten.

To read more about Candace and her wonderful romances, visit
http://www.candacemorehouse.com/

Regan Taylor’s Animal Rescue Story

Jeffery Carman’s Animal Rescue Story

• » Comments (2)