Fergie's Story: Sometimes It's More Than We Bargained For...

Fergie was about 3 months old when she was turned into the SPCA because she was limping and her owner didn't want to spend any money trying to figure out why. Lucky for her, she was a cute little girl and, amidst all the sick dogs turned in every day, she was lucky enough to get the attention of some of the vets there. They were able to get some x-rays taken of her hind leg and they found that she had a problem called "avascular necrosis of the femoral head"- a fancy term that means part of one of the bones in her hip wasn't getting enough blood supply and had died, causing her limp. The condition definitely needed to be treated, since without surgery she would become increasingly painful and continue to limp.

The SPCA contacted Cares4pets because they know that we have a soft side for medical cases and are often able to take on the critters that no one else can afford or manage, with the expectation that we would amputate her leg, since it's the cheapest option in cases like these. After a long discussion, we instead decided to do a special (but more expensive) surgery called an FHO, where we remove only the dead part of the bone and create a false joint - thus saving her leg!

Fergie was doing great 2 months after surgery -she was using her leg, running, playing and happy - just waiting for her forever home. Then one day she seemed to have some pain in her foot and started licking it a lot. A few days later, she started chewing on her toes, so much that she caused a wound. After examining her we found that she did not have any feeling in her foot at all, so even though she could use it almost normally, the nerves were badly damaged. We tried several medications and wraps for her foot, but nothing seemed to help, in fact the nerve damage continued spreading up her leg, and worse yet, she seemed to have more pain. At this point we decided that the most humane and safest thing for Fergie was to remove her leg so that it wasn't hurting her.

She again did well in surgery and within a two days was running around on her remaining three legs without a care in the world. Unfortunately for us, however, these two procedures were very expensive. As a rescue group that is always short on funds (since we immediately take on more medical cases as soon as we earn a little money), this second surprise surgery dipped into our reserve funds. Because of that, Fergie is looking for a few sponsors! With any donation over $25, you'll be one of Fergie's Angels! For your support, we'll send you a picture of Fergie, her story, a sponsorship certificate, and a letter of thanks. Sponsorships in someone else's name are also welcome, just be sure to include their name, address, and reason for the gift (ie. birthday, etc). Email us at cares4pets@hotmail.com and donate via paypal or via check (sent to our PO Box). Fergie (and all of us) thank you!

It Takes a Village: Linus's Story

Because we are one of the few rescues in the Philadelphia area that regularly pull pit bulls and other square breed dogs of local shelters, we often get called with the plea to take just one more...

Oftentimes, we're full to the brim and just can't manage it, but every now and again, we can afford to make the room.

A few weeks ago, one of the veterinarians working at the shelter called us about Linus, a 10 month old American Bulldog who was limping pretty badly on his left hind leg. They were able to do the initial work up and found that Linus's hind leg didn't fit into his hip properly. Radiographs confirmed that this was a problem on both sides, but since the left was worse than the right, that was the one that he limped on. Although Linus was clearly in pain, he was sweet as pie and loved everyone that came up to talk to him.

It was decided that Linus needed surgery on both of his hips to help him move comfortably. They found a local veterinary clinic to partner with that was willing to do one of the surgeries at no cost. However, a shelter is not a great place to recover from surgery, so they were asking us if we would be willing to take Linus on. By putting him in a foster home, we would be able to decrease his risk of infection and help him do the rehab that he needed to help him learn to use his "new" joint.

We took him on, and for the past few weeks Linus has been recovering in one of our foster homes. The second surgery is usually done about 3-4 weeks after the first, so we started looking for veterinarians that would be willing to help us afford this. Another local veterinary clinic was able to cut us a rescue discount on the surgery. In addition, we applied for and received a grant from United Animal Nations, a nationwide organization that puts together small grants for veterinary care (amongst other things).

Linus has his second surgery this Thursday. In a few weeks, he'll be as good as new (or, in his case, better than he's ever been) and ready to look for a home. In the meantime, a local shelter, two veterinary clinics, a foster home, and a national organization have all worked together with us to save one more dog.

Some may say that all that effort just isn't worth it for one dog... but those people haven't met Linus!

Another Reason to Spay Your Dog: Maddie's Story

When you ask people why they choose to not spay or neuter their animals, you hear a multitude of answers, ranging from "It's too expensive" to "I don't want my animal to get fat". So many rumors abound about the dangers of spaying and neutering, and all too often, the reasons TO spay and neuter go unnoticed.

In our blog, we've talked to you about the sad reality of pet overpopulation, and for this reason alone, we've pleaded to you to please try to help control pet overpopulation by spaying and neutering your animals.

What we have haven't mentioned to you is that not only is spaying important to the countless kittens and puppies that don't need to be born, but it's also better for your female dog.

"How can an invasive surgery be better for my dog than just leaving her intact?", we hear asked, time and time again.

Maddie, one of our most recent rescues, is our new poster child for the benefits of spaying. Maddie came to us as an adult, unspayed dog. She was a little skinny, a little dirty, and a little worried about what was going on when we picked her up. Within a few days of being in foster care, Maddie was thriving. She LOVED the attention of her foster mom almost as much as she loved her new sweater :) When we took Maddie in for her physical exam prior to her spay, however, the veterinarian found a few masses in her mammary tissue. During her spay, the vet removed these, and sent them off to be biopsied. As back luck would have it, they came back as cancerous tumors, widespread enough that Maddie, who is just starting to figure out what life is all about, will probably have only 6 months left to live.

Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with the fact that she was not spayed when we found her. The very harsh and sad reality is that a dog's chance of getting malignant mammary cancer during their life increases the longer they are left unspayed. Puppies spayed before their first heat have only 0.5% chance of getting malignant mammary cancer in their life. That's one puppy out of 200. If that puppy's owner allows her to go through one heat cycle (a common rumor is that dogs should be allowed to go through one heat cycle before being spayed), her chances go up to 8%. That's 8 puppies out of 100! If she goes through a second heat cycle, her chances rise to 26%, meaning in a litter with 4 female pups, at least one of those puppies will die of mammary cancer. And the odds keep going up with each additional heat cycle.

Although there is always the chance that Maddie could have fallen in the 0.5% of dogs that will get malignant mammary cancer despite spaying, chances are, if she had been spayed by her original owner as a puppy or even a young dog, she would not have developed these tumors.

For her, the damage has already been done. For Maddie, we are just trying to find her a hospice home for her last few months; someone to adore her and spoil her rotten while she's still healthy enough to enjoy it. For all the puppies going to homes today, however, we hope that Maddie's story will encourage owners to spay this generation of puppies, so that these dogs can live long and full lives!

Rodenticide (Rat Poisoning) and Dogs: Brownie's Story

Of course, it's not hard to imagine that something designed to kill mice and rats might also cause problems for dogs and cats. Not to mention, in making rat poison something that rats want to eat, it also becomes appetizing for our favorite family friends! Luckily, most pet owners keep their dogs far away from common poisons like these, but every now and again, dogs come in to veterinary clinics after consuming substantial quantities of rodenticides.

The majority of rodenticides used in the United States today are anti-coagulants, which means that they interfere with the blood's ability to clot. Vitamin K is necessary for blood clots to form in all of our bodies (rats, dogs, and humans included), and these poisons block the ability of Vitamin K to be reused in the body. While effects usually aren't seen for a few hours to days after consumption, if not treated, affected dogs start bleeding from their noses and their mouths, and eventually internally as well.

As horrible as this is, the treatment, especially if started BEFORE symptoms begin, is very successful and painless. By feeding the dog Vitamin K (in tablet form) for as long as the rodenticide is in their body, these dogs heal completely.

In the past few months, we've been lucky enough to save two dogs affected by rat poison. The first one, Hazel, was a very severe case as she came into the emergency room already bleeding from her nose and her mouth. For her, it was too late to just start the Vitamin K, so she needed a blood transfusion first. Luckily, she pulled though and is now happily living in her forever home!

Brownie, a little cocker spaniel/dachshund mix, was dropped off at a local emergency room just last weekend. He was skinny and scared, and his owners claimed that he had eaten an entire case of rat poison. Luckily, he was dropped off before he started showing signs, so after his owners decided to transfer him to us, we were able to take him home immediately and start him on Vitamin K therapy. He's now in a foster home while he gains some weight and gets past the dangerous part of his illness, and then he'll be available for adoption!

Elderly Owners: Butterball and Fred's stories

In the past week, Cares4pets has rescued two animals that were in desperate need of help. Fred, a 14 year old yorkie mix, came to us when his elderly owner entered hospice care due to a long fight with AIDS. Unfortunately, Fred was not invited to come along, so he ended up in rescue. Fred is mostly blind (due to cataracts), mostly deaf, and has very few teeth. What he wants most of the time is to sit on your lap. Even though Fred only has a few months or a few years left in him, we are confident that we can find him a home where he can retire in peace.

Butterball, a black and white long haired cat, on the other hand, has a much longer story. Her 80+ year old owner got evicted from his home over a month ago. Neighbors on his block aren't sure where he went, supposedly with family, but they do know that the house has been solidly boarded up since the eviction. Butterball's owner had a few cats, most of whom had been accounted for. However, no one was sure where Butterball had gone. When workers came to clean out the house last week, they found a skinny, dirty cat in the basement. Somehow, Butterball survived on her own in a boarded up house for over a month. They called us immediately, and she's been in our care every since. Poor Butterball; she's very anemic, dehydrated, covered in fleas, has very little hair left, and is skinny as a rail. Our vet pumped her full of fluids, and we've been feeding her ever since. Most days she just lays in her cage, looking at us with sad, sad eyes. This morning, when her foster mom went in to feed her, she gave a pitiful meow and lifted her head to be scratched. We're hopeful that with a few more weeks of TLC, Butterball will be back to normal. In the meantime, we're just thankful that she made it out alive.

All too often, elderly owners are unable to keep the pets that they love and adore. While many of these owners have families and friends able to take care of their pets in their absence, sadly, this is not always the case. These animals are then abandoned, left in their homes, sent to the streets, or dumped in shelters. Because these animals are often older themselves and may have other medical problems, they are oftentimes less adoptable. Because they came out of loving homes where they were adored, they also tend to be much more depressed; they know what it means to be loved and taken care of, and they are very aware all of that has changed for them. So, next time you are in a shelter or looking at a rescue group's posting, take a second to think about these abandoned animals. They may not be all that happy to see you, they may not look very pretty, but they still need your love.

Weekend at Buzzy's

On November 14th, Cares4Pets was at Buzzy's Bow Wow Meow in Narberth, PA. Along with Mulligan and the Panamanian Devils were Conqi, Stay Puffed, and the still unnamed brindle puppy. The guys received a lot of attention from the customers at Buzzy's.

Adopt a Boxer Event recap

Saturday's Adopt a Boxer event was very wet. It rained the entire time. Despite the unfortunate weather, we had a lot of visitors to the Cares4Pets tent. Quite a few people came over to say hello to Ebony, Henry, Unnamed Puppy, and Mulligan. Stay-Puffed made a late appearance as the crowd was winding down. This was Mulligan's 32352nd appearance at an adoption event, the most ever by any of the current animals. Well, that's not quite accurate, but he's been to a lot and it's about time he finds a forever home. And if he has to put up with another kid blowing in his face, he's Shana's going to scream. Please enjoy some photos from Saturday's event.