Angel's Story
7-year
old Angel was accepted into our rescue in February
2008. Surrendered by her 82-year old "dad", Angel's
bleeding hot spot on her tail turned out to be a lot
more serious than he thought. It wasn't a hot spot at
all - her entire tail was dead and would need to be
amputated. Facing some health issues of his own, he was
unable to afford the pre-surgical testing and subsequent
surgery, so he immediately signed her over to rescue and
her medical care began
. Blood work and x-rays revealed
that she was healthy enough to undergo the surgery but
a course of antibiotics was to be administered first to
try and bring the infection under control. However, by
the next day the tail started to crumble and break down,
so her vet recommended that she immediately be
transferred to Garden State Veterinary Specialists
so she could be examined by a soft tissue expert. Angel
was transferred that afternoon, and by that evening she was in surgery. Her entire tail was removed right up to
her coccyx. She continued with pain meds, antibiotics
and IV fluids, and throughout it all, her Golden smile
remained. Angel remained in the hospital for several
days and was visited by several of GRRI's volunteers.
Because the infection was so severe, there was a 25%
chance that there would be some lingering infection and
it could abscess. And that’s exactly what
happened. Angel had to undergo surgery once again
to drain a large abscess that occurred on her left
flank.
After several more days in the hospital, she was released into the care of one of GRRI’s foster homes. Warm compresses were applied to the area several times a day; antibiotics continued, and she had frequent check-ups with the vets at Garden State. She was receiving a lot of love and attention in her foster home and things were looking up. In March she needed to be transferred to a second foster home because of a family situation that came up in her first home.
In late March her foster mom reported that she wasn’t putting weight on one of her rear legs. Angel had a torn cruciate ligament, so once again she underwent surgery to stabilize the knee. The surgery went well and was sent home with instructions for slow leash walks, no rigorous exercise, no jumping and limited number of stairs to climb.
Just
when we thought she was ready to go to her forever home,
another medical condition seems to be appearing. Angel
may have Cushing’s Disease. She will be undergoing
some diagnostic tests beginning the week of May 26th.
Simply stated, Cushing’s Disease is caused by an
overproduction of Cortisol (cortisone), a hormone
produced by the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands sit
on top of the kidneys. Cortisol is released in times of
stress to help the body prepare for “fight or flight”
responses. In Angel’s case, her body may be in this
heightened state all the time which can be totally
debilitating over a long period of time. Once it’s
properly diagnosed, it can be controlled with medication
but it cannot be cured.
Angel’s medical care has been paid for through GRRI’s Joann Smith Memorial Fund (JSMF). http://www.grrinj.org/jsmf/index.htm This is a special fund set up in memory of one of our volunteers. Its purpose is to provide extraordinary veterinary care to the Goldens entrusted to our care until we can place them in their forever homes. This fund is made possible by fundraising efforts like this photo contest; through memorial donations and through designated special gifts.
GRRI would like to thank all the volunteers who were a
part of Angel’s “rescue”; to the volunteers who kept her
spirits raised while she was in the hospital, and
especially to both of her foster homes who have been
providing such excellent care. We’d like to thank all
the people who have made donations to the JSMF so that
we can give Angel the care that she needs. It’s our
goal to never have to say we can’t afford to provide the
care that is needed to any of the Goldens in our care.
Angel is a gentle, lovable Golden who loves everyone she meets. She hasn’t let life get her down, and is living each day to the fullest. She is a shining example of why we love this breed so much. Please help us continue to help her and other Goldens like her.