In
late September 2004 we received an
urgent call from a shelter in South
Jersey about a senior Golden that needed
our assistance ASAP. Jake was a stray
in danger of being euthanized due to
overcrowding at the shelter. Upon
arrival at the shelter, our volunteer
discovered that in addition to being
very malnourished, he had bilateral ear
infections as well as an infected
severely deformed foot that had probably
been injured while he was living on the
streets.
Jake
was placed in a foster home and
immediately taken to a veterinarian for
treatment. His ears were cleaned and
medicated, and his foot was treated and
bandaged. He tested positive for Lyme
Disease and was given antibiotics. We
were told we would need to have the bone
of the foot biopsied at a later date to
rule out bone cancer. At this point it
was just too infected. Jake went
home
to be pampered and spoiled.
Several months went by and Jake
continued to flourish. Then one day his
foster mom noticed quite a bit of blood
in his stool and he was taken to the
Emergency Hospital. It was determined
that he had internal bleeding from
somewhere, was severely anemic, and
might not make it. Thanks to the Joann
Smith Memorial Fund, we were able to
authorize a 4-hour blood transfusion, IV
fluid therapy and additional medical
care that saved Jake’s life. The
diagnosis was a severe case of anemia
caused by an internal parasite called
hookworms. While the diagnostic tests
were being conducted it was also
discovered that Jake had a rather large,
goose-egg sized object in his stomach,
probably a stone that he had eaten in an
attempt to end the hunger he experienced
while out on the streets. He was in no
condition to undergo surgery, so once he
was stabilized, he was sent home with
orders for a follow up visit to his
regular vet.
In
late January Jake was declared healthy
enough for surgery. The rock was removed
and he was neutered. The biopsy was
also taken of the bone in his leg. We’re
pleased to report that the surgery was a
success, the bone biopsy was negative,
and Jake is doing very well.
Jake’s story had a very
happy ending. He was recently adopted
by his foster family who realized how
close they came to losing him, and just
couldn’t stand the thought of being
separated from him ever again. Of course
he knew all along that he was in his
forever home, and wondered what all the
fuss was about !
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