Is There a Doctor in the House – September Sanctuary Update

I think everyone reading this email can probably identify with this sentiment. While the love and fulfillment our pets give us is priceless, their care can often carry a sizable price tag.
Luckily, the pets in our homes have us to care for them, no matter the cost, and no matter the work involved. But what about those dogs and cats who aren’t so lucky? Pets who are homeless and don’t have that special person to get them whatever care they need. Pets who might be considered “unadoptable” because of a chronic or serious medical issue. Such dogs and cats are a big part of the Our Companions mission.

As you know, one of the services we’re most proud of here at the sanctuary is taking in dogs and cats from clients, other rescues, veterinary offices, or animal control offices that have medical conditions that would make them a challenge to treat, rehabilitate, and/or find a home for. In our care right now are Mikey, the cat who came to us with diabetes that hadn’t been treated for some time and who has been a huge challenge get under control. There’s also Lorraina, who came to us with an amputated tail and lots of damage to the skin on her back end. She presented a huge challenge to care for and diagnose, but we kept at it, and have made some great progress in soothing her discomfort and allowing her to be the sweet girl she is. Of course, over on the dog side, we took in Kahlua a while back. She’s a sweet, older dog who had numerous mast cell tumors in a few locations. We got her through the necessary treatments and surgeries, and she’s now dazzling guests and volunteers with her sweet nature. Then, there’s our latest medical project, Waffles. This little guy had a perineal hernia that was interfering with his potty habits and needing a costly surgery with a long recovery. His chances for finding a home in that condition were slim, so we stepped in and are now supporting this sweetie through his healing process, as messy as it is sometimes.

And of course, there’s not just the dogs and cats that we take in with medical issues, but there is also the pets already in our care who develop medical problems while they’re here. Once we’ve committed to the care of a dog or cat, there’s nothing we wouldn’t do for them. Everyone’s favorite refugee dog, Brooke, recently had to deal with complications from an incomplete spay she had done as a puppy in Pakistan. That meant an invasive surgery and a tricky recovery for a dog who never met a person or piece of furniture she didn’t want to jump on. She’s doing well and counting the days until she can get back to racing around the play yards and chasing the local wildlife. Then there’s Gator. He’s an FIV+ cat in our care that took a steep downturn in his health recently. He had gone from Mr. Social and friend to all kittens, to a sad and very uncomfortable lump in a matter of days. After numerous vet visits and extensive test, we were finally able to set him on a course of treatment that worked for him, and he’s now just about back to his old self, purring away with anyway who comes to see him.

So, as you can see, there’s no end to the lengths we’ll go to for these critters, and no end to the number of cones we go through! But we couldn’t do any of it without your support!

September had a bit of a food theme in the comings and goings of both cats and dogs. With the cats, one of the kittens, Spice, quickly went to her forever home, but even more exciting was the adoption of Amelia, one of our special needs cats. She has Cerebral Hyperplasia, which affects her movement and stability, but a lovely family came along that was willing to accommodate her needs, and she is doing great there!
Arriving to the sanctuary in September were Pumpkin, Chloe, and Cleo in the cats, and Waffles and Sugar in the dogs.

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