ON DEATHS DOOR AT AN OPEN ACCESS SHELTER, CLARA DID THE IMPOSSIBLE…
At the beginning of May, TAF was contacted about a pregnant pitbull at an open access shelter. Clara already had some grey on her muzzle and it was obvious that she had been used as a breeding machine most her life. When we met Clara, the shelter thought that she was about to give birth. Her body was showing all of the signs but something seemed terribly wrong. After we examined her more closely, it was obvious that her belly had no movement inside and the discharge coming out of her back end was not her mucus plug. This, along with how lethargic she was, earned Clara an emergency trip to the ER.
It would be determined that Clara was suffering from a critical case of pyometra that would likely take her life. The infection in her uterus was so advanced that emergency surgery was necessary if there were to be any chance of survival. Clara would go on to survive her surgery and be hospitalized for a week to undergo blood transfusions, ultrasounds, x-rays, along with IV fluids and medications. Soon after, all of Clara’s other medical issues became apparent… she had persistent bladder infections, terribly painful ear infections, an abdominal hernia, and her bloodwork was all over the place. Clara was anemic and nothing seemed to help her fully bounce back.
Once again, Clara needed to be hospitalized but this this time it was for six weeks. During this time, Clara often went home under the watchful eye of someone on her medical team. This helped to keep her socialized and made her feel special. At the end of six weeks, everything normalized except for Clara’s kidney values. Clara was started on a special diet and new medication. As a result, her health started to improve and for the last two months she has been doing really well.Finally… our senior girl was given the green light for adoption. As you can imagine, finding a home for a senior pitbull, with medical issues, who is iffy with dogs and might not have that long to live is almost impossible. We honestly thought that Clara was going to be spending the time she had left on this earth with us.
In an often cruel world, THIS is when the goodness of humanity shines through… Last week we received an email inquiry asking about Clara and her special medical needs. Six months ago, this adopter lost her beloved dog to kidney disease, along with a variety of other medical issues. Even though the pain of her loss is still crushing, this adopter knew that her knowledge of the disease, and all that comes with it, could change Clara’s life forever. Monique and Clara met each other over the long weekend, and we are VERY VERY happy to report that it was love at first sight! One look at Clara’s adorable, greying muzz and sweet eyes and Monique knew she had found the pup that needed her most.
We are BEYOND grateful that Monique is going to give Clara everything she needs for the rest of her life. It might be 2 months, it might be 2 years…but she is home with her mom. When it was time to leave us, TAF’s Medical & Rescue Director, Bridgid, was pretty choked up. If it had not been for Bridgid’s constant care of Clara, she never would have made it. When Clara jumped in the car, she looked back at Bridgid with the biggest, loving smile. Bridgid kissed Clara all over her face and told her how much we all loved her. There is no question that this special dog deserved everything we could do for her… and all of TAF’s supporters helped us provide every single thing she needed. Without your amazing support of TAF, Clara’s fate would have been very very very different. So thank you, from TAF… and thank you, from Clara! It may have taken most of her lifetime to find her happy ending but here it is and it is beautiful.