Medical Intervention: Hope and Valor

Meet Hope and Valor. They were found orphaned on June 18th at approximately 2.5 weeks old. Shortly after bringing them into ARF’s care it became clear that they quickly needed medical attention. They were rushed to CARE Centre where Hope received immediate attention for a rectal prolapse that she likely suffered due to days of poor nutrition and diarrhea. Over the next several days she was monitored very closely in order to ensure that her condition improved, as well as to make sure that the purse string suture repair for her prolapse was working correctly.

Valor on July 5, 2013

During this time Valor was also given critical care for hypoglycemia and a low core body temperature. Over the course of a week his body temperature and blood glucose was monitored around the clock while he was given fluids and a dextrose drip to try and keep his blood sugar levels within a healthy range. His condition was also likely caused due to poor nutrition over several days. Unfortunately, being on IV fluids and a dextrose drip is a lot for one little kitten and Valor also developed an abscess where his dextrose drip was located, which also needed to be treated.

After several days of critical care, thorough monitoring, medications and suture repairs at the CARE Centre both Hope and Valor are now in an amazing foster home where they are receiving around-the-clock care, several medications and, of course, lots of love. Over the coming weeks they are expected to make a full recovery and will be available for adoption once they are old enough and well enough to be spayed and neutered. 

Hope on July 5, 2013

You can help. To date, their medical costs have exceeded $5,000 and ARF does everything it can to help a dog or cat once rescued. This cost will not be picked up by any adoptive family, but will be paid for by ARF. ARF is a registered charity, staffed almost entirely by volunteers, and reliant on donations. Please consider donating here so we can continue to give animals like Hope and Valor a second chance.

Pet of the Week, Buddy!

Meet Buddy! He was rescued by ARF at the end of August and had to have his leg amputated. You can read that story on our website here.

So, Buddy is a tri-pod. That means he only has 3 legs, but I don't really think it either bothers him, or slows him down at all.

Buddy is actually the ideal canine companion. He is extremely well behaved and fun-loving! He truly wears his heart on his sleeve and if you haven't had the chance to receive a one-armed hug from him, you don't know what you're missing!

Buddy does not behave like a dog with a disability, at all! Only two months after his amputation, he is totally back to living a full and playful canine life. It's almost like he doesn't know he's missing a leg – nothing stops him!

Buddy truly is one of the sweetest, gentlest and must trusting soul that many of the ARF Volunteers have ever met. As soon as he arrived at his foster home – after a few days of trauma, including a limb amputation – he just melted into his foster mom's arms and he's been melting hearts ever since. Being the handsome and loveable guy that Buddy is, he captures the attention of people everywhere. On walks, at parks, on the ARF website and on Saturday's at our PetSmart viewings; he always steals the show!

Buddy is a healthy and active 2 year old dog who loves to play with other dogs and toys, but most of all... Buddy LOVES people! Buddy is always happy to get human attention and is super content hanging out wherever his people are. He is a great sleeper, is fully house-trained and can spend the day on his own without incident.

Most of all Buddy loves to play chase! He can run like the wind and loves the chance to do so. His daily walks and occasional off-leash runs are a must. Buddy's signature is his spotted tongue hanging out the side of his mouth! When you see this, you know Buddy is happy! Because he's such a happy boy, his forever home will be sure to see this goofy and charming smile everyday!

Buddy's ideal home would likely be any home. Although he is awfully interested in cats, we're not totally sure how he'd be with them, but otherwise, he'd fit right in anywhere. Especially if you have another like-minded canine companion for him to grow old with!

If you're interested in adding Buddy to your home, you won't be disappointed, so hurry and fill out that adoption application today! We're not sure why he hasn't been adopted yet!

Toby needs your help!

Toby joined ARF's fold with nine other puppies on Wednesday, September 21st. They all came to us from Hobbema, critically underweight, terrified and full of mange.

Unfortunately for Toby, he also has a crushed paw. While it has already started healing, he has some pretty bad muscle atrophy in his shoulder. Because dogs put most of their weight on their front legs, ARF is going to try and save Toby's injured leg by using laser acupuncture and water therapy. Because he is using the leg a little bit now, we have hope that the extra therapy will allow him to remain four legged. If this is not successful, it will have to be amputated.

Because Toby has mange and is also underweight, he has a long road ahead of him. He is fed every few hours and has gained a pound in one week. He will require extensive treatments for the mange and needs to improve in general health before the acupuncture and water therapy for his leg can begin.

Aside from his poor health and injuries, he is a smart, loving puppy, who will no doubt make a wonderful companion even if he is three-legged by the time he's ready for adoption!

You can help. ARF does everything it can to help a dog or cat once rescued. We expect that Toby's vet bills will be costly. He will likely be a frequent visitor, so the health care could add up to a few thousand dollars, depending on his ability to recover well. If we need to amputate later, the costs will be even higher. This cost will not be picked up by Toby's adoptive family, but will be paid by ARF. ARF is a registered charity, staffed almost entirely by volunteers, and reliant on donations. You can help Toby, and other dogs and cats like him, by donating here. Toby's story is just one of hundreds. Thank you from the bottom of Toby's heart.

Porcupine Quills and Deslorelin

Medical Interventions
Frequently, some of the animals that come into our fold have medical conditions that need to be treated ASAP. We see everything from ring worm to wounds so bad, limbs have to be amputated. Granted a lot of these conditions can be treated with proper care and regular vetting, but that is generally not something these animals are privy to.

Not all of ARF's medical interventions are for the animals we rescue either. Sometimes dogs with owners need our help too. The young fellow below was found running at large on a nearby First Nations community. The quills had been embedded for a few days already and were starting to get infected. They were no doubt very, very painful. ARF's Dog Program Coordinator saw him and knew he needed help. She tracked down his owner and got permission for ARF to do the necessary treatment. He was brought to a local vet clinic where the porcupine quills were removed and he was neutered. He was returned to his owner the next day.

Deslorelin
ARF is incredibly proud to be apart of this pilot project on the Tsuu T'ina Nation that aims to cut down on the feral dog population. Semi-feral dogs are caught, implanted with this hormone, vaccinated and de-wormed. To date, there have been about 40 females implanted with this hormone. Read the story here.

These are some of the dogs we implanted in November/December of 2009. The photos were taken just the other day, when ARF's Dog Program coordinator was on a routine trip. She also left them some food.