LEXINGTON, NC......Beautiful Juno is a 4-year-old Husky that was picked up as a stray and brought to Davidson County Animal Shelter. Juno should have weighed close to fifty pounds but weighed only 28 pounds when she arrived. She was emaciated but still had a spring in her step and hope in her beautiful eyes. Davidson County reached out to see if we could help Juno and I could not refuse to support this sweet pup.
I thought this was going to be an easy fix. Put some weight on Juno, do Heartworm Treatment and do a thorough medical. WRONG.....Juno was very sick and had a hard time breathing. The Shelter said she was Heartworm positive, so we assumed she needed to see a Cardiologist. We had her taken to CVRC in Charleston when she could barely stand up. She was admitted and put in ICU on oxygen. Test and x-rays were done, and this sweet pup had a bad case of pneumonia.
I am so glad we took her in instead of waiting because one more day the way she was, and we would not be having this conversation. Pneumonia is the Silent Killer in humans and animals. Juno was not showing any signs of a respiratory problem. I was expecting her to be anemic because she was emaciated, but she did not have one single cough during the couple of days we had her.
Dr. Kristin Welch is over-seeing Juno's Care while at CVRC. The first night Juno spiked a fever. She is on several IV antibiotics to get her pneumonia under control and a nebulizer to open her airway. Her lung x-rays were consistent with pneumonia. Her fever has stabilized, but she is still feeling pretty rotten and does not have much energy. Through all of this, Juno is a delight to work with. Those beautiful blue eyes of hers are Magical.
On top of everything else, Juno had recently had puppies which explains some of her anemia and lack of weight. It looks like she was discarded after weaning her puppies. Huskies are an unusual dog. They are either very social, or they want to be alone with their pack of other huskies. Juno is sweet and loving and wants to be by your side all the time. She is a delightful Husky in every way.
What started out as an easy fix has now turned into a lot more with her being in ICU. The good news is her Heartworm Test came by Negative this time. Please, Help us with her Medical Care so we can get back to fattening her up and finding her a great home.
