Luke had a big day yesterday that went into the long hours of the night. He was finally able to rest comfortably after having what seemed like an entire day of testing. Our fabulous Dr. Kristin Welch has taken over his case and is leading the Team of Specialists that is looking after dear Luke.
The biggest obstacle is there are so many components to Luke's medical condition that could kill him. There is a Domino Effect that could happen at any point in his care that even Luke's Will to Live could not overcome. Dr. Welch is breaking apart each component and doing the necessary tests to eliminate it or treat it.
Luke's Nasal and Respiratory issues are a big concern. Dr. Welch did a Cat Scan of his entire Nasal Area, and it looks like a Non-Destructive Rhinitis, but she is waiting for the Radiologist to read the scan this morning. Biopsies were also taken, and those are pending. She believes it is Lymphoplasmocytic Rhinitis which is treatable. She hopes it does not come back Fungal. It is not likely primary bacterial and not infectious.
Luke bounced back from his sedation and recovered better than they had anticipated which is terrific news. Dr. Welch feels his Gastrointestinal Disease is likely underrepresented by his biopsy samples. Those showed such a mild degree of gastrointestinal inflammation that she doesn't know if they diagnosed the actual underlying cause of his weight loss beyond the apparent Malnutrition. He has not had lower G.I. biopsies so if he fails to gain weight, then we may need to consider that. She honestly thinks in large part his skinniness, and lack of muscle mass are purely malnutrition.
Luke rested comfortably for the remainder of the night. His stools are slowly beginning to firm up but are still not normal. Dr. Welch has decided to treat the GI issues as best she can while the Biopsies are pending. Luke's leg has a new culture pending to address the infection that is still raging. He has constant wound care to fight the infection topically until the results are in.
I get notes from people all over the World. Some kind and some outraged we are saving him. I think it is essential to point something out that a lot of people do not understand. We are not saving Luke. Our Gentle Giant name Luke is saving himself. All we are doing is supplying necessary Medical Care and Treatment to give him the ability to save himself. He can give up and DIE anytime he wants to. We are not keeping him Alive with extreme measures. Luke is doing that all by himself.
He is an amazing dog with an incredible Will to Live. To sustain and maintain a body his size takes Courage, Strength, and Humility. Quality of Life is our number one priority with every animal we rescue. We are not an Adoption Facility or Animal Control. We are a Rehab Facility that saves Abused Dogs that have been tortured and neglected that are scheduled to be EUTHANIZED. We do not take in healthy dogs because there are thousands of Humane Societies all over the World that do that. There is only one Noah's Arks Rescue that does what we do.
We give Hope and unconditional Love to those animals that no one wants to spend a dime on. The only money they want to spend is on the drugs to Euthanize. We are talking about innocent Souls that want nothing more than a pat on the head to be happy. Why should they pay the ultimate sacrifice after being tortured and abused NEVER to be given a chance to survive with Love? I believe everyone deserves a chance to survive. At the very least, they should be allowed to die knowing what it felt like being Loved and Nurtured.
Today is going to be a great day for Luke because God-Willing we are going to bring him back to our Rehab Facility for a short time so he can be a DOG. He will get to see and smell other dogs and walk around Free without the smells, lights, and sounds in a hospital. Today is going to be a Miracle Day for sweet Luke. This is the day he is showered with Love in a nurturing environment. No tests or shots today. Today, he gets to go for a drive with three other pups that have been in ICU. Our red Noah's Arks Rescue Van will be rocking it to the Lowcountry for some TLC.
Luke is still in Critical Condition and will be for quite a while. He will have to go back to the Hospital and remain in ICU but for today and hopefully tomorrow he gets to be a Dog that is adored by many. To the people that neglected and abused him, you should be ashamed of yourself. You had this amazing Gentle Giant in your Life and did this to him. You did everything possible to Break LUKE, but you could not break his Will to Live.
Luke's Story is known all around the World. People from all walks of Life are appalled at the horrible abuse and neglect he received while in the hands of his so-called Family. There needs to be harsher sentences for inhumane treatment of animals. Until something changes, this kind of abuse is going to continue. Luke is one of the thousands that are tortured and neglected in the World. Each Country is different and has its own set of Laws. One thing is constant with the people that follow Noah's Arks Rescue from all over the World, Animal Cruelty and Abuse will not be tolerated.
We have close to forty dogs in our care all needing Medical Care and Rehabilitation. We have thousands of dogs that have been neglected and abused that we hear about daily. We do our best to help the ones we can. We don't have time to answer all of the calls for Luke because we are so busy with the animals we have. Please, understand this with kindness. We take on animals that have tremendous Medical Bills with no idea how we are going to pay for them other than Faith in the Noah's Arks Rescue Community.
No news does not mean bad news. PLEASE, I beg you to give us a second to breathe while we look after Luke and all the others. We will post updates as soon as we can. So many dogs will die if we change our focus to taking care of people instead of animals. Don't leave us a message on the phone. Send us an e-mail, and I promise I will respond the first chance I get. News teams are welcome to take any information or pictures off our website for your stories. That information on Luke is up to date and accurate.
Luke is one of the lucky ones because he is Safe. Think of all the dogs that are starving that no one is talking about. We get calls about them daily and are doing our best to give them Hope.
Please, be mindful of your Neighbors and their hardships this time of year. Everyone needs a helping hand at some point in their Life. Be the Good in the World of Inhumanity. Lend a helping hand with Humility and Grace. My Belief is everyone deserves Love and a Warm Hug.
