FLORENCE, SC......Almost all of our loyal followers and supporters would do anything in the World for their loving pets. They are members of the Family and are cherished. When I get a text or e-mail from a Rescue Group that needs help with someone's family pet, I stop to get all of the facts. Does the Family need financial assistance to get their pet well? Do they need help and are not sure how to get the proper medical care? The list goes on and on. The ultimate goal is the welfare of the animal.
Sweet Peaches is a 10-pound terrier mix that is two years old. She was named Peanut, but we change the name when an owner gives up a dog and does not supply emergency care. Peaches was viciously attacked when the Daughter came home with her larger dog. This tiny Angel had multiple lacerations all over her body, a fractured back, and a fractured rear leg.
Animal Control was contacted when the Daughter went to pick up Peaches, and she bit her because of the injuries she had. Both dogs were taken away, and Peaches was taken to a hospital. Another Rescue got involved, but this was way more than they could handle, so they contacted us. In the midst of all this, adorable Peaches is fighting to stay alive and now has to be in quarantine since she bit someone after the incident. To make matters worse, her Family did not have shot records.
The initial report from the original hospital that saw her is below:
The right shoulder/ neck area had the skin pulled off the underlying muscle/ SQ from the right side to the left side. The right lateral thorax area had two large, partially opened puncture wounds. No penetrating chest wounds were found. The skin was pulled off the SQ, and hair and debris were in the wound. Wounds were thoroughly flushed with saline, and then Penrose drains were placed as appropriate, and the rest of the wounds closed.
The left flank wound was the most severe, with the wound being very deep to the backbone and extending to the muscles of the left rear limb. The musculature of the limb was not lacerated. The wound extended to the ventral abdomen. There was not any apparent or palpable entrance into the abdominal cavity.
This poor tiny dog was a mess, and the hardship for this pup keeps mounting with no regard for her safety. Thank the Lord the other Rescue reached out to us. Peaches was transferred to Charleston Veterinary Referral Center in Charleston, SC, where they immediately assessed her wounds. The biggest concern was the lack of anal tone and deep pain in her rear legs. She had a tiny bit but not very much. The other issue was her leg was fractured. An MRI was ordered to see precisely where her spine was injured. The MRI showed a fracture at L5. If peaches were ever going to have a chance to walk again, she would have to have surgery quickly.
Unfortunately, CVRC'S Neurologist was out after having shoulder surgery. Poor peaches had to be transferred to Dr. Jason King in Savannah, GA, at Live Oak Veterinary Neurology. As busy as Dr. King is, he was gracious enough to take on Peaches care and come in on a Sunday to do her spinal surgery. Dr. King gave Peaches a 5% chance of ever walking again.
I didn't do the surgery to give her a chance to walk again. I did the surgery to stabilize her spine. Walking would have been a plus, but we were not expecting it to happen. Too many people discard dogs when they realize they are incontinent or will not be able to walk. We give every dog a chance at a great Life with what they have, not what they do not have.
Once Dr. King did Peaches surgery, she was transferred back to CVRC in Charleston, where she recovered in ICU. Dr. Sura and Dr. Seibert later evaluated Peaches to see if she would benefit by repairing her fractured femur. The consensus was that they could repair later, but only if she got feeling in that area.
Our little Humpty-Dumpty named Peaches is finally at a stage where she can begin the healing. She will have a long recovery, but we are here for her, no matter what. If she gets any feeling in that rear leg, we will have the repair done. In the meantime, we need to pay for all of her surgeries and give her back her Life. She has had a horrible experience, where her Family put her in harm's way and then discarded her.
Peach's bills are enormous and still rising. Please, Donate whatever you can, and if you are fortunate enough to give more, please do. We took in six dogs that are in horrible shape over the past week. Each has required major surgery and is still in the hospital. Just because we don't beg all the time does not mean we do not need help. Thanks for giving Peaches the Gift of Life.
