GREENVILLE, SC.....Sweet Keith is a three-year-old Pitbull that was picked up as a stray and brought to Greenville County Animal Services on Monday the 25th of March. He was put on Foreign Body Watch when it was observed he had thrown up a corn cob and was still throwing up. He was put on fluids and x-rays were done on Monday April 1 which showed he had a dilated loop of the small intestine which indicated he probably had a blockage.
For one week he was sick and throwing up and getting weaker by the day. GCAC was sending around plea after plea begging for help. A bowel obstruction is critical and painful for dogs. No one stepped up to get this sweet pup out and to an ER and GCAC was not going to do more than they were doing. I am a firm believer it is better to humanely put an animal down than to allow an animal to suffer while in your care.
By Tuesday morning, I knew this sweet dog was Critical. I sent a response back saying I would take Keith but I needed a confirmed Foster and transport to CVRC in Charleston. He did not have time to spare to be seen by a local vet which he had already seen at Greenville County. It was either rush him to our ER where I knew he had the best chance of being saved or he needed to be put down to end his suffering. A lot of people may not agree with me on this but Quality of Life is everything.
People in charge of our lost strays have to make hard decisions every day. No decision is ever easy to make when the Life of an Animal is on the line. If no one has stepped up and the animal is suffering, show the animal unconditional love by putting them to sleep and end their suffering. It is inhumane to not do that.
The good news is we got Keith just in time to do emergency surgery late Wednesday Night. It took the ER Team and Critacalist almost four hours to get him stable so Dr. Jennifer Au could go in and remove the foreign body Dr. Kristin Welch had found when she did his ultrasound. Dr. Au removed a large piece of corn Cob from his intestine. Keith is still critical but was able to eat his first meal and keep it down. Unfortunately, the week he was waiting for help to arrive took its toll on this poor pup and now we have to deal with that.
I am not coming down on anyone. I think saving these poor pups is almost impossible at times. It is hard to separate your head from your heart. In circumstances like this, you have to think about what is best for the animal. The answer is never found when emotions are running high. Decisions have to be made for the Compassionate Care and Welfare of the Animal.
Keith will be in ICU until his body has recovered from the surgery and he is stable. In the meantime, we have to pay his bills so we can help more pups like Keith get the emergency care they need to Survive and Thrive.
