Beaufort, SC....The saying, "When it Rains, it Pours," has never been more accurate than this past week. Tropical Storm Debby overflowed a bucket that was already full. We were already dealing with a lot of the pups in our Care. The older pups in hospice need more medical Care to give them the quality of life they deserve. The newer pups are still in the critical stages of healing, figuring out their personalities, and determining what they can tolerate regarding rehab.
No matter how hard we work, the list gets longer and never shorter. Then Debby blows in, which should be a minor blip on the radar, but NO, she drops more rain and wind than is humanly possible and decides she likes the Lowcountry as much as we do and does not want to leave. During all this rain, one of the 5-ton A/C units on the NAR Rehab Center side decided it would not work during the hottest time of year. We are in the process of ordering what we need for that.
God knows what next week will bring, but for now, we will tell you about the sweetest German Shepherd, Puppy, who was abandoned to die.
Murphy was found abandoned in someone's yard. Starved and not able to eat or drink water without throwing up blood-tinged food. This sweet 6-month-old Shepherd was on his last breath when he was taken to Greenville County Animal Care Services. When it became apparent Murphy would not survive, we were contacted as a Last Resort. On a Wing and a Prayer, we offered to do everything we could to save Murphy and had him taken to CVRC in Charleston, SC.
Poor Murphy had a fever, was dehydrated, and was unable to eat or take in fluids. His body score told us he had been this way for a while. IV lines and a feeding tube were put in to give Murphy the fluids and meds he needed. Murphy smelled so bad from all of the diarrhea that he had to be cleaned before they could fully access him. Nothing is sadder than having a starved puppy that is ravenous but unable to keep food down.
Our sweet pup was loaded with parasites, which added to his diarrhea but did not account for how debilitated he was. He either had an obstruction, a transient intussusception that self-resolved, or he was hit by a car. His X-rays did not show any of that. Given all of the garbage he had been eating and an overload of parasites, the likely scenario was he had a transient intussusception that resolved and would no longer show up on x-rays.
Critical Care took over his treatment and left no stone unturned. Murphy got 24-hour Care, stealing the hearts of everyone who worked on him. Murphy would improve a little bit each day, and more tests were added that he could tolerate. After four days in Critical Care, Murphy began to perk up and became more animated. He was able to eat small meals and keep them down. He still had bloody diarrhea, but it was improving. Small Miracles all along the way of his recovery kept us going forward.
Murphy finally had enough energy to stand up and walk, which made everyone cheer. The next couple of months were critical for our tiny Shepherd. We finally got to bring Murphy to our rehab facility, where he has slowly regained his strength and ability to eat. He is growing like a weed and feels well enough to run around and play with the other pups. It has taken us months to rid his body of parasites and get him on a good feeding schedule where he no longer has to eat special food.
Murphy is going to be a magnificent German Shepherd. In the last couple of months, we have gotten to know his personality, and he is sweet and playful with every dog he is around. Murphy is going to make the best pet for a fortunate Family.
In the meantime, we must raise the funds to cover his ICU and Veterinary bills. Please Donate as much as you can so we can help more pups like Murphy get the help they need to Survive and Thrive.
