We hope everyone has had a wonderful Holiday Season and are ready to embrace a New Year filled with much Joy and less hardship. We have been so busy rescuing and taking care of abused animals that we have not had as much time as I would have liked to do updates or posts for the new pups. It seems like the minute we fix one, two take their place. This year we have had a lot more dogs than usual that are in our Hospice Program. Their injuries or Medical Conditions are too Life-Threatening for us to allow them to go anywhere. With us, they get unconditional Love and are nurtured through their Medical Crisis.
Sweet Noel was a pup we got tons of e-mails on asking for guidance or help with this sweet 18-month-old Staffordshire Terrier. Her original name was Felony. The Shelter changed it to Faith, and we changed it to Noel, which was very fitting for the Season and her Joyful personality.
Noel was run over by a car and taken to the Vet by her Owner. The Vet recommended amputating her rear leg for $1800. The Family could not afford this, so they signed her over to the Hospital. SPCA Alliance of NC was contacted, and pleads went around to save this sweet pup. Amputating the leg for that cost had everyone up in arms. I received so many e-mails with people wanting more to be done, but this was not my call.
Noah's Arks Rescue is packed with medical abuse cases, and we are living on very little sleep to make sure each one of our pups gets the best possible care. I responded to all of the e-mails and calls and finally realized this pup was going to be put to sleep if this issue was not resolved. I reached out and asked for x-rays to see if there was more that could be done. I got the x-rays and sent them to our Orthopedic Surgeon to see if the leg could be saved.
Our Surgeons thought it was worth a shot to try and save the leg if I was willing to take on the cost of the surgery, which was going to be quite expensive. Noel was going to need plates and pins to give her the best possible chance. I agreed to take on this sweet pup on Christmas Eve. Everyone involved jumped through hoops to get a pilot to fly her to Charleston, and a Volunteer took her to CVRC in Charleston, SC, for us.
The injury turned out to be over a week old, which was going to make the procedure more complicated. No surgeons were cutting on Christmas Day, and they had to get Noel stabilized over the next three days before they proceeded. Sweet does not even begin to describe this special pup. With all the pain Noel was in, she did nothing but give kisses the entire time she was being examined. I would have sold my car to save her if that was what needed to be done.
Dr. Rachel Seibert got the short straw for this complicated surgery. The procedure was more difficult because so much scar-tissue had begun to form over the break. When the operation was finally over, Dr. Seibert was happy with the results but not happy with how complicated it was. We use only the best of the best for each of our pups. You never know what you are going to be facing until you are in a procedure, and then it could be too late if you do not have a seasoned surgeon.
Beautiful Noel did well during her procedure and has continued to improve. The first couple of days were difficult, and she did not want to eat. She also had a large amount of swelling, which was adding to her discomfort. She is over the worst of it and can now heal with minimal exercise. We are using a harness to help her move around, but she is doing much better than expected.
I do not know what the outcome would have been if we did not step up for Noel. There were a lot of balls in the air, but none were landing in a safe place for this special girl. I am so glad we stepped up for her. Her leg and her Life were saved during Christmas, which is a difficult time to save an animal. Noel is only 18 months old. She has the rest of her Life to run and play and eventually have a Family to call her own.
Noel will be the last dog of 2019 that we will be posting. Tomorrow will be 2020 and a New Year of saving abused dogs and nurturing the ones we already have. None of this would have been possible without your Love and Support. It takes a Village to Save the Life of an animal. What takes minutes to harm, it requires months and sometimes years to get these special pups on the other side of their torment and abuse. The amount of money that goes into saving them is unimaginable, but save them we do.
Thanks for believing in our Mission to save Abused, Tortured Dogs. Their Life as they knew it is over and they are surrounded by so much Love, they never want to leave. Our goal has always been to get them Well and into a loving. Family. Your help makes all of this possible. Dreams for these pups come true because of YOU.
A final post for 2019 would not be complete without me begging for money for one of our pups. Sweet Noel has had her surgery and is now doing Rehab. Please, help us pay off her medical bills and all the unpaid balances we have before we go into 2020. This will be your final Tax-Deductible Donation for Noah's Arks Rescue this year. Warm hugs and much Love from Jennifer and the entire NAR Staff.
