LAURENS, SC.......SPIRIT is a 6 m/o Pitbull that was picked up as a stray by someone that worked at the Laurens Shelter this past Monday during a rain storm. He was then fostered for the night and given fluids by a volunteer and then brought to our Doctors. Saying Spirit is emaciated is an understatement. He was almost starved to death. It is obvious to us that someone kept this adorable pup locked up somewhere without any food or water and then dropped him off on the side of the road so no one would know what they had done. If he had been on his own he would have already been picked up and he also would be heavier than he is now because his survival instincts would have kicked in and he would have been eating something. His entire body is consumed with parasites. Because he has been so starved and he has so many parasites his blood levels are completely out of balance as are his kidneys. He was very close to going into organ failure. One of our vets has brought in his dog to give Spirit a blood transfusion. He can barely stand and only for brief periods of time. I can’t imagine the pain and suffering this little one has endured at the hands of someone that is supposed to be his Guardian. As hungry as he is, he is being monitored closely with any and all food he consumes to make sure his body does not shut down. Animals that are this starved die all the time because people give them too much food and their body doesn’t have the ability to digest it any longer. It’s a slow process to make sure his organs slowly wake up and start to work again. When his blood volume has increased we will then do a full Tick Panel which will include a Babesia Test and complete the balance of our tests. Right now we have only done the ones that are absolutely necessary for his survival. I will never understand how anyone could sit by and allow this to happen. Spirit is a sweet gentle soul that wants nothing more than to love someone. It will be several weeks before we get all of his test results back and before we see just how much damage has been done. In the meantime, he is being pampered from sun up to sun down.
SPIRIT is doing well and is having a transfusion this morning. We were hoping his levels would get higher than they are but they have quit rising and we felt he needed the transfusion now rather than later. A transfusion has it’s own set of risks but this little Angel had no other way of getting his levels up.
SPIRIT had two transfusions and is holding his own. He is still not gaining weight as fast as we would like but is able to keep his food down. The balance of his blood work should be back by the end of the week. he is still get round the clock care and all the love he can handle.
SPIRIT is slowly getting his strength back. His blood values are still rising slowly but surely. He has gained a couple of pounds which is wonderful given all of his parasites. He still has a long way to go but we feel the worst is over for him.
Our sweet boy has gained 6 pounds. His blood levels are finally getting in the normal range and he is getting some of his energy back.
SPIRIT IS DOING INCREDIBLE AND IS READY FOR HIS NEW FAMILY.
