Special Animals Require Special Care

In the past year, our rescue has taken in an extremely large number of animals who have extensive medical needs.  We’d like to tell you a bit about some of the special dogs and cats that have won over our hearts, the hearts of their foster families, and the hearts of our veterinarians.  The costs of caring for these “special needs”animals is a major hurdle for our rescue at the moment.  Our veterinary bills have been astronomical but we will never let an animal suffer.  Providing the best veterinary care is extremely important to us.  Our veterinary partners have been lifesavers (literally!) providing us with all the support we need and also reducing their rates whenever possible.  Anytime an animal needs extra medical care, though, we struggle to find the funds to pay for it.  If you or your company would like to sponsor any of these special cases, please contact us at oopsadazypresident@hotmail.com.  As we are a registered non-profit organization, donations are tax deductable.  We can create a certificate to acknowledge your sponsorship.  Donations of any amount are appreciated- cheques can be sent to Box 57089  Calgary, AB  T1Y 6R4.  You can also donate through CanadaHelps.org- just click on the link on the side of the screen.  All of our fundraising efforts contribute to helping special cases like these as well.  Check our “Fundraising” page frequently for more information about upcoming fundraisers.  Thank you for your support.  Click on "Read More" to meet some of our special cases.

T-Rex is our latest special needs case.  He was born on July 20, 2009.  His foster mom noticed a lump on his back and took him to the vet on Sept. 14, 2009.  The veterinarian said he has something called a “wedged vertebra.”  Basically, it's an extra piece of vertebra that has grown in between two other vertebrae.  The orthopedic surgeon is now involved in his case and will be reviewing his x-rays to determine the best course of action.  T-Rex will be making another visit to the vet to see the orthopedic surgeon on October 2, 2009 for a more extensive evaluation. This will be a day long evaluation but the wonderful people at Southpointe Animal Hospital will take really good care of him! He will quite possibly have to have surgery to remove this extra piece because if it's left, it will gravitate closer and closer to the spine and could eventually sever the spinal cord leaving him paralyzed.  The surgery will ensure that T-Rex gets to live a long and healthy life! 

King is one great dog.  He is exceptionally smart and loves to be near his people no matter what.  One day, though, while he was at the rescue, there was a massive thunderstorm.  King got very frightened and in his panic, he managed to climb an 8 foot fence and escape.  He ran for 2 km until he reached the Trans Canada highway, where his scary day got worse than ever.  He was hit by a car but miraculously survived.  We rushed him to the emergency vet clinic where he had to have an entire leg and shoulder amputated.  When he woke up from the surgery, though, he bounced right back to his usual loving and exuberant self.  He still loves everything active- walking, jogging, running, and hiking in the woods.  Only having 3 legs certainly hasn’t slowed him down one bit. 

Clover was born on April 23, 2009. Clover came to her foster home, (with her five sibilings), just over three weeks old when her foster mom noticed she wasn't walking very good on one leg. Her first visit to the vet showed an injury to her back right growth plate; caused by either being stepped on by her own mom or a human. The vets monitored her condition closely, taking multiple x-rays and consulting an orthopedic surgeon.  On Sept. 9, 2009, the orthopedic surgeon decided that it was time to intervene as the injury was getting worse as she was growing.  As the injury shifted during growth, it began to cause her an immense amount of pain and because of that she avoided using that leg.  On September 11, 2009, Clover underwent surgery to amputate her right hind leg.  During the surgery, her vitals crashed twice and she almost died.  The amazing staff at Southpointe Vet Hospital were able to bring her back and stabilize her.  She had to stay in the hospital for 2 nights for observation before she was able to go home to her frantic foster mom.  She is now on the road to recovery and she is already trying hard to play with the other dogs in her foster home.

Katie’s case has been heartbreaking for everyone at Oops a Dazy.  This little girl came in to us nursing seven puppies.  She also had a broken femur bone (the big bone of the leg) from being kicked and hit by humans and her face was full of porcupine quills.  The veterinarians told us that the break had to be 3-4 weeks old because there had been some new bone growth.  The only way to help her at this point would be to amputate her leg.  Her back left leg was removed on August 7, 2009.  That day, she also had two teeth removed, was spayed, and had some porcupine quills removed.  The sad thing is that with all of the abuse she’d suffered, this would have been far from the worst day of her life.  Even with her new disability and all the abuse she’s endured, though, Katie is still an extremely loving girl and she is recovering well in her foster home. 

Miogy came into our rescue on June 18^th, 2009 from Grand Prairie.  She is totally blind.  We have had her to a veterinary ophthalmological specialist but there is nothing we can do for this little one.   She is really incredible despite her disabilities though.  She makes mental maps to remember where obstacles are so she doesn’t hit them again, she has no problems navigating up and down stairs, and she loves playing with her canine friends.  The vet says that she may have to have one of her eyes removed, though, to keep her from being in any pain.

Trinity is another special amputee dog.  He was hit by a truck and all of the nerves in his front left leg were destroyed.  The only treatment was amputation so his leg was removed on June 11, 2009 at the age of 5 months old.  He’s adapted so well to life on three legs though you’d hardly know he’s missing one.  Within a week of the surgery, he was running and playing with all the other dogs.  He loves playing ball and rough housing with his big canine pals.  He is having a great recovery at his foster home in Creston, BC.  He’s figured out how to hold things by pushing them down on the ground.  His foster home says that he does face the occasional challenge though- he will do face-plants sometimes if his remaining front leg gets caught on something.  If he rushes to go down the stairs, he may fall and slide on his chest down the stairs.  He has to work hard on his balance as the front part of the body moves first and determines which direction he is going to go.  He loves to be around people though and his favourite place to sleep is on the bed right next to his foster parents.  

Garfield is a really special boy.  He has an incredible personality but he lives nearly every day in pain.  He suffers from a condition called “entropion.”  Entropion is when the eyelids curl in towards the eye, causing the eyelashes to scratch against the eye constantly.  When Garfield first came in, he could barely open his eyes.  He was virtually blind, although his vision does actually work.  The painful rubbing caused his eyes to puss and produce lots of fluid.  Entropion is not common in cats but Garfield is not a common cat.  He was treated at Falconridge Animal Hospital with surgery for the entropion in the spring of 2009.  The vet had to cut out a section of his facial skin around the eye and pull the eyelid back out.  The surgery helped immensely but he is still suffering (these are the after pictures).  He will require at least one more surgery to fix the entropion problem.  At the moment, his foster home is putting drops in his eyes daily to help soothe the irritation as well. 

 

Fergus came into us as a stray and he was missing half of his front left leg.  We’re not sure whether he was born like that or whether his leg had been caught in a trap at some point in his life.  He is an incredibly sweet boy but the stump that was left needed to be amputated.  He underwent surgery late in 2008 and went to live at a foster home in Banff where he could recover fully.  He adjusted extremely quickly to having only three legs and he loves to run around and let his hair fly, as you can see in his picture.  Fergus has become an incredible ambassador dog for animals with disabilities as well as for the rescue.  He is friendly to everyone he meets and he’s quickly becoming a Banff icon. 

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