MY NEWEST LITTLE RESCUE

- Renee Gannon, Assistant Website Editor

Ever since I was a little girl growing up, my family has always been a big fan of rescuing animals. Cats, rabbits, birds, mice, lizards, you name it. If it had four legs and was in need of a home, was sick or had an injury, than our home was usually the place where it ended up. I’m 25 years old now and living on my own, but not much has changed in the pet-rescue department.

Last October, my partner and I rescued two cats that were living at a shelter. Baby and Buddha came to be their names and they were the cutest kitties we had ever seen. Buddha had been found at 8 weeks old, wandering by himself in a cemetery, which is clearly no place for a kitten. Baby, along with her 5 other litter mates, were dumped at the shelter anonymously, at only 5 weeks of age. Luckily, they were adorable and everyone that passed through wanted to take one of them home. Baby stared up at me with sad little eyes that said, "I'm small and vulnerable and I just want to be loved". I melted when I scooped her up and the rest is pretty much history. 

 Fast forward to a year later, and I find myself with my newest little rescue. Enter Little Caesar, an 8 week old Teacup Chihuahua who was left outside in the LA heat, in a box, all by himself. Luckily, a friend found him and asked if we could take him (she was allergic). Of course my partner and I gladly accepted and we took the pint-sized puppy home. Soon after, we came to realize that the poor little thing was covered, I mean covered, in fleas and ticks. We did everything we could to get them off; flea baths, flea combings and pulling every last tick off his body.  He was all cleaned up but shortly after, his health began to deteriorate. I took him to the vet to have him checked and they determined that because of all the ticks he had, he became extremely anemic. In fact, the vet said his red blood cell count was an astonishingly low  8% (a normal dog's is 30%) and she had never seen a dog alive with an RBC count so low. They thought a blood transfusion might work, and luckily one of the vet techs had a donor dog.

Little Caesar had his first blood transfusion and came home that night. With lots of rest, hourly  feedings and some crazy amounts of TLC, he seemed to be doing better. After a few days though, his eyes became sad again and he seemed to be losing his strength. He wasn't as perky, refused to eat and could barely hold his head up. I had to force-feed him puppy formula for several days, and although he seemed to be losing the battle, I knew this little ¼ pounder was a fighter so I tried to stay positive. We took him back to the vet and they decided to try one more blood transfusion. They explained that if it didn't work this time, than there was probably little hope for him. They gave him the second transfusion and told us to give him lots of food, rest and TLC when he came home.

 After a day of rest, I awoke the next morning and it appeared my puppy had been abducted by aliens and replaced by one with an overabundance of energy, big bright eyes and a tail that wagged faster than the speed of light. It seemed like the transfusion worked like a miracle this time because Little Caesar was more active than I'd ever seen him! It's been almost a month now, and I'm happy to report that he has chewed every shoe in my apartment, chased after Baby and Buddha, played fetch with his favorite squeaky toy, and even barked when he thought someone was breaking in (it was only me coming home from work). Sometimes, he even joins me here at the Tastybaby office, where he keeps things bright and cheery with his overly playful personality. He now weighs in at over a pound and loves wearing his new little hooded sweatshirt (taken from a stuffed animal at Toys R Us).

Sometimes the tiniest of animals can overcome the greatest of odds, but that’s what makes them so special.  For anyone that has ever been given the opportunity to rescue an animal, they know how rewarding of an experience it can be.  Just being able to have pets in your life is very enriching and so much fun, too!  I love animals; I always have and always will, so as I sit here writing this story, I’m even wondering what animal I will be lucky enough to rescue next!

Thinking of Adopting or Rescuing an Animal?

Here are some great resources we've compiled, both locally (for CA) and nationally.  You can also visit your local animal shelter - even if you can't adopt right now, going down to the shelter and spending time with the animals is a great way to give back.  Afterall, like people, animals need love and attention too.

SPCA - Organization has adoption, lost and found as well as emergency services and programs.

California's Directory of Animal Rescue Groups and Shelters - Links to animal shelters, humane societies, and breed-specific rescue groups for dogs, cats and companion animals.

Petfinder.com - Petfinder is an on-line, searchable database of animals that need homes. It is also a directory of over 2000 animal shelters and adoption organizations.

Animal Adoption and Rescue Foundation - The AARF page is dedicated to the rescue and successful adoption of orphaned dogs.

Haven't quite gotten your fix of pet rescue stories?  Read Victoria's blog about rescuing a 3-legged Chihuahua named Pancho here.