We know it is summer. A time for smiles and sunshine, holidays and friends, long days outdoors and reminding yourself – life is good…
But for us – summer is a very difficult time. We sit here with the dogs, lonelier than usual, there are few adopters and even fewer donors. And the dogs don’t care – if it’s Friday or Sunday, if it’s January or July… They are just as hungry, just as injured, no matter that the city is empty – there will always be someone to make them suffer.
Despite, or more accurately, due to the fact we are overwhelmed with work and animals in need, the Franzisca clinic is full of patients, who wouldn’t have received help anywhere else. Here are some of them that you would maybe like to know:
RIP Blago, a dumped old Rottweiler
Blago was brought to us with a very severe spinal exostosis. When he came, he could barely stand. We took him for x-rays and stated a Nivaline treatment. A week later, the kind granddad could stand a little and was in a much better mood.
His name meant “Kind”, guess why – because he was the kindest. But however kind you are, however handsome, however loving and loyal you were through the years, you are still not insured against human cruelty. Once you are on the down side – that’s it, you are garbage.
Today Blago passed away most unexpectedly, despite the improvement. His heart couldn’t cope any longer… He drank some water, laid down and in an hour – he was gone.
Goodbye, dear boy. We are so sorry we couldn’t give you some happy days at the end of the road…
Lacho, a dumped old dachshund
Granddad Lacho seems to not know he is ill. Or he is so glad to be living in the shelter that he doesn’t notice it. He has probably always lived a difficult life – after a few days at the shelter, he became one of the happiest dogs at the Farm.
When we admitted him, Lucho had a horrible dermatosis. His back was almost naked, everything was itchy and stingy to him, and even the parasites were leaving the mother ship, sensing an approaching season finale. No way!
Dachshunds are great people, and that is a proven fact. But we still don’t know what exactly is wrong with him. The doctors suspected diabetes, but the tests ruled it out. We tested for this, we tested for that – nothing. Now the doctors are considering all sorts of exotic diagnosis, it is likely that he has Cushing’s desease.
Sancho, junior administrator at the Farm office
Our lovely Sancho already received that rare diagnosis – Cushing’s. He will be on meds till his last days, and the medication he needs is not imported to Bulgaria. We are hoping our colleagues abroad will be able to help. In the meantime – Sancho waits for you at the shelter office.
Rosie, with heartworm
Or, to be more exact – WITHOUT heartworm! Rosie is at the end of her treatment for the mean parasites. The most gentle of hearts went through such difficulties.
She may look big and strong, but is actually like a little child. She looks like one of those toddlers with glasses that would look up to you and immediately melt your defenses. We are really happy for this kind girl, getting rid of heartworm takes months, the medication is very hard on the animal, thank goodness she made it.
Hercules, a tiny angel with seizures
You can bet Hercules wasn’t born, neither lived in the street. Which (no apology) moron decided to get rid of him on a closed highway – we don’t know. We know him from the moment he nearly crashed a truck, trying not to run him over. Well, he did run over him, Hercules is too tiny to even be crushed as a normal dog would.
Hercules is a young guy, but he has some unexplained seizures. Only two so far, so he is under observation at the moment until the doctors manage to figure out an adequate therapy. He needs all sorts of tests, but there is no way we could afford them right now.
Yoda, a homeless granddad with testicular cancer
This sweet guy is “the village dog”. He suffers from a tumor on his balls and needed urgent surgery. He was operated on by d-r Marincheva and is now recovering. Keep your figers crossed for him, he is old and the tumor is not small.
Hanya and Maria, puppies with skin disease
It was stupid of us not to make a photo of Maria when she arrived, now you cannot see all the progress she made. Maria was almost completely fur-less, even worse than Marcus whom she is named after. Despite that – she is and will remain the happiest dog in the world, it is too little to say she adores people, they don’t make dogs like her anymore.
And cute Hanya has acquired our “favorite” fungal infection and will have to fight it separated from her funny mother and sister.
Mighty Ragnar, ill with pneumonia
Ragnar Lothbrok, the smallest puppy in a litter of 8 dumped half-huskies. We used his photo to invite people to the shelter on Facebook, because he is so incredibly cute. And now we blame ourselves for it, because he as probably jinxed a little.
The day after we posted his pics, he got ill with pneumonia and we were afraid we’d lose him – puppies so small get dehydrated and develop horrible infections in a matter of minutes. Ragnar may be tiny, but is still a Viking, so – he’s staying alive.
Flicka and Noushka
Two amazing ladies, only a few inches off the ground. Someone’s pets, dumped at the first signs of trouble. Flicka is now at the end of her recovery after a complicated surgery (she is the tiny foxy on the photo), and Noushka still has some antibiotics to take in and she is still figuring out how things work here (carefully monitoring life from her tiny bed).
These, and many other animals are getting treatment at the shelter this very moment. If you are able to spare something for the animals, please, DONATE for the clinic – your help saves lives here.