16.01.13 EDIT 6:40p.m.
Dear friends,
we thank you for not passing them by once again!
The funds for Kimbo, Maya, Lisa and Mina have been raised. Tomorrow our heroes will be brought to the central veterinary clinic where we hope they will get good news. We hope they are good, at least, it is high time that good things have started to happen to these poor animals.
We send you our best regards and thank you from all our hearts, although words are not enough to describe all the good that you are doing!
At any given time our clinic is full of dogs who literally owe their lives to you. Whatever we write – words would not be enough to explain to you, dear friends, how much you help means to these animals. This month we introduce you to yet another small group of dogs you have saved. Each of them has a different past, a different pain, but they all have one thing in common – they are all live thanks to your generosity.
We turn to you for help once more – the overcrowded clinic is working at full speed and cases have piled up again that need special care outside of our abilities. These are dogs that could be healed if we can only find the means to secure them the special treatment and diagnosis they need. As you know – our clinic is small and unequipped – although our 4 doctors work as hard as they can – there are some procedures that we simply cannot perform.
Michail is a very friendly, kind and lovable dog, about a year old. He has been with us for two months now – the first time we showed you his skinny body was back in October. Sadly, we haven’t been able to improve his situation much since then.
He came to us to be neutered, after being caught by the municipal catchers of Ecobalance. When they unloaded him – we realized the dog is blind and admitted him to the shelter. He was all bones. We took the time to feed him abundantly, but he didn’t gain a single gram. After we realized we are not helping him, we brought Michail to the Central Vet Clinic where he remained for 10 days and underwent all possible checks to be diagnosed.
And so he was – the scary diagnosis he received is Hypothyroidism. The treatment requires the administration of hormones and a very strong food. Doctor Stankova bought him very good kibble and we have now put Michael in the empty Puppygarten so he is not bullied and can get some attention from the passers-by. You cannot imagine what a wonderful dog he is. Although he is completely blind Misho knows who is coming by the footsteps he hears. If he hears the keepers he runs to his plate and begins to push it around (he is always hungry), if walkers are coming – he jumps around the fence begging for some attention… We are still to find out how his hormone therapy will unfold and what the future holds for Misho.
Kimbo arrived at the shelter as a tiny puppy. He was caught by Ecobalance together with his mother and her whole litter. All the other pups grew and developed normally, but Kimbo suddenly began to show signs of scabies. We began his treatment immediately – mange is not something that worries us, as we stumble upon it every day. But is has been 3 months now and Kimbo shows no sign of improvement. He looks bad and grows like a mushroom after rain – this means his chances for happiness are shrinking with every minute.
Kimbo is neither in big risk, nor in pain, but he has a very severe sentence: “I am too ugly and no one will want me”. Like our poor girl Trudy who has a simple cellulitis on her face and because of that we have been unable to find her a decent home for 2 years now…
Kimbo need a specialized check-up and tests that will cost us 70BGN only in the beginning. Additional 80 to 115BGN will probably be necessary later on. This money holds the key to a happy and loved life for Kimbo. And the shelter cannot spare it.
It was the municipal dog catchers of Ecobalance that brought these puppies and their mother to the shelter in the beginning of December. It was very cold those days and the pups arrived to us with a severe case of bronchopneumonia. One of them died the following day.
We cannot say anything much about the babies – they are just another set of unwanted lives out there. But their mother… what a wonderful creature! Small, skinny, nearly frozen and hungry as hell she didn’t leave the side of her babies and took every bite, every injection, every touch with gratitude. The little ones are finishing their antibiotic therapy and hopefully will soon begin their normal vaccination routine as every other baby in the shelter.
Mina is an abandoned pet of about 7 years – someone had dumped her in another neighborhood and she was wandering around scared and confused. Like Kimbo, Mina needs a specialized examination and tests. She has blood in her urine. We treated her for a long time and she got better, but a few days after her treatment was over – the symptoms showed up again, she must go for an ultrasound examination and a consultation with a specialized urologist.
Mina is a quiet and calm animal. She hardly stands the crowd and noise in the shelter. Mina spends her days curled up in a corner of her small cage – silent and shy, expecting that this nightmare of her will end. Until we fix her health, sadly, we will not be looking for a new home for her. And the clock ticks away. Mina needs 60BGN for the test and diagnosis that will save her from this sadness. And the shelter cannot spare it.
Tyra has neoplasy on one of her front legs. Her skin is always an open wound and her leg has been deformed in this part. When we took Zoran for the documentary evidence the police needed, we brought Tyra along. The results were complicated, but all in all meant that she has a chronic inflammation in this spot. Now she goes through daily bandages and we have a result which antibiotics will influence the infections most. Cross your fingers for her treatment!
Maya is a sweet, calm and polite dog that was found by kind people in the street with her hind leg crushed and so severely infected that she could not be operated without suppressing the infection first. Day after day we changed her bandages and things are finally looking better.
Maya is about 5 or 6 old and has a very sweet, balanced temperament. The people who found her paid for the initial testing she needed, but the time has come now to check her again. Maya’s x-ray and examination will cost 65BGN. Without it we can’t tell if she needs more bandaging or has to go up for a surgery. This money will decide if she will walk on 4 or 3 legs till the rest of her life. And the shelter cannot spare it.
This brown jewel is Mookie – a sweet and gentle creature we picked up with Distemper from Chelopechene. We treated her for weeks on and on till finally we got the best news – a negative result from her Distemper tests. There is a Distemper epidemic in Sofia at the moment and it is a nightmare wherever you turn. Generally we do not admit infectiously-ill dogs, as they pose a threat to all our 500 loved dogs. But, since we were brought a few ill animals for neutering and couldn’t send them back anyway, we had no choice.
Having dogs stuck in quarantine with distemper already, we took in quite a few cases – mostly ill puppies and closed the shelter for admittance until the end of the month. To our great joy, besides the few losses our ill group suffered, most of the animals are now recovering and hopefully by February we will go back to our routine.
And finally – Liza. An old German Shepherd who was dumped as a bag of bones in a large parking area just outside of Sofia. A place that is proving to be a favorite dumping ground for pets, as we have to admit in dismay. We have picked up all sorts of pets from that place, but few were as bad looking as Liza. Since the first bit of food we offered her she began eating like a starved anima (which she is) and now she can boast with a more secure and steady walk, no matter that she still looks like a prisoner who was just released from Auschwitz.
Above: Liza in the beginning; Below: Liza today
Although she is feeling and looking better already, it seems that Liza has a bigger problem than we anticipated. Our vets suspect a tumor somewhere in her digestive tract. She needs an examination and an ultrasound check that will cost 60BGN. It depends on this money if Liza will be spending care-free last years of her life or not. But the shelter cannot spare it.
225BGN (115E) stand between Kimbo, Mina, Liza, Maya and their chance for love and health. We know that January is the hardest month of the year – the holidays and cold have emptied out our pockets too. But we must try, because they have no one else to turn to.
Dear friends, if you are able to help – even with a small sum – DONATE HERE for our Hospital at the end of the city. There are so many of us, we only need to get together and we could solve these dogs’ problems.