Animal cruelty and neglect never takes a break, not even for the holidays. Just a week before Christmas, these three helpless and innocent puppies came through the doors of our AHS Newark facility in desperate need of assistance. They were said to have been found as strays. We find it more likely that a backyard breeder or perhaps an irresponsible owner had the litter of pups, and when they discovered that they were born with a deformity, they rendered them useless and dumped them to die a cold and lonely death in the streets. The puppies, two males and a female, were taken straight to our medical department for evaluation. They were found to have Swimmers Syndrome, a term used to describe puppies that paddle legs much like a turtle but are unable to stand. In some cases, pups have front leg problems, some have rear leg difficulties. Unfortunately, these pups were kept by someone until they were about 10 weeks old and have no usage of their front or rear legs. This condition, if treated early, can resolve in some puppies, but treatment must begin at about 3 weeks of age. There was no time to waste in getting help for the little ones, so as soon as they were en route to us at Popcorn Park, arrangements were made to send them directly to Pet PT in Cherry Hill for physical therapy which started the night they arrived. Puddy, Pancake and Leon are now receiving physical therapy sessions several times a day to build up muscles and strength. Pet PT and Dr. Russell Howe-Smith have been successful with helping several of our animals in need, notably Tiny Tim, a shih tzu that was tossed in a cardboard box as a puppy because he was paralyzed from the waste down. Tiny Tim now runs through Pet PT, greeting patients and keeping the staff company. Puddy, Pancake and Leon are in very good hands, but at this point, we are unsure if they will ever be able to walk normally, without the assistance of some sort of aide, but we have to try. These little puppies certainly deserve the chance. We are so grateful to have our Res-Q Fund to enable us to get the puppy trio the help that they need, and as you can see, there is never a time when this fund is not needed. To make a donation to our Res-Q Fund, click here: ahscares.org/shop/item.asp?itemid=28&catid=5 Puddy, Pancake and Leon are not available for adoption at this time. They have a long, tough road ahead of them. Frequent updates will be noted here on our Facebook page, and also on our website: ahscares.org.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 19:37:05 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015