Post by monimar on Jan 30, 2014 6:45:58 GMT -7
On Febuary 4th puppy 232 was found on the road, hit by car. She was taken to The Animal Care Clinic in Taos, NM for treatment and care. She was half starved and now suffers from constant tremors (see video.) She doesn't seem to notice the difference. She runs (a little strangely), she plays, she cuddles, she is smart, she aims to please, she sits on your lap and watches tv, she asks to go outside so she can lay in the sun, she's very affectionate.
Special Needs Puppy #232
There maybe unknown future complications, she maybe like this for the rest of her life, or she may get better. The Animal Care Clinic has documented her progress and show that her tremors have improved.
Above is the original post from CPR when this precious soul came to us looking for a home. It was originally thought that she had been hit by a car, but that turned out to be not the case. She was just so shaky and weak, and had collapsed by the side of the highway that fateful night in February. I wrote this story in March, 2010 to showcase this wonderful “special needs” girl, and to tell her remarkable story of survival. She is Gracey and she has been a member of our family for 3 ½ years. She changed our lives and I thought her story warranted repeating here.
THIS IS GRACEY'S STORY
Being a volunteer with Colorado Puppy Rescue for the past 6 years,I have been fortunate to see thousands of puppies come through the door, go into foster care and go on to find wonderful forever homes.
On March 2, 2010 the Rescue brought in a frail, skinny 16 week old Shepherd mix from New Mexico. She was called “Julia” and her story made several volunteers (including me) cry. On February 4th the pup had been found along the highway with her litter mates and two adult dogs on a frigid, -8 degree night in Taos New Mexico. A wonderful woman named Maxine Nakai was notified of the litter and drove to pick them up. The adult dogs took off, but the pups were rescued. Julia was thought to be dead at first as she was found underneath all of her litter mates, cold and stiff and skin and bones. She was breathing though, but hypothermic and shaking uncontrollably. Maxine took the pups home (6 in all) and cared for them. All of the pups but Julia were transferred to another amazing woman named Pat Steele who regularly, humbly and tirelessly brings pups to CPR to find great homes.
The other pups were healthy enough to go up for adoption at CPR's adoption event that weekend, and they all found homes. Julia was still too weak to make the trip...Maxine had fed her warm goat's milk around the clock to warm her up and give her some nutrition. When she was a bit stronger, she was taken to the Animal Care Clinic in Taos. She weighed a mere 11 pounds at 3 months old and the Vets there determined that she had brain deficiencies from near starvation that would cause her to have a shaky stance (Ataxia), difficulty walking, and a bobbing head and muscle spasms. This Neuromuscular condition would most likely be permanent.
By March 4th Julia had gained enough strength to come to Colorado Puppy Rescue to be given a chance to find an adoptive family that would take her special needs into consideration. At that weekend's adoption event, nobody was interested in adopting Julia. My husband and I were working that event as volunteers and had already fallen in love with the shaky little pup. We brought her home as our foster. It took exactly 5 minutes of watching her interact with our 2 dogs to know that we would adopt her.
Her name is now “Gracey”, She has a huge heart, is strong at 66 lbs. and her tail never stops wagging. She is determined to be like any other dog (that's how we treated her from the beginning)...her head still bobs and shakes, she still stumbles on a slippery floor or if she gets going too fast. Stairs are a challenge for her and her feet come out from under her when she's excited, but as far as she knows, she has no handicap.
Gracey is smart, playful, sweet and gentle with all of the foster pups I bring home. She captures the heart of everyone that meets her. She has changed our lives in such a positive way and has opened our eyes and hearts to a better understanding of animal's and people's challenges alike.
Gracey's # was 232 back in March of 2010. Her siblings would have had lower #'s and would have been up for adoption at the end of Feb. 2010. They all had similar coloring and I would be thrilled to meet any of her brother's or sister's!
If you have a story about a special needs pups you adopted from us, please share.
Thank you!,
Written by Monica Martin