It's hard to find the words to tell the story of "Courage"...the emotions are so intense and words can't accurately convey what our eyes have seen. As rescue veterans dedicated to helping the neediest of needy dogs, we thought we had seen every form of cruelty, abuse and inhumanity possible. Sadly, we were wrong.
At 4:00 PM on April 7, we received a plea from a kind animal lover who was familiar with our rescue work. "There's a German Shepherd in terrible shape," she began. "Please, will you help?" The woman had learned of a dog that had been seized from a neglectful situation by concerned bystanders; she needed to get the dog immediate medical care. Sight unseen we agreed to help. As the story unfolded, it was hard to believe that no one had stepped in earlier--that no neighbor had seen or heard something, that no family member had taken action to protect a helpless creature. "Courage", as we have come to call him, was once someone's treasured little German Shepherd puppy--filled with hope and promise and trust as any puppy should be. He was probably the pride and joy of his family when he was an adorable youngster. But when we learned about him, Courage was a three-year-old adult who had been tied up in a back yard and completely forgotten. He had no food, no water. Because he was chained up, he had no way of escaping his torturous existence. As a prisoner on a chain, even reaching rain water in puddles was out of his reach...
At the time of his rescue, Courage weighed 37 pounds. Our veterinarian calculates that he was left without food for five to six weeks to decline to this condition. The frame that should have supported 75-85 pounds of healthy muscle and statuesque build was a rack of bones covered by loosely handing fur. He laid as if he were dead. He couldn't walk and wasn't even strong enough to lift his head. His eyes were glazed over and his breathing was labored. He wailed eerily as if telling her he wanted to be put out of the misery that had become his life.
At 5:00 PM, the Good Samaritan had him in the back seat of her car, rushing him to the emergency hospital. He was practically flat to look at, except for a protruding hip bone that poked out from the heap of fur. In her own words, "I kept looking back at him, praying that he was still alive...he was barely breathing. I was sure he was going to die in my car. I was driving like mad to make it in time."
At 6:00 PM, an entire team of veterinary professionals was working on Courage...they inserted catheters in both front legs to pump him with units of plasma and whole blood. He was put on a high rate of fluids with B-complex added. Courage had been starved so long that his GI tract had completely shut down. X-rays revealed that he was fully impacted with fecal matter that he could not eliminate. Moving quickly, the doctor gave him some morphine and flushed the entire intestinal tract out. The fecal matter was mostly DIRT---this poor dog was so starved that he was eating dirt. The first vet to examine Courage verified that he could not have lasted one more day without care. It was a miracle that help came just in time. Amazingly, throughout the entire ordeal, Courage never struggled, snapped or snarled...he seemed to sense that everyone who was poking, probing and lifting him was there to help.
When the vet staff felt that Courage's system was ready to tolerate something solid, he was offered small portions of a special formula diet. Tears of sadness turned into tears of joy when he ate his first meal in more than five weeks!
Today is April 8. All of our volunteers and Courage's special angel spent a very sleepless night wondering if he would have the strength to make it until morning. An early morning call confirmed the news we wanted to hear: He was alive! He was alive! Today, the vet staff took turns sitting with Courage in his kennel, offering him small portions of special food so as not to upset his stomach. He seemed to enjoy the company and even managed to hold his head up! Tomorrow, we will begin some massage therapy with him to help improve the circulation to his badly atrophied muscles so that he can gain the strength to walk again.
We have been advised that Courage has a long road ahead of him. We hope that no permanent damage has been caused to his kidneys or his intestines as a result of his starvation. We want to ensure that no matter what immediate or long term care he needs, Courage will get it. This is why we are turning to our friends and supporters to help him along his journey to recovery. Courage will remain in the hospital for some time as his digestive system stabilizes again and as we build his muscles. Right now, he has to be carried in a sling, but we're looking forward to the day when he can walk on his own and eventually run in fresh green field!
Please help us so that the beautiful dog that was deprived of every comfort and kindness in Life will never want for anything again! Courage's emergency vet care is costly, but we can't imagine holding anything back--he deserves our full support. Your tax-deductible gift in any amount will allow us to provide Courage with whatever he needs. No gift is too small when it comes from the heart. (EIN# 20-3455479). German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County
