Tank, a little chi, had a bad day recently.  He was snoozing under a blanket when the owner’s friend accidentally knelt on him.  He was in great pain, and was taken to UF by his owner.  They were told his hip had come out of socket.  He was subsequently seen by a local vet who put the hip back in place under anesthesia.  Unfortunately, the hip popped out again, and the two options given to the owner (who had gone through all of her funds from the first two procedures) were FHO surgery or amputation.  CHAIN reached out to one of our wonderful partner vets, Dr. Amy Huff of Animal Clinic of Leesburg.  We went with the FHO (Femoral Head Ostomy) option, and little Tank underwent the surgery.  He is progressing, but will need therapy to fully recuperate.  We will continue to assess his journey back to health.

CHAIN received a phone call from a woman who had temporary possession of these three dogs.  Their owner had recently died, and the woman living with the dogs had been evicted.  The power and water were turned off in the house, and the dogs were all in bad shape.  Poor Jaeger’s nails were so long that he could not walk, and all the dogs had fur loss from flea infestation and very poor nutrition and care.  None had ever had vaccinations, and only one had been neutered.  The woman tried to get Citrus County Animal Services to confiscate the dogs, but they were OVERFULL, and could not help.  The only solution was going to be euthanasia, as nobody would take the dogs.  Florida CHAIN worked in collaboration with Humanitarians of Florida to get the dogs surrendered into their custody.  CHAIN took financial responsibility to have all three dogs vaccinated and treated with flea meds and antibiotics, but they were given only 24 hours to be adopted before “the end” would be reached.  Open Hands Animal Rescue of Ocala jumped in to help find fosters.  Further, a plea was made on the internet for emergency adopters.  OHAR found a foster-to-adopt home for Molly, the adorable Rottie.  A lovely couple drove all the way to Lecanto from Winter Haven to meet Jaeger, the senior pit/lab mix.  They fell in love with him, and away he went with his new family!  The third dog, Gator (a doxie-pit mix) was taken in by a very reputable shelter, where he will be neutered and surely will find great adopters quickly. So, it’s all about team work with the community and our wonderful vet and rescue friends!

We were contacted by a crying mom today regarding her little Frenchie, Rogue.  The poor woman had spent the morning calling everywhere she could think of to get emergency surgery for Rogue, a 3 year old with pyometra.  She just moved here and is a single mom with no financial resources.  We have hours to raise enough money for Rogue to get her surgery at Banfield in Spring Hill.  We are so grateful for all donations coming in.  We cannot let Rogue die.  We will update tomorrow with our fundraiser success and will also keep tabs on this pup’s condition!

Good news!  Rogue is back to good health, and the family is very thankful!!

Dream is a 5 year old girl who had lived most of her miserable life outside in a small and filthy cage with no shelter.  The owner died, and so Dream just cruised the neighborhood looking for scraps to sustain her life.  A kind neighbor began feeding her, and tried to keep her safe from the loose dogs in the neighborhood and the children who harassed her by throwing rocks at her.  That neighbor put out a plea on social media, as she was moving in 5 days and could not bring Dream with her.  To complicate things, Dream appeared as if she might be pregnant.  It is difficult enough to find a home or rescue for a black pit bull, but the neighbor kept trying.  She called 17 shelters and rescues, but none could accept Dream.  The only shelter that would take her was a high-kill county shelter in Orange County, where she would have been euthanized after a 3 day hold had expired.  We were extremely fortunate to find a foster home for Dream in Fort McCoy (with a family which had been helped by CHAIN in the recent past).  Florida Chain had Dream brought into Humanitarians of Florida, where she was fully vetted (we believe she had never had any vaccinations in her life).  Fortunately, she had a false pregnancy, so we provided bloodwork, spay and parasite treatment. By some miracle, Dream was heartworm negative!   Although the family had taken her in as a foster, she is now a permanent member of that household, where she has a doggie brother and three little girls to play with.  She is very much loved and safe and soaking up the wayyyy better life!

We saw a plea on social media for a dog named Molly.  Molly had been hit by a car, and suffered a severe fracture of her right hind leg.  The owner exhausted her care credit allowance after taking Molly to UF.  There was no way to afford the multi-thousands of dollars estimate given to fix her up, so Molly had to go home with pain meds and little hope.  After much detective work by Florida CHAIN, (trying to find an affordable solution for Molly), our amazing  VOCAL stepped up to the plate to perform amputation surgery (and a spay!), which was funded through the efforts of our wonderful donor community.  Molly is just about fully recovered at this time.  We were so grateful to be able to find a solution to save this sweet girl and her wonderful “mama”.

Poor little Doodles, a very senior dog at approximately 18 years of age, was dumped!  She was in bad shape.  She was grossly underweight, heartworm positive, deaf, blind, and loaded with fleas and dental disease.  Despite all this tragedy, Doodles retained her sweet demeanor.  Florida CHAIN sent Doodles to Humanitarians of Florida, where she was fully vetted and had a much needed dental  Florida CHAIN then partnered with Rescue Dogs Dream, which has now found and is supporting a forever foster.  She is in a loving home with another blind senior and two more dog siblings!

Princess ran away from her home when a careless dog sitter did not attend to her.  She disappeared on New Years Eve.  When her owner returned from out of town, she was beside herself with worry and grief.  She posted everywhere with physical posters and blasts throughout social media, never giving up hope.  No sightings were reported, and it was as if Princess had fallednoff the face of the earth.  Then, a miracle!  After being gone for over a month, Animal Control spotted her and recognized Princess from the numerous posted pictures the owner had put up.  Princess came home, but was some the worst for wear.  She had lost over 20 pounds and had a large hematoma on her ear.  She desperately needed to see a vet, but her owner, who works a minimum wage job and has children to support, could not figure a way to pay for treatment.  CHAIN recognized the need, and sent Molly to Ocala Square Animal Clinic, where she was treated for her injuries , wormed, given vaccines, and appropriate nutritional supplements to help her put weight back on.  Princess is finally back to her old self, and her owner is so relieved.

Denali presented at Humanitarians of Florida with a suspicious mammary tumor.  The owner was basically homeless, and had to money for surgery/biopsy.  Florida CHAIN was able to provide the money for Denali’s surgery, and the best news was, the tumor was benign.  It is necessary to continue to monitor her, as mammary tumors often recur, and are not always benign.  The good news also is that Denali is now spayed, which will decrease the chance of additional tumors forming.  Another reason to spay your female dog!

Snuggles the little poodle came to us through Humanitarians of Florida.  She was a very sick little dog, age 12, who was brought in with pyometra, a life-threatening infection of the uterus.  She needed immediate surgery to save her, and the owner had only $108 to put toward surgery.  Florida C.H.A.I.N.’S amazing donors came through for Snuggles.  She was able to get her surgery!  Her recovery was a little delayed, likely due to her age and how sick she was when she came in, but according to her owner, she is now thriving.  As a side note, pyometra is the result of failure to spay a female dog.  Let Snuggles’ battle be a reminder; spay and neuter your pets 🙂

Rebel did not have a Merry Christmas this year.  He was attacked by a feral dog in his own back yard, and his life hung in the balance.  Rebel is a support dog for his owner, who has a limited income due to severe dystonia, and he also helps his owner with anxiety.  He immediately ran up a $2,600 bill at the emergency vet in Leesburg (for which his owner had to use CareCredit to get him treated…and she doesn’t know how she will pay the debt).  One visit was not enough for this dog’s serious injuries.  He stopped eating , his urine had blood in it, and he was lethargic.  He needed additional veterinary care, which owner could not afford.  Florida Chain is supporting Rebel’s continuing veterinary care.  His most recent visit to the vet indicated that his kidneys were shutting down.  Rebel’s mom has been administering IV meds at home, and will be returning to the vet on Friday (hopefully, all will go well….).  Florida CHAIN will continue to support Rebel’s
medical recovery, thanks to our generous donors.