Gateway Animal Clinic

Gateway’s Project Noah Efforts

As 2006 ended my hopes and dreams for a better 2007 came under serious attack by the realities of man’s continued inhumanity to both man and animals.  Thankfully, with the financial and emotional support from our Project Noah contributors, we can find a way to turn some of the cruelty and neglect around. 

The holidays are a time for giving.  So we GAVE.  And we will never give up.  Why?  Because the lives we can turn around for the better are worth it.  We can turn mournful meows into happy purrs, sad howls into happy barking and rapid tongue licking expressions of appreciation.

Maybe a few of Project Noah’s success stories here at Gateway can soothe our readers’ post holiday depression!  As I toured the kennel at Gateway Animal Clinic on New Year’s Day, I saw some cases that you all need to hear about.

Meet Kitty Gray in cage 15.

Here’s her story.  Kitty Gray is a five year old cat that someone used for target practice in mid December.  Check out these radiographs.  Count the pellets.  Notice the one just under her eye socket. 

As of 2007, the owner turned Kitty Gray over to us to find her a home.  He realized that he could in no way actually care for his cat.  The cost of care and rehabilitation were being subsidized by Project Noah and Gateway’s contributions, but still the owner came to the conclusion that the cat would be in better hands if we could find her a home.   The neighborhood where such an atrocity occurred was no place to return Kitty Gray.

Kitty Gray gets a little stronger every day.  She doesn’t hold any grudges.  She truly is a noble beast.  We will undoubtedly find her a home where violence is no where to be found.  She’s going to have a very Happy New Year! 

While I pondered the fate and journey of Kitty Gray, I hear a barking from cage 19.  Some one wanted a little attention.  When she sees me, her tail pounds against the shiny stainless steel cage walls.  Its steady pounding that gets a little louder every day.  At the other end of that tail is “Sassy” a three month old hound dog husky cross. Sassy’s story starts with a fall down the stairs.  A four year old is carrying her and they both fall.  The little boy falls on Sassy’s left thigh.  The femur snapped like a dry stick. 

The woman that brought Sassy in was a single mother with four children under five. 

Of course everyone wants a dog, but some people’s lives are a little overwhelmed.  Adding a dog to the mix was too much in this situation.   Sassy was a sad hound-dog mix in harms way, given the situation at hand.  She had yet to be in for any sort of puppy health exam or vaccinations.  Now she had a nasty broken leg. 

We admitted Sassy and tried to advise the young struggling mother about the precarious nature of both her and the dog’s plight.  She was a bit confused and unsure of things so we told her to relax.  Dr. Bob surgically repaired the fracture with an intramedullary pin that evening.

The next day, the young mother called to see how Sassy was doing.  She confessed that she had virtually no money to care for the dog.  The normal fee for such a surgery and treatment had already reached $425!  She was in tears, but facing reality was the best course of action for both the dog and the young family.  Project Noah became the major benefactor of Sassy.

Sassy’s New Year resolution was to not let any four year olds carry her up the stairs.

I finished my rounds and noticed one empty cage with some doggy toys and a cozy blanket in it.   The door was open and the food bowl licked clean.  That was the cage of another one of our year end disaster/success stories.  Little Molly, half Rottweiler half only God knows what, was the former tenant of that cage.

Molly arrived about a week before Christmas.  She was brought in by a couple of young men.  They had bought her “real cheap” from a pet store.  They “got a good deal because she was sick.”  The rest of her liter had died of parvo at the pet store.

Of course they had no money and she was “real sick now”, but if I “could get her better” they’d pay me off when they sold her.  I was appalled at their selfishness and callousness, but frankly I am getting used to this sort of thing by now.  I knew my real job was to try to help the dog.  The “owners” at the other end of the leash were an issue beyond any quick fix. 

Linda and Chris at the front desk took over the negotiations.  Basically Gateway would take possession of the puppy and medically treat it.  If they could pay the bill, and if she survived (parvo is often fatal, particularly if treatment is delayed) they could get the dog back.  If not, Gateway’s Project Noah would find the puppy a home.  

The pup was in pretty bad shape.  We hooked her up to IV fluids and cross covered her for bacterial infections and parasitic infestation.    As fate would have it, Molly rallied.  She pulled herself through with a little help from her friends.  Survival was a Godsend.  So was the fact that she came in to a participating hospital of Project Noah. 

Molly’s cage was empty because she had gone to a new home and a much better life.  The two young men never called to see how she did.  The phone numbers they gave us were disconnected.   We were all glad they didn’t get the opportunity to make some money at the expense of one cute little dog named Molly.  

So one year ends and another begins.  Here at Gateway we are glad we have the opportunity to make the year a little brighter for some of our four legged friends. 

We thank you for your trust.  We look forward to making 2007’s version of Project Noah bigger and brighter.  Stay tuned to the website.  We will make every effort to update the site on a monthly basis.  2007 promises to be a big challenge.  We’ll need some “feel good stories” to help us all get each other through the hard times ahead. 

Brian Forsgren DVM