Your Pet's Rescue Story
After months of looking for our new family member, My Husband and I chose Sophie, what was to be an eight-week old Husky/Lab mix, from a local rescue. She was cute as a button and full of energy! After having her for two days, we noticed that she was very lethargic. The Vet diagnosed her with pneumonia and we started our treatment process. Unfortunately, Sophie seemed to get worse and two days later, we received even worse news. Sophie had parvovirus, a life-threatening disease that unless given 24/7 medical care, most puppies don't survive. Our Vet and family-friend explained that she would need to see a specialist if she had any chance of surviving. My Husband was out of town and in meetings the day I learned this news. My Vet and I headed to AVS, a hospital that specializes in internal medical. They explained that Sophie would need to be placed in the ICU, in an isolation unit, and be given IV fluids until she was stable enough to eat on her own. Paired with pneumonia, Sophie was not likely to survive. I had; however, fallen in love with her, and without my Husband there to discuss our options, I quickly signed her up for initial treatment. Two days in the ICU cost roughly $2,000. In my heart, I knew I had to give this girl a shot at life. Two days went by, and Sophie didn't improve. I visited her at AVS every day during my lunch break. We would have to put on head-to-toe scrubs and exit a different door than the rest of the animals and their owners so as not to contaminate the rest of the facility. She was life-less, and days into treatment, we were unsure if we had made the right choice in keeping her alive. On Day 7, we received a call from the Vet. She had enough strength to stand up, but he real hurdle was getting her to eat. If she was able to keep food and water down for 24-hours, she had most likely passed parvovirus. And it was on Day 8 that we received the news that Sophie was on the mend and would be sent home to recover. Thousands of dollars later, months of breathing treatments, acupuncture, raw food diets, laser, amongst being confined to our house, Sophie made a full recovery. She is the BEST dog I've ever had! She is fully aware of all the efforts we went through to keep her alive, and she has only given us that love back ten-fold! Today, Sophie is a happy, smart, and loving three year old girl. Her growth was stunted, but we quickly grew to realize that we did not have a Husky/Lab mix, but a German Shepard, Terrier, Boxer, and American Stafford-shire mutt. The combination is perfect and we couldn't ask for anything more! And she also loves herself some Quantum Leap Winery!