Another day, another emergency. Brianna, the Union County ACO, got a call about a dead dog on the side of the road. When she got there he wasn’t dead, but he was so weak he couldn’t even lift his head. She took him straight to Mcclenny vet, where he got fluids and started getting small meals.
Florida Urgent Rescue, Inc. - FUR scrambled to come up with a plan. It’s hard to know what foster home would be appropriate for a starving dog we haven’t even met. Valerie Losego worked on possible fosters, Susan Merrill and Nancye Frank from FOUCA coordinated with Macclenny Vet and Union County shelter.
We posted for transport, and Alicia Jones and her kids Devin and Lea, volunteered to help. They are FUR adopters who adopted Annie, also from Union County, and later Tiko (Baymax). They drove to Macclenny to pick him up and bring him to Palm Valley Veterinary Center.
Dr. Mack immediately ran bloodwork again, and he was still critical. His red blood cell (RBC) count, hematocrit (HCT) and hemoglobin (HGB) were all dangerously low. He needed a transfusion, but after using all the packed red blood cells he had to save our puppies, Dr. Mack reordered, but it's on backorder. We called around, and once again St. Augustine Regional Veterinary Emergency Center (SARVEC) had some. Better yet, it was just expired, so they gave it to us for free. (That's still safe as long as the dog isn't septic, which he's not).
Heather Hymer, Maverick's Foster Mom, offered to pick it up for us. She was just heading out with Maverick for a nail trim, and Green Dog Spa was happy to reschedule him to help us. Heather diverted and went to SARVEC, picked up the blood, and immediately took it to Palm Valley.
Dr. Mack and Alyssa both stayed long after closing, once again. They had the catheter in and the infusion pump ready, so as soon as Heather arrived with the blood, they started the transfusion. Everything went well, and they completed the transfusion without complications.
He's already received vitamin injections and other medications, and they're feeding him small meals. We know he's in good hands with Dr. Mack and the team at Palm Valley. Heather Huffman is on deck to foster him when he's healthy enough to leave the vet, but he'll stay hospitalized for now.
We named him Leonidas because we know he's a fighter. He weighs just 32 lbs, when he should be almost double that. Not surprisingly, he's heartworm positive. He's in very rough shape, but we'll do anything we can to help him. We are truly grateful to everyone who jumped in to help him. Please say a prayer for this sweet boy.
To Foster: www.floridaurgentrescue.org/foster
To Adopt: www.floridaurgentrescue.org/adopt
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— Credit Card: www.floridaurgentrescue.org/donate
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— Mail: Florida Urgent Rescue
7643 Gate Parkway #104-27
Jacksonville, FL 32256