OSCAR IN ALASKA 23 MARCH 2011

On 26 March, Jan Williams, of ALASKA AIREDALE RESCUE, writes: Here is Oscar, an 11-month-old Airedale boy. Dr. Collins (in the photo with Oscar) called me on 23 March, asking if I would be able to take a very sick Airedale boy who hadn't eaten in three days, had diarrhea and was throwing up. He had been brought in by the owner of the boarding kennel where he was staying. They were concerned because he hadn't eaten since he was dropped off and had become very dehydrated. His owners couldn't pay the vet bills to have his problems diagnosed, so they had taken him home and made the decision that they would have to put him down. Dr. Collins called Animal Control to find out if there was anyone doing Airedale rescue in the valley. YIPPIE, they gave her my name! It was so good to know that AC is working with us. After much discussion, the dog was returned to Dr. Collins and signed over to rescue. We decided that he should stay there over night and have more IV fluids as he was in pretty bad shape. I picked up Oscar the next day and took him into Diamond Animal Hospital, where he was diagnosed and had surgery in the wee hours of the morning to remove from his intestines what was probably a canvas-type toy. He was also cryptorchid, so Dr. Merrigan was able to locate the undropped testicle and neuter him so he wouldn't have to go through another surgery later. His surgery went well and he is on the mend. I found out this morning that he had eaten his first food in days and it has stayed down along with his meds. Oscar will be coming home tomorrow for some rest & recuperation. Well, that that would be my hopes, but it sounds like Oscar thinks he is ready to play now and wants to be entertained or go home. My decision to leave him there an extra day was made because a very generous person has donated a day's medical boarding for him. It's probably good that they see how well food goes through his system before I bring him here, which is an hour drive from the clinic. Oscar doesn't know how lucky he is that he will see his 1st birthday on 30 April. Who knows, maybe he will have a new forever home for his birthday. I will have more photos as soon as I can get them. There have been lots of people stepping up to help to save this young boy. GLENROSE DOG BOARDING & GROOMING, DR. COLLINS & FAR COUNTRY ANIMAL HOSPITAL, NATIONAL AIREDALE RESCUE, DR. MERRIGAN & DIAMOND ANIMAL HOSPITAL, as well as the ANONYMOUS donation for his extra day stay. There have also been offers of help to raise funds to offset some of his bills. PENNY POTTER has brought food, blankets and offers of dogsitting while I work. There will be eBay listings up soon, so watch for the announcements.

CONTINUE WITH ALASKA OSCAR HERE