Lisa's Moonlight Rescue

 

(Since Lisa was rescued a number of years ago, the SPCA has improved its PCA Act enforcement, but not enough. Animal Advocates Society continues to get pleas for help for chained dogs with health problems. It is still hard for the SPCA to seize a dog for being chained, but it's not hard for the SPCA to seize a dog for untreated diseases and injuries and a lack of food, water, and shelter. We are still seeing dogs in seizable conditions who the SPCA does nothing apparent for. See the SPCA's announcement of its chained dog campaign here.)

 

Lisa's Story                               Click photos to enlarge

Animal Advocates Society was called by four different people in this dog's neighbourhood, and all of them had called the SPCA, one for many years. She lived (if you can call it living), on this chain for eight to ten years, her whole world just the porch and a plot of dirt at the bottom of the stairs, which was covered in many piles of diarrhoea. When neighbours complained to the BC SPCA in this municipality, that the owner wasn't feeding her enough, the SPCA replied that he must be because – "look at all the piles of poop" even though it was easy to see that she was emaciated. The SPCA did nothing apparent for Lisa though it could have used the PCA Act. So too could have Animal Advocates Society's "Humane Treatment of Dogs" bylaws in this municipality have been used to help her.

AAS was called and we visited her many times. We asked the owner to let us take her to the vet for him, because she was clearly slowly starving. We only ever saw her curled in the fetal position, in the dirt, or on the porch. There wasn't even a blanket to ease her poor, sharp bones.

Finally someone unhooked Lisa's chain and carried her to freedom.

Three kind women fostered Lisa for AAS. She was never alone after a lifetime of being alone, because was always someone home.

She chose to sleep in the hall outside the bedrooms, and because we stopped her diarrhoea with medication, she started to feel better immediately, and instead of lying curled up in the fetal position, she lay stretched out and relaxed. She loved her special food, and wagged her tail when she knew it was coming. She barked if it didn't come fast enough. She knew to go to the door to ask to be let out. She was such a good old dear.

She was the thinnest dog we'd ever rescued. She had no fat, and almost no flesh. We don't know how she survived winters, but we doubt she would have made it through another.

We had blood tests sent to Texas, and found that her intestinal problems were caused by pancreatic enzyme deficiency. She probably had a pancreatic inflammation at one time, that was untreated. The solution was for us to supply the missing enzymes for the rest of her life so that she can digest her food. Her special food, and pancreatic enzymes, cost AAS about $300 a month for the rest of her life. When Lisa had put on a bit of weight we had a mammary tumour removed too.

It's not much comfort when a dog doesn't get as much time and happiness as they are owed, but Lisa had happiness for a whole year, a long time to a dog.

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