Nibbles

 

NEW! Darling Nibbles found her forever home!
Scroll down or click here to read and see the photos!

GRAPHIC PHOTOS BELOW (and happy ending photos too)

April 30, 2014 - We first learn about poor Nibbles

I'm sorry about these upsetting photos, but Animal Advocates has to look at photos and video of suffering animals every day. If we didn't, it would be an immoral abandonment of Animal Advocates' mandate, and an abandonment of animals like Nibbles.

Nibbles was rescued by one of AAS' colleagues in BC. Animal Advocates pays the bills for our colleague's rescues. If we didn't, our colleague would be unable to do as much rescue as we do together.

After seeing the condition that Nibbles was in, the vet we work with wasn't very hopeful -- he thought she was close to death. But he pulled out all the stops to save her. He removed a long section of the perforated gut that was threatening Nibbles' life.

The good news is that with dedicated vet care, Nibbles surprised and delighted everybody by living through two nights. The staff tell us that she's not out of the woods but holding her own. They told us that Nibbles is a little sweetheart who just wants to be held and cuddled.

This isn't the end though. As you can see by the photos, Nibbles has many wounds that will need weeks of medical attention and care.

She had more gashes than I could count.
Two of the gashes were very deep.
Her ear was torn severely.
The intestines had been damaged and fecal matter was leaking into her body cavity. The vet was forced to remove two feet of intestine and she was in recovery. He gave her a 50-50 chance and we spent the next several days worrying.

You can help Nibbles by donating toward what will be her very substantial vet bills.

May 10, 2014 - Update: darling Nibbles made it!

After seeing the condition that Nibbles was in, Cache Creek vet, Dr Quinn Gavaga (always called Doctor Quinn), called our rescue colleague to tell her that Nibbles was starting to really deteriorate and the surgery couldn't wait. He opened her up and found her intestine had been torn and feces was leaking into her body cavity, and two feet of her punctured intestine had to be removed. Doctor Quinn gave her a 50-50 chance. He wasn't very hopeful – he thought she was close to death. But he pulled out all the stops to save her.

Two days later our colleague was happy to say that Nibbles was still alive and slowly improving. Doctor Quinn's even been phoning her late at night to fill her in on Nibbles. The whole staff at this clinic is a joy to work with. Kara-Lee Clark is reception, helps with the animals, and is so helpful to us too. Patty Reid RVT is the vet tech who helps Doctor Quinn to save lives. The Border Collie in one photo is Patty's dear old Rookie. Patty and Rookie are fostering Nibbles for AAS. How lucky for Nibbles and AAS!

Thanks to news bulletins from our colleague we now know how Nibbles was such critical distress that she almost died:

"Nibbles was attacked, in her yard, by a pack of dogs. Her family tried to care for her but were unaware of the severity of her injuries. They clipped her fur and washed her wounds but on the Saturday they noticed Nibbles was deteriorating and brought her to my house.

"Look at Nibbles with another dog (Rookie) ... that is truly inspiring – after being attacked by dogs you would think he would be defensive. Way to get back on the horse so to speak Nibbles!!!"

I was shocked at her condition. Her ear was torn severely, she had more gashes than I could count and two of them were very deep. I was also concerned about a huge bump on her side that I thought was an infection. I brought her to the vet and they immediately put her on an IV. Later, when she was more hydrated, they x-rayed her and found that the bites were so severe that her abdominal wall had been torn and what I thought was a subcutaneous infection was actually her intestines. Dr Quinn felt she was not yet stable enough to undergo surgery and that could die on the table. But the next day she took a turn for the worse and Dr Quinn called to say they needed to operate immediately. He called me at 10:00 pm to say that the intestines had been damaged and fecal matter was leaking into her body cavity. He was forced to remove two feet of intestine and she was in recovery. He gave her a 50-50 chance and we spent the next several days worrying. By Monday, she was more stable but still not eating or displaying much energy. We are all astonished at her will to survive and how much she has overcome so far. She is still not out of danger, but we hoping she'll be up and about soon."

There was a wait of several stressful days when no one was sure if Nibbles would make it. And then came this from Kara-Lee: "Nibbles gave me a kiss this morning when I arrived at work! I poked my head in her kennel and said 'Good morning Sweetheart', and she raised her fuzzy face to mine and licked and kissed me. She is walking and eating and her bowel movements are normal in spite of so much less bowel. That was a big concern. She's out of the woods!"

Thank-you so much everyone who donated to save Nibbles - and thank-you all AAS donors. This is how we use your money.

 

Nibbles hanging out with Lola (border collie, Patty's dog) and Indy

Nibbles and Patty, the kind vet tech who is fostering her

July 2014 Update

From Patty, the vet tech who is fostering Nibbles:

These photos are from today. She's hanging out with Lola (border collie, my dog) and Indy and that's me in the picture with her on my lap.

She is a sweet little thing, loves attention but she especially loves food :) She has surprised us all with her absolute will to live, she has come a long way. I'm blown away with her transformation and have been so blessed to have been able to see it. It's amazing at how willing and easy going she has been with meeting other dogs and animals, you would think she would be a little more cautious now. She's very relaxed, quiet, loving and so good with Olivia.

I'm so happy to have been able to help with and see her blossom during her recovery and I'm so excited for her to find an absolutely wonderful forever home :)

See more pictures of Nibbles, taken by Patty, below:

 

"She seems to have adopted us and is fitting in like she has always been a family member"

"She loves the hikes up into the Sooke Hills and swims at every opportunity"

August 2014 Update

From her forever-family, who just adopted Nibbles:

Nibbles is doing very well! She seems to have adopted us and is fitting in like she has always been a family member. She loves the hikes up into the Sooke Hills and swims at every opportunity. Thanks for everything.

Nibbles is adjusting to her new home wonderfully. She is enjoying the company of the other dogs and her new human family. On their bi-weekly hikes — not to be confused with her daily walks — Nibbles has decided it is her role to be the leader and to check out the temperature of all the puddles, ponds, lakes and streams we encounter. Her best friend is Wiley and they seem to have invented a friendly game of tag. The past two Sundays have been spent at outdoor concerts where she introduces herself to anyone who looks like they may have a free hand of which to pet her.

We have five dogs, including Nibbles, but Siska and Kuma are getting old. Bo is about six and Wylie about two years old. Of course all of them are our rescues... Siska was found by an RCMP officer tied to a tree in a remote place. Kuma was given to me when something seemed wrong with him. It turned out to be his liver was damaged but after intensive medicine and diet changes, he recovered. Bo was sickly as a puppy and she has a urinary disorder where she leaks constantly if she does not have proper medicine and diet. And Wylie is a crazy puppy that we fell in love with.

We don't know Nibbles age, but we're guessing about 18 months.

See more pictures of Nibbles, taken by her forever-family, below:

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