NMDOG: Emergency Medical Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
See below.
How many pets did this grant help?
This grant was for a single pet, Prince.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Prince is an 8-year-old husky who was confined to a small enclosure somewhere outside of Taos, NM, where his original owners apparently cut off his tail and severed his Achilles tendon to make him appear “more rabbit-like” for the pleasure of their little daughter.
By the time his current guardians brought him into our care, not only was Prince painfully immobile, but the fly bites on his ears were so extensive, they had to be medically debrided, and his toenails had grown into his claws, causing painful infections.
NMDOG sought donations from our village of supporters and from the Petfinder Foundation through this Emergency Medical Grant to undertake the expensive ($6,000+) orthopedic surgery to re-attach and fuse his bone and Achilles tendon.
That surgery, performed at Veterinary Emergency & Specialties Center of New Mexico, was successful, and Prince is now undergoing a long and arduous rehabilitation at NMDOG headquarters, which includes laser, shockwave, and physical therapies over a three-month-long post-op period.
With the generous support of the Petfinder Foundation, along with help from many other concerned donors, sweet and patient Prince will soon be ready to claim a new and better life.
Prince will not be ready for adoption for at least several more months, as his long period of orthopedic rehab is not yet over, and other training and socialization work will follow when Prince is finally mobile and has medical release.
Still, we can’t even begin to describe the insanely drastic change we’ve witnessed in Prince since he came into our care: He’s now one of the silliest, goofiest, and most dramatic huskies we’ve met in a long time and he makes us laugh every day! This boy is ready to get on with the life he deserves — running, jumping, and playing, pain-free!
