This is a story about Charles and his beloved, little terrier mix named Mr. Whiskers.
Chain of Hope received a call a couple of weeks ago from Charles saying that his little dog had been attacked by a large dog and was injured badly. He said he had no money and no transportation. Judy and another volunteer jumped in the van and raced over. They picked up Mr. Whiskers and took him to Independence Animal Hospital. He was horribly injured and struggling to breathe. I was on outreach in another van and Judy called me. She said that she was at the vet with him and I needed to make a decision about Mr. Whiskers because he was suffering. Either they would take him to surgery and try and save him or we needed to euthanize him. I told her to have them go ahead and do whatever they could for him.
They immediately took Mr. Whiskers to surgery. The vet told me that when he opened up Mr. Whiskers, his thoracic cavity was torn and basically his heart and his lungs were right there! It was extensive. It was a very close call, but Mr. Whiskers made it through surgery. He wasn’t out of the woods yet, though. We called Charles to update him-he was worried sick about his little guy.
Charles lived in a small house under the Independence Ave. bridge. He wasn’t in the best of health himself, but his two dogs are everything to him. They are his world and the dogs are crazy about Charles, too. We were glad to be able to help this wonderful man who truly treasured his little friend. He needed Mr. Whiskers and Mr. Whiskers needed him.
Mr. Whiskers would not be out of the woods and able to go home until about 5 days after his surgery. Charles and his other dog, Cesar, missed Mr. Whiskers terribly, but they were so glad he was alive. Mr. Whiskers recovered at Independence Animal Hospital and was finally able to go home. Dr. Wingert had performed a life-saving surgery on this little guy and we thank him.
I picked up Mr. Whiskers to take him back to Charles. He looked good! He had a lot of staples that ran from his side and underneath him and a drain tube-it was a huge repair but it looked like things were going to be ok.
Charles had the biggest smile on his face when I placed Mr. Whiskers in his arms! I’m sure he had thought that he might never see his little buddy again. Thank God he called us!
Teri picked up Mr. Whiskers about 10 days later to take him in to have his tube taken out. He was a celebrity and all of the employees had to come in and see him! The doctor said everything looked great and was able to go ahead and remove the drain tube and the staples. Mr. Whiskers was all better! When Teri asked the vet if there was anything that she needed to tell the owner, Dr. Wingert replied, “Tell him that his dog is lucky to be alive.” Teri took Mr. Whiskers back home to Charles, his best friend in the whole world.
We sincerely thank you for your donations so that we can respond quickly and help save dogs like Mr. Whiskers. Thank you for giving Charles his best friend back!
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