Rescue From The Hart: All-Star Dog Rescue Celebration Grant Report

How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?

This grant was used to assist with veterinary medical for a Shih Tzu mama named Ruby, her puppies, and a surrogate mama and her three puppies.

This money helped Rescue From The Hart provide lifesaving medical care that Ruby needed. It also helped with medical treatment for her three surviving puppies, along with the surrogate mama and her three puppies who adopted Ruby's puppies when she was ill.

How many pets did this grant help?

This grant helped eight dogs (two female adults and six puppies).

Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.

Ruby, a 3-year-old Shih Tzu, was found in a field in Porterville about a week after giving birth. She had been neglected and become so sick that her entire face and head were riddled with infection. Thousands of maggots infested her face, neck and ears. The infection tunneled so deep that the flesh was damaged through to her sinus cavity. Her eyes were in awful shape and so full of infection that she couldn’t see. She suffered from a large gash in her cornea and she was not producing any tears. Her ears were full of infection as well.

At the time of Ruby’s rescue, it was unclear if the damage to her face due to infections would be reversible. It was also unknown if we could save her eyes. Her kidneys were not operating correctly and they full of stones. She required four to five days’ stay in the intensive-care unit to undergo diagnostics while receiving IV antibiotics, pain medications and fluids. After her ICU stay, she was transferred to a general veterinary hospital to continue her treatment for five days. Then she went home to foster with one of our volunteers, who continued all of her ongoing medical treatments.

Ruby required a massive amount of diagnostic testing, including a CT scan of her sinuses, repeated ultrasounds of her stomach, urinalysis and blood work. She had to meet with an eye specialist and undergo aggressive medical treatment to save her eyes.

Ruby was severely emaciated and dehydrated at the time of her rescue. She wasn’t producing any milk and it was a miracle that her puppies were still alive. Due to her medical state, she was unable to nurse. We reached out to Porterville Shelter and found a mama Chihuahua who had recently given birth and rescued her and her puppies. This dog (named Jewel) was a lifesaver who “adopted” Ruby’s three babies as her own and raised them for the next seven weeks.

Thanks to this grant and the support of our village, Ruby is healthy and thriving today. Her skin has healed perfectly and her eyes are in good shape. She no longer has kidney stones and recently she was deemed healthy enough to undergo spay surgery and a dental. She may still require eye surgery on one eye down the road, but her ophthalmologist would like to give her some time before making that decision. Above are photos highlighting Ruby’s journey to health.

All three of Ruby’s pups have received their necessary puppy vaccines and will be spayed/neutered when age appropriate. Mama Jewel was recently spayed and fully vaccinated. Her three pups have also received their necessary puppy vaccines and will be spayed/neutered when age appropriate.

Ruby is still looking for a forever home to call her own. She’s a shy girl at first, but once she bonds, she will dance for you. More than anything, we want to see a happily ever after for this special girl. Here is a link to her Petfinder profile: https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/35245671