The Gabriel Foundation: Other Animals Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
This Other Animals grant helped an umbrella cockatoo named Ziggy to get a much-needed surgery to correct his cloacal prolapse. Ziggy's prolapse was a chronic condition that caused pain, discomfort, and a serious risk of infection over time.
To kick off our fundraising drive for Ziggy's surgery, the Petfinder Foundation contributed a $500 Other Animals grant toward his pre-surgery appointments and preparation. From there, our public fundraising efforts snowballed to completely cover the cost of Ziggy's surgery.
This initial vote of confidence from the Petfinder Foundation acted as a signal to prospective donors that this fundraiser was worthy of their generous support, ultimately making a world of difference for Ziggy's quality of life! He underwent his surgery on Dec. 1 and has been recovering well since then.
How many pets did this grant help?
1
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Ziggy, a male umbrella cockatoo, is back at our facility after a post-op extended hospital stay.
Since his prolapse was active prior to surgery for an extended period of time, he lost the vent’s muscle memory, causing his droppings to continually seep out. This means that he didn’t have to push to expel droppings. With his lifesaving surgery, Ziggy’s vent opening was significantly tightened so that any leakage has stopped.
His extended hospital stay allowed our veterinary partners to monitor his recovery and keep the surgical site lubricated and flexible, helping him relearn how to use his cloaca to expel droppings.
We were worried for several days that he could be in danger of the urates building up inside his vent and effectively blocking him from the ability to poop. It has been a several-day process, but finally, he seems to be normalizing his potty routine.
Without this procedure, Ziggy’s future was greatly jeopardized – he was at great risk of infection, suffered from chronic pain related to sensitive prolapsed tissues, and could not be considered for adoption. Ziggy needed us, and we needed the support of the Petfinder Foundation and our community to make his medical journey a reality.
We are still keeping a close eye on Ziggy as he recovers at the aviary – checking that he is pooping regularly, observing his vent area, giving him daily medications, and bringing him back to the vet for weekly check-ups. He continues to heal well and all signs of progress following his surgery are promising so far!
He will not be available for adoption until fully cleared by our veterinary partners, but we are hopefully moving in that direction. Thank you to the Petfinder Foundation for kicking off the fundraising drive that gave Ziggy a chance at this next chapter, post-surgery and prolapse-free!
