"You never forget the face of the person who is your last hope."
Twigs, trash and dirt--thats what the vet found in Sandyoak's belly. A big compacted mass of sludge that had become lodged in her colon. A very pregnant mama-dog carrying a litter of 9 was so malnourished and hungry, she had tried to eat anything she could find. There was no way to tell when her last meal was, but from the looks of her protruding ribs and spine, it was obvious this little girl had not eaten anything substantial in a while.
She had been a stray hanging around a country church, but would not allow anyone to get close to her. Even looking her way would send her retreating into the depths of surrounding tree cover. Attempts to catch her remained futile. Bits of food were left out for her, but no one ever saw her come out of hiding to retrieve them.
Several days went by, and no one saw Mama-dog. She was not hanging around the church any longer. Even though bits of food were still left for her, nothing was touched. Hearts weighed heavy that perhaps she had met an untimely fate.
One afternoon, passersby heard whimpering coming from a distant tree. Upon approach, Mama dog darted from a hole in the base of the old oak tree, and inside were 9 brand new puppies. No one even knew that she was pregnant.
Harsh winter weather was in the forecast, and a hollow tree was no place for these little babies to be. The Humane Association stepped in to help. Once all the puppies were gathered and placed into a travel crate, Mama-dog shyly followed the whimpers. Giving one long insecure look at her rescuers, she was ready for help and she reluctantly followed...
"You never forget the face of the person who is your last hope."
She became known as "Sandyoak" and this little mama obviously had lived a hard life of neglect. She was nothing but a skeleton covered in splotchy light brown fur. While nursing mamas will lose weight with their litter, this little girl had not been eating for a while.
After a fairly restless night with her pups in a warm bed with a heatlamp, her rescuer noticed Sandyoak straining to use the bathroom. Upon examination by the Vet the next day, we determined she was suffering from megacolon--an enlarged lower intestine due to compacted feces. While this is more common in cats than dogs, the problem can be genetic, poor nutrition, tumor or trauma to the lower abdomen. We are unsure how she acquired it. To add more to her complications, Little Sandyoak was also found to be heartworm positive.
The first course of treatment was to extract the blockage which contained bits of trash and twigs and flush out her intestines. If left alone, little mamadog would not have survived with the blockage, and her puppies would have starved. We are hopeful that her issue was due to malnutrition and she will regain full smooth muscle function with her colon. If the issue is genetic, little Sandyoak will need to be on a special high fiber diet.
Her temporary fosters are dedicated to helping her build her strength and getting her puppies healthy. Her personality is starting to show as she is starting to let her guard down and trust her rescuers. Her eyes no longer hold the fearful look of desperation, but rather the look of trust, hope and wonder.
Once they are weaned and fully vetted, her beautiful puppies will be
ready for their forever homes. Little Sandyoak will need a bit longer
to recuperate. She will be brought up to a healthy weight with her
new high fiber diet, and once her pups are weaned, she will then be
treated for heartworm. After her recovery time, we will work hard to
find the furever loving home she so deserves.
Please share our little girl's story so we can get her vetting expenses covered and open doors to a possible loving family to adopt her. If you are interested in adopting or fostering, please contact the Giles County Humane Association at 931-363-5455. if you would like to mail a donation, please make your check payable to GCHA, PO Box 237, Pulaski, TN 38478. Please put Sandy Fundrazr in the memo.
