Ava

Profile

Sponsored by:

Dennis and Joanne

 

March 30, 2011

What a sweet dog. And what a hard-luck story.
 
Ava was dumped at the Humane Society in Joplin, MO along with seven puppies. Ava is a Golden Retriever mix and the puppies are mixes, too. They had too many animals and were going to have to euthanize the whole brood but contacted RAGOM just in case there was a chance that they could help. And they did help.
 
When Ava was picked up she wasn't using her left-front leg, she was hopping around on three. She allowed the leg and foot to be touched without showing signs of pain but she wouldn't put that foot on the ground. The seven puppies were chubby and active, seemingly healthy. All were brought up to Minnesota without incident.
 
When Ava got in to see her veterinarian is when the bad news started. After X-rays of the leg it was obvious that she had been shot, the elbow joint and leg bone had been shattered and blown out of place and it had healed poorly. It is unlikely that she will ever use that leg again.
 
It was also found that Ava has stage three heartworm infestation.
 
The heartworm reduces blood flow and weakens Ava making it a bad idea to perform surgery on the leg. A case of lead poisoning would keep Ava from getting heartworm treatment. Quite a few conferences, phone calls and hand wringing ensued. Blood tests finally came back and showed that Ava's blood lead levels were not elevated so heartworm treatment can begin. Due to having a level three infestation the treatment will be done in three phases over a two-month period. After that the surgeon can determine the fate of her leg.
 
Ava has to be the sweetest dog we've ever met -- she is not a complete "velcro" dog but does want human attention. The puppies are just like their mom in that respect, too. Thanks to RAGOM, their many volunteers and donors, Ava and her puppies are going to make wonderful companions for some lucky people. But this amount of treatment won't come cheap. Donations make the difference. Would you like to become a donor? If you can help defray the costs of her care, please consider a donation to RAGOM in Ava's name http://ragom.org/shop/donat/donate.html.