Wildlife Conservation United States Project #5578

Give Medical Care to Stray Animals and Wildlife

by DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital

Project Report | Sep 16, 2013
Lola's DoveTale

By Ron Morgan | CEO

Patient: Lola
Owner: Jennifer C.
Reason for coming to DoveLewis: Lola was out for a walk with her dog sitter when a car alarm startled her and she slipped out of her collar. Despite her sitter’s effort to catch her, Lola ran away. The next day, a Good Samaritan found her under a bush and took her to DoveLewis after noticing Lola was injured.
Doctor(s): Dr. Lee Herold, Dr. Sarah
Tauber, Dr. MeiMei Welker
DoveLewis program assistance: Stray Animal & Wildlife Program

Lola’s DoveTale
When Jennifer went out of town on a short trip, she never thought she would return to find her dog missing. “I had left my dog, Lola, with her dog sitter, whom she loves,” said Jennifer. “Unfortunately, the worst happened, and when my return flight landed in Portland at 11:30PM, I received the news that Lola had slipped out of her collar while on a walk after being scared by a car alarm.”

Panicked, Jennifer spent the next four hours driving and walking around Portland searching for Lola. After returning home without her dog at 3:30AM and then getting no sleep, Jennifer began contacting local vets and saw that
DoveLewis had an online lost and found database. She immediately created a posting. “At that point, I was doing everything I could, but I feared that Lola was gone forever,” she recalls. Luckily, DoveLewis staff member Lee Gray saw Jennifer’s post and recognized the dog pictured, because a Good Samaritan had just brought in a similar looking dog that she’d found injured and hiding under a bush in southwest Portland. Thanks to DoveLewis’ Stray Animal & Wildlife Program, the dog had already been receiving treatment for her injuries by the time Jennifer arrived at DoveLewis to see if it was, in fact, Lola. To her tremendous relief, it was.

“I was a complete wreck,” remembers Jennifer. “I waited a whole year to adopt Lola, because I knew I wanted a Cane Corso. They are extremely wonderful, smart dogs, and when I saw Lola for the first time, I immediately fell in love with her. Finally knowing she was okay after thinking I had lost her was overwhelming.”

As Dr. Lee Herold of DoveLewis shares, “Lola was so sweet. Because of her breed as a Cane Corso she is well muscled and some people mistake this for being fierce, but Lola was simply gentle. She sustained some bumps and bruises in her skin, but also more seriously, some bruising in her lungs from an unknown severe trauma; we suspect she was hit by a car. Although she was scared because she had to come to a strange place without her mom, she never tried to bite and just allowed us to treat her. She stayed overnight so we could manage her pain and keep her comfortable, and to ensure that her lung trauma did not worsen. Fortunately she remained stable and was able to be discharged to her mom the following day.”

“The vet was really good about explaining everything,” said Jennifer. “Before Lola, I’d had a dog who died after I took him to the vet for what I thought was a cold, so I was worried in general that something bad would happen even after I was told I could take Lola home.” Although Lola was stiff and couldn’t get up onto the bed, she did well and got back to her normal self after about two weeks at home. “She totally left her puncture wounds alone so they would heal,” said Jennifer. “She didn’t even need a cone! That’s pretty great for any dog, much less a 10-month-old puppy.” Now, Lola is feeling good and is more than ready to make up for lost time.

“I had no idea about DoveLewis’ stray program prior to Lola’s incident, and it was truly overwhelming that the hospital treated Lola before they knew whether or not she had an owner. I never thought in a million years that this would happen, but I’m so thankful for everything,” said Jennifer.

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Jun 12, 2013
Nudge's Stray Story

By Alan Mahan | Development Analyst

Sometimes, the biggest and most powerful stories come from
the smallest of survivors. Survivors like Nudge, a tiny Chihuahua weighing less than 5 pounds and found
all alone; cold, lost and injured. Hit by a car while fending for himself on
the street, Nudge had nowhere to turn and little hope of survival until a
guardian angel brought him to DoveLewis.

Nudge’s story is just one of many dramatic true tales of how DoveLewis Emergency
Animal Hospital is here for the animals in need in our community.

Nudge’s history with DoveLewis started on a dark January night - on the streets far from the warm, loving home where a precious little dog like Nudge should have been. Barely larger than a squirrel, he was not going to
be readily seen.

The worst thing that could have happened did. Nudge wandered on to a busy road and an unsuspecting
driver hit him and didn’t even realize it.

Fortunately, a Good Samaritan witnessed the accident and watched Nudge roll underneath the vehicle and out the back. With little time to waste, the Good Samaritan brought Nudge to the only place they knew could help
him, DoveLewis.

Once he arrived, Nudge was admitted immediately with traumatic head injuries. He needed specialized, around-the-clock attention and was in our care for three, long days. This tiny, sweet little ball of fur quickly won over
the hearts of everyone who met him.

Soon he was eating and drinking and was transferred to the care of our partner, Multnomah County Animal Services (MCAS) where he was transferred to the care of a skilled foster family. With the help of a quick-acting Good
Samaritan and the dedicated teams at MCAS and DoveLewis, Nudge is now fully rehabilitated and on his way to his forever home.

As the only non-profit, 24-hour emergency and ICU animal hospital in town, we treat not only your animals but also injured strays and wildlife that have no other hope.

Nudge’s live-saving treatment was made possible through the support of DoveLewis’ Stray and Wildlife fund - a donor-funded program supported by people just like you. Whether you choose to make a gift to Stray and Wildlife, the Velvet Assistance Fund for low-income families, or any of our other crucial community programs, you can
rest assured that your gift makes a real difference in the life of an animal.

Please help us create more happy endings and save more animals just like Nudge. With your help we can continue to connect the healing hands of DoveLewis with those in need.

Make a gift to DoveLewis today to help animals like Nudge.

Thank you for your support.

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Mar 15, 2013
Cami's Success Story

By Alan Mahan | Development

Your ongoing support of the Stray Animal & Wildlife Fund is very important to DoveLewis. Here is a story of how the Stray Animal & Wildlife Fund saved an adorable little dog. Without this fund, Cami would never have received the care she needed:

Late one afternoon while working at DoveLewis, I heard about a small female dog in our emergency room, who had been brought to DoveLewis by a Multnomah County Animal Services Officer. I went downstairs to briefly meet her. As I arrived, this little girl had just been given a complete evaluation by the DoveLewis
hospital staff. She was tiny, thin and covered with fleas. She had fur on her
head and legs only, but was otherwise mostly devoid of fur, with rough,
thickened, scaly skin that appeared more like a reptile’s skin than a canine’s.
She immediately was given treatment for her severe flea infestation. From a
side view, she looked like she had a full face mask of fur on her head, as she
had no fur on her neck. She had a large tumor on her stomach. And she had very
sweet, soulful, sad brown eyes. Though she was at DoveLewis, where she was very
safe and loved by the staff, she shivered continuously. She stole my heart.
DoveLewis provided overnight supportive care for her, and she was transferred
to Multnomah County Animal Shelter the following day. DoveLewis partners with local county animal
shelters to help stray animals who would otherwise have no hope.

I had previously filled out the necessary paperwork at Multnomah County Animal
Shelter, and had completed an interview to become a ‘medical foster’ for a
small dog. I contacted the person in charge of the foster program at Multnomah
County Animal Shelter about fostering her. She would need to be in a foster
home for recovery following surgery to remove her tumor, dentistry to remove
her bad teeth and for time to heal
her skin condition. My fostering her was approved, and she joined our family of
four older rescued dogs, which consisted of two one–eyed Shih Tzus, a one–eyed
Yorkie, and a small back dog. Tentative at first, ‘Cami’ as we started calling
her, quickly settled in to our family, loving her frequent baths to make her
skin softer, and the food and environment we provided for her in our home; she
was gaining confidence daily!

Dr. Meghan Romney, the staff Veterinarian at MCAS, scheduled surgery to remove Cami’s
tumor, extract eight badly diseased teeth, and spay her. Cami did great in her
post operative recovery period, coming to work with me every day at DoveLewis,
where the staff frequently stopped by to say hello, see how she was doing, and
give her love and treats! Cami was getting used to sleeping quietly in my lap
as I worked, and she did not want me to leave for work in the morning without
her!

Just as Cami was nearing the end of her foster period with us, Gumbo, one of our dear Shih Tzus, was
seen at DoveLewis over the July 4^th weekend because he suddenly
developed some difficulty breathing at night. Following a CT scan that was done
at DoveLewis, he was found to have an advanced intranasal tumor, with a poor
prognosis for recovery. We gave him lots of love, day trips to the beach, new
toys and chicken dinners during his last month with us, but we recently said a
final goodbye to Gumbo at DoveLewis when he let us know it was time. Ken and I were so grateful for the kindness,
compassion and expertise the entire DoveLewis staff showed our dear Gumbo and
both of us during that difficult month. We miss Gumbo terribly, but Cami must
have come into DoveLewis and into our lives when she did for a reason, as we
have now adopted her into our family.

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