Chocovanilla

Chocovanilla “Choco” came in to the Center with his siblings, colder than an ice cube and less than 1 week of age. All the puppies were immediately placed on a heating pad and sent to an experienced foster home. Within 48 hours of being in the foster home, his foster mom started to notice that his eye had began to swell. The corners of his eyes opened and puss seeped out.   For the next week his foster mom cleaned his eye three to four times a day and applied medicated ointment to them. Once his eye opened, we noticed has he had deep ulcers in each eye. We continued to put the ointment in his eye hoping that the ulcers would heal, but when Choco was about to turn 1 month old his right eye ruptured. He spiked a fever of 103.1, stopped eating, and became lethargic and dehydrated.

His foster mom rushed him down to the center at 6pm for treatment where he was given pain medication, subcutaneous fluids, antibiotics, and was fed through a tube.   He was immediately scheduled for surgery the next day, however we were unsure if he would make it through the surgery due to his size and age. The surgery was a success and the puppy was back to his normal active self 24 hours later. The ulcer in his left eye eventually healed, but has bad scaring over the entire eye. Now at 3 months old Choco is a happy healthy little corgi mix puppy that doesn’t let his limited vision slow him down. I am happy to say, that on June 24th Choco left his foster home and went to his forever home with a very nice couple that can care for his special needs.  

Walino

My name is Walino and will be telling you about how the Rancho Cucamonga Animal Center fixed me.   I ended up in the center when I was about 7 weeks old and had a back leg that couldn’t be used. When I came to the center, I was given a soft bed and blankets to lie on and was then presented an assortment of foods to make sure I was comfortable.  The doctor observed that my leg was in really bad shape and was only slowing me down when I tried walking as the only thing I could do was drag it along. The same day, the staff took x-rays of my poor leg and gave me good medications for pain and antibiotics to prevent infection. Once the x-rays were done, the doctor decided the best thing that could be done was to amputate my leg.  It wasn’t a very useful leg and could be the potential source of a bad infection.  No matter how uncomfortable the leg was, I was always sweet and playful with everyone! The staff gave me lots of love & attention that only made me feel happy.  

The surgery day was a day of mixed feelings.  I simply remember being carried over to the surgery room and waking up with my leg gone. At first, I didn’t know what to think about not having my leg anymore! Everyone was very caring and made sure to give me all of my medications and monitor the amputation site. I quickly recovered and didn’t even miss the leg that I once use to drag. I enjoyed playing with my toys and purring when I was held. About two weeks after my surgery, I was taken to the pet expo. I was sad to leave everyone behind, but excited because I knew I would find my forever home. The first day of the pet expo, I was unsure of how to act because I didn’t know if anyone would want me. I decided to be myself & voila! I got adopted! I miss everyone at the center and love them for helping me find my home!