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Dog Mummified by Mats – Rescued!
Update 6/9/11:
Van Winkle reached a major milestone in his recovery today – he had ear canal ablation surgery on both ears. Dr. Tim Sellmeyer peformed this lengthy surgery on Van Winkle to remove the vertical and horizontal ear canal, the ear drum and part of the middle ear. His ears had become so severely infected from the horrible neglect he endured that his ears needed to be removed. Dr. Sellmeyer said that both ears were in horrible condition but that his left ear was the worst he’d ever seen. It is likely that this was the cause of his head tilt to the left. We thank Dr. Sellmeyer for performing the surgery at a discount and for Friends of Oakland Animal Services’ for covering this cost.
Van Winkle is looking like a whole new dog! His hair is almost completely grown back and is soft and healthy looking. It started to grow back after he started being treated for his thyroid condition. He’s able to run with no problem because his feet have healed and are no longer swollen and red. And, he’s gained a lot of weight and is even getting a little pudgy!
Video: Van Winkle looking for food before his surgery. He couldn’t understand why he wasn’t getting fed before his surgery!
Video: Van Winkle snoring after his over 3.5 hour surgery today – the dog in the last few frames is another OAS dog “Rudy” who had the same surgery today – also performed by Dr. Sellmeyer.
Update 5/2/11:
Here are some new photos of Van Winkle with his foster family! He’s being fostered by Oakland Police Officer Jose and his wife and daughter and their labrador.
New AFTER Photos of Van Winkle – He’s learning to play and wag his tail! He loves exploring and he’s getting much steadier on his feet!
VanWinkle, a four to five year old cocker spaniel, was dropped off at OAS on Thursday by a citizen who stated he had found the dog on the side of the road. VanWinkle was unable to stand, his nails were curled around the huge clumps of fur and his ears were weighted down with huge dreds. He was literally mummified by mats! Megan Webb, Director of Oakland Animal Services, said, “It was a horrifying sight. He was basically encased in a shell of fur, unable to move or function normally. VanWinkle was one of the worst cases of neglect I’ve seen in 10 years of working in animal rescue.”
Click here for VIDEO.
Animal Control Officer Tanya Strong immediately drove Vanwinkle to PETS Emergency Clinic in Berkeley. They shaved him down to his skin. It took hours and was extremely difficult work. We want to thank all of the staff at PETS for their hard work to help Vanwinkle and Friends of Oakland Animal Services for covering the cost of his care.
VanWinkle is back at Oakland Animal Services. However, his ordeal is not over. He has very little muscle mass because he has gone so long without walking. His paws and legs have turned purple from lack of circulation. And, his ears are terribly infected.
VanWinkle after his incredible care at PETS Emergency in Berkeley.
VanWinkle is going to need physical therapy and ongoing care to recover. Please consider donating to his care here. If anyone knows who neglected VanWinkle, please call OAS at 510-535-5602 with any information.
See new VIDEO of Van Winkle.
Dogs with medium and long fur must be groomed regularly – not just to make them look and smell good but to keep them healthy. Falure to brush and clip these dogs can lead to their fur clumping and matting which can irritate their skin underneath. In serious cases, the dog’s entire fur can turn into a giant mat, retricting the dog’s movement, vision, hearing and even urination/defecation. Oakland Animal Services rescues dogs from all types of neglect, including grooming neglect.
Only one week before Vanwinkle’s rescue, we had another dog who was traumatized by not being groomed properly. This schnauzer was also brought to us as a “stray dog”.
Who could have guessed that a little schnauzer was hiding inside this huge mass of fur?
It was her lucky day when someone found this little girl on the street and brought her to us. Our animal care assistant and groomer set to work.
We named her Sinead. She’s young, about a year old, and she was very patient throughout the entire process!
Look at this pelt!
Grooming is so important. It is not just for good looks — ungroomed dogs can develop health problems such as yeast and fungal infections and are more likely to harbor fleas, ticks, and disease.
After her shave, Sinead got a bath (maybe her first?) She seemed to really enjoy it.
She is so much happier. All she needs now is a loving forever home — with regular grooming!
Introducing Cat Town
One of my biggest challenges as Director is to see animals who struggle in a shelter setting – either by becoming extremely fearful and shut down or aggressive, and not having options for them outside of the shelter where they could show their true personalities. There is a limit to what we can do for these animals within the Shelter. It can be especially difficult for surrendered cats. Many people assume that dogs have stronger bonds with their owners and would tend to be more devastated by being separated from their human companion and home. However, in my experience, cats, generally, become more shut down after being surrendered. There is a specific look of a cat that has been surrendered. They sit in the corner of their cage, crouched with a wide eyed, large pupil startled stare. These cats have a such a strong bond to their person(s) and home that they have no idea what to do when they are separated from everything they know. They often stop eatting, using the litter box and don’t respond to touch. I’ve found that dogs tend to cope more by reaching out to the next person they meet, trying desperately to have a new connection; whereas, it takes many surrendered cats a long time to process this change and allow themselves to create a new bond. There is only so much we can do in a Shelter setting for these cats. We can work on socializing them, but it can take a long time and during this time, people tend to pass them over since they aren’t the ones rubbing up at the front of the cage. Instead, these are the kitties who are hiding under a blanket or hissing when anyone comes to look at them. Adopters look pass them and rescue organizations generally don’t take them into their programs.
This is where the new non-profit organization and 501c3- Cat Town comes in to help. Cat Town was founded by a core group of cat volunteers from Oakland Animal Services to find homes for scared/frightened and/or elderly kitties from Oakland Animal Services who have no other options for placement. Cat Town’s mission is to focus on these often overlooked kitties and get them into foster homes where they can get the attention and time they need to adjust to their new life circumstance and get adopted. I’m so excited about Cat Town and the opportunity this organization will provide for so many cats who didn’t have options before.
Help Care for Orphaned Kittens
Kitten season has started! This is the time of year that Oakland Animal Services will be inundated with moms with kittens and orphaned kittens. These kittens are the result of unfixed cats in the community who create kittens that have no homes. Our goal is to expand our ability to help spay/neuter cats in the community so that we have fewer orphaned kittens each year. We also work to care for these babies and then get them adopted and we need help from the community.
Fostering kittens is fun and relatively easy. Most of the kittens only need several weeks of care until they are old enough to be adopted. You can have the joy of kitten fun in your home while knowing you are helping these little ones grow big and strong so they can find permanent homes. We collaborate directly with Hopalong Animal Rescue to foster the kittens that come to our Shelter. They take hundreds of our kittens every year! If you are interested in learning more about fostering, please go to this FORM.
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Puppy Rescued from Fire!
Update 3/25/11:
A month after firefighters rescued little Phoenix from a fire which left him unconscious and badly burned, he is now recovering well in his foster home. Phoenix’s foster mom is a registered veterinary technician which served her well since she needed to change his bandages regularly and monitor him carefully for lung complications. Here is a new photo of Phoenix:
Original Story 2/25/11:
The Oakland Fire Department responded to a house fire this morning in North Oakland at 10am. They responded with four engines, one truck and a Chief Battalion – a total of 21 fire fighters were on scene. They were told that a puppy was trapped inside the home. After a search of the interior, fire fighters discovered the 5 month old puppy unconscious in the basement. Batalion Chief Lipp stated that he saw the firefighters carry the puppy out of the home and that he “didn’t think the pupy was alive.” They set the puppy down on the lawn and began giving him oxygen. After a few minutes, the puppy, now named Phoenix, began to wag his tail! Phoenix has burns on his face and body and is suffering from smoke inhalation. However, the Friends of Oakland Animal Services is going to cover the cost of his care at VCA Veterinary Clinic and PETS Emergency. If you’d like to help Phoenix, please click here.
Phoenix from the Fire
How Much Cuteness Can You Handle?
A Cat with a Story to Tell
This is Vinnie. He was found by the side of the road and brought to the Shelter almost two months ago. When he arrived, we pulled him out of the box and immediately assumed he must have been a very old cat who had been on the streets for years and years. He was little more than a skeleton and he couldn’t stand up on his back legs. He had old scars up and down both back legs and he was dirty and exhausted. This old looking cat turned out to be only about a year old! Who knows what happened to him…our best guess is that he was attacked by a dog or hit by a car and somehow he survived. He must have been able to drag himself around to get just enough water and food to live but not enough to thrive. Despite losing weight, his lacerations healed and his badly injured back and leg started to recover. He was then found and brought to us.
We had x-rays taken. His back leg and pelvis were broken and partially separated from his spine. Our veterinarian didn’t recommend surgery -he just needed to continue to recover on his own. We fed him lots of food and he began to gain weight and perk up. His eyes brightened and he regained his meow. He’s now enjoying talking a lot and exploring his surroundings. He drags his leg but gets around just fine. He’s a true survivor. Vinnie is now available for adoption – ask to meet him (he’s in the Director’s office getting some much needed pampering). He does insist that his new home have a big fluffy bed for him. He likes uninterrupted naps – if he is wakened while he’s sleeping then he’ll tell you all about it. Vinnie will also need a household where he doesn’t have to do any jumping.
Diamond – A Truly Incredible Dog
Original Story 10/28/10:
Diamond won us over from the first moment she arrived at the shelter. She limped in and gave us her undivided attention with her warm brown eyes. Diamond has a club foot that makes it very difficult for her to walk.She quickly won a spot in the Director’s office and became an official dog tester – despite her disability, she tried to play with all of them. When a screaming, 4 week old Chihuahua/terrier puppy came in we decided to see if Diamond was up for the challenge of caring for this puppy and was she ever! She cuddled the pup and allowed it to take her toys, jump on her and never lost patience even when she eventually decided to set a few limits. When “her” puppy went out to foster, Diamond went into a deep depression and stopped eating and would barely lift her head when someone would walk by. At first we thought she was sick and she was, sick at heart, so we gave her a new Chihuahua puppy and watched her light up.
Diamond’s disability never stopped her and she even runs and jumps but she also tires quickly. We decided to ask the specialists at VSA to take a look at her xrays to determine if there was a surgery that would let our very special girl lead a better quality of life. They examined her and proposed a reconstructive surgery that will realign the bones in her left front leg into a normal position. They were won over by her as well and gave us a great rate for this complex surgery. The nonprofit that helps OAS – Friends of Oakland Animal Services – agreed to finance her surgery and so Diamond will go next week for her operation. After her surgery, a partner organization “Our Pack” will take her into a foster home for her 8 weeks of recovery.
We will be updating regularly here. If you would like to contribute to Diamond’s medical care (and for other animals that we help), please donate to the Friends of Oakland Animal Services.
Diamond and Her Foster Puppy
UPDATE: 11/4/10
Diamond (now Mabel) has had surgery and is now recovering in foster care with Our Pack. Read more here: http://www.facebook.com/ourpack#!/photo.php?fbid=493525912362&set=a.440331937362.231945.151810632362&comments