... Casper Update ...

Casper, the Corgi mix who was hit by a car in Tucson, continues to improve, but he still needs YOUR help!

Below are some links you can use to read info about Casper on this page, or, if you'd rather, just scroll up and down at your leisure and read his entire story.

Casper Update, November 8
Casper Update, November 10
Casper Update, November 12
Casper Update, November 14
Casper Update, November 18
How can I help Casper?

November 8: On November 6, just at dusk, a loose dog in Tucson was accidentially hit by a car going around 50 MPH. A Good Samaritan -- Patricia -- stopped to help, as did the driver who hit the dog. To them, it appeared that the dog had a broken leg, as he was barely able to walk. They called the Pima County Animal Control, thinking that doing so was the proper course of action. Unfortunately, once the dog was taken, he was simply placed into a cage and received no medical attention whatsoever. Patricia called the next day to check on the dog and learned that he wasn't receiving any care. She was also told that his chances weren't good, as the shelter only had to keep him three days to see if his owner would claim him; beyond that, he was not considered adoptable because of his injuries, and he was just sitting in the cage, appearing very depressed.

Patricia contacted us, since she believed the dog was a Corgi mix, to see if we could help him out. We talked with the Pima shelter and confirmed his situation and status, then arranged to get him up here to Phoenix. In fact, Patricia "sprung" him herself and brought him half-way to transfer him to us.

We arranged to have the dog -- whom we decided to name Casper both because of his white coat and the fact that, on that Monday, he should have been a ghost -- seen at the Alma School Animal Hospital, a very nice, very rescue-friendly place that we had been before regarding Freckles, our foster Basset Hound who had aggressive mammary cancer. They took him in, checked him out, x-rayed him, then gave us the bad news. From what they could tell, his legs were fine, but it appeared that he had a fractured vertabrae that was likely causing the lameness in his front legs. It also appeared to them that he had a herniated diaphragm and that his organs were moving into the chest cavity. He also had large amounts of air under his skin and between his organs, which indicated some kind of leak into his body, possibly from his trachea. They felt that Casper's injuries were beyond their ability to treat them and they referred us to VCA/ARECA, the Animal Referral and Emergency Center of Arizona, for further evaluation and treatment.

We were able to get right in at VCA/ARECA and they examned Casper and his x-rays. They confirmed the air under the skin and between the organs, but felt it unlikely that his vertabrae was broken based upon how well he actually was walking and how much the vet was able to move his neck. They ran additional x-rays and found no evidence of the hernia, although they did detect at least five broken ribs. Casper's blood oxygen was also extremely low and he was very dehydrated, so he was given oxygen as well as IV fluids.

The vet at VCA/ARECA told us that, without the medical attention he received, it's very likely that Casper would have died there in the Pima shelter, alone, untreated, and in incalculable pain. Even with all of the pain he was in, he never once snapped at anyone, although he did growl softly a few times the first time I had to pick him up -- but who could blame him for this reaction, given the amount of pain he was experiencing? We have every reason to believe that he is going to have a wonderful, loving personality once he feels better. However, Casper seems to have what we've been told is a "typical" American Eskimo trait -- he doesn't like strangers very much!

Return to Top of Page

November 10 Update: We picked Casper up from VCA/ARECA and brought him home. The best way to keep him quiet for the next month -- a month! -- is to keep him crated and away from the other dogs as much as possible. He needs the time to let the soft-tissue damage in his shoulders heal, which will happen best, they tell us, if he moves around as little as possible. Still, to see him walking today, just two days after we brought him into VCA/ARECA, we can clearly see improvement. Part of that may be the pain medications he's on, but it's clear that Casper is on the mend!

Return to Top of Page

November 12 Update: We attended the Second Annual Surprise Animal Adoption Event today to promote the four Corgwyn we've currently got available for adoption, but we also went to raise money to pay for Casper's medical treatment. Eileen worked very, very hard to complete more beaded jewelry, and she also organized a huge number of gift items to sell. We also got an incredible donation of gift items from Cindy with Golden Retriever Rescue. Sadly, even though there was a pretty good turnout to the event, we didn't have time to fully promote the fact that we were going to be selling items there for Casper's benefit. We made a little, but we've still got a long way to go to cover this bill.

Return to Top of Page

November 14 Update: Today, we took Casper to our regular vet -- Dr. Winston at the Sun City West Animal Hospital -- to have his Fentanyl (transdermal pain medication) patch removed. I'm sorry to say that Casper wasn't exactly a model patient! That ol' Eskie personality coming through, they said. They weren't even able to muzzle him, but I did so with no problem whatsoever. The tech removed the few staples that hadn't already come loose, then she warned me about what she was going to do next -- pull off the patch. "It's like pulling off a Band-Aid," she warned me. Casper didn't yelp, but he was very put out by the whole process.

Casper continues to improve, which we find nothing short of amazing. We're still trying to find his owners in Tucson, but, with every day that goes by without locating them, the likelihood of ever getting in touch with them dwindles.

Return to Top of Page

November 18 Update: Casper is improving by leaps and bounds. Literally! We're having a very hard time keeping him quiet. He wants to jump up, on, or over at every opportunity. The night after his vet experience, I had taken Casper outside for, well, for what the dogs are supposed to do outside, and, while he roamed the yard, I sat down on a bench we have on the back porch. Casper returned, looked at the back door, then turned to me and, with one leap, landed squarely in my lap! Before I could even do anything, he was licking my face. I held him for a moment, then helped him gently back to the ground. Talk about a heart-warming experience!

It is also becoming difficult to keep Casper from the other dogs. I'm not worried about them being around each other as much as I am about the other dogs playing too roughly with Casper and aggrivating his healing injuries. Again, if anyone is interested in fostering Casper for a few weeks, please e-mail us. The issue of giving him pills is going to be moot pretty soon, as they're nearly gone, and he's been taking them with his food. (Casper's pretty picky about taking treats from our hands.)

Still no news regarding Casper's Tucson owners. I really doubt now that we'll ever find them, but the search efforts will continue.

To end this update on a bit of good news, we're thrilled to report that donations towards Casper's medical care are coming in. The generosity of our supporters has absolutely overwhelmed us! Saying "Thank You" a trillion times over can't even begin to express our gratitude! You all are Angels on Earth!

Return to Top of Page

How can you help Casper? What do we still need at this point?

A) Well, at the risk of being crass, monetary donations would be simply amazing. The bill from VCA/ARECA came out at just under $1500, and the bill from Alma School was just under $180. Our rescue is pretty small, and these bills just totally wiped us out. Until we can rebuild some funds, it's likely that we'll have to turn down requests to help other Corgwyn. If you'd like to help us out with a donation, you may either e-mail us to request our mailing address or, if it's easier, you can donate through PayPal just by clicking here.

Many of you -- former adopters, animal lovers, or friends -- have been incredibly supportive to us in the past, and the animals we have been able to help because of your kind donations are many. We really do try to do as much of the rescue work as we can on our own, given what we can afford on our limited income, and we've made every effort in the past to not approach you all for assistance except in extreme situations. But, when an emergency like Casper's occurs and our rescue fund is more than wiped out in one fell swoop, we say a prayer of hope and turn to you all for help.

B) We're still looking for a foster home for Casper. Even though we're doing everything we can to keep him quiet and removed from the other dogs, he would still do better someplace quieter than we currently have to convalesce. If you would like to open your home to Casper, please e-mail us. We'll likely have to let you meet him slowly but surely (if you're familiar with American Eskimo personalities, that would be a huge plus!) to avoid any grumblings.

C) Check out our Corgi Crafts on-line store. Everything we get from the sale of these items, other than shipping and handling charges, goes directly to our rescue efforts. The holidays are coming up, and Eileen's beaded jewelry makes wonderful gifts.

D) Soon, we're hoping to have an on-line auction for many of the dog-oriented items that were left over from the sale at the animal adoption event on November 12. Please check back to see if the auction is going, or, if you'd rather have us notify you when it's ready, just drop us a note and we'll send you an e-mail when we're ready to open the auction.

NB: We've decided to not have the on-line auction after all and will instead be posting the items into our Corgi Crafts on-line store. (The on-line store works pretty well, so, we thought, why add something new when what we already have available to us seems to be working.) These items will start making their way onto the site soon. If you'd like to know when we've added items, just click here to drop us a note and we'll e-mail you when we start adding the items.

Please know that we appreciate you all, and we just thank you for reading about Casper's plight. We'll keep updating the information about Casper's progress as we can.

Return to Top of Page