20th Anniversary, Part 2

Right from the beginning, our personal veterinarian and then-president of CCHS, Dr. LeRoy Neitzel, was instrumental in getting us started on the right foot. It would be impossible to overstate how important Dr. Neitzel was to the successes we’ve had and to the entire foster program at CCHS. LeRoy shared his expertise to help us set up vaccination schedules and worming programs. He treated sick foster animals. He kept us grounded and realistic. He consulted on the design of our puppy room and taught us how to deliver puppies and tube feed seriously ill animals. He took our middle of the night phone calls for help. LeRoy has retired and moved out of the area, but Harriett still calls him when we run into problem situations. He’s as generous with his knowledge and time as ever.

Early in our foster career we often faced losing foster animals to diseases that are treatable today. I remember as though it was yesterday coming home to find that Edy, the sole survivor of parvo from the five pups in our fourth litter, had died of heart failure while we were away at work. She was the first foster animal to die at our house. It was a devastating experience. Dr. Neitzel cautioned us that if we were to continue fostering shelter animals we were going to see a wide variety of diseases and problems including “some that you’ll wish you never had to see.” He was right.

Here’s a list of some of the things we’ve dealt with in the last 20 years: abscesses, allergies, anemia, biting, bottle feeding, campylobacter, coccidiosis, conjunctivitis, corona, cruelty, dehydration, demodectic mange, Dermatomyositis, distemper, ear infections, eye injuries, fading kittens, femur fracture, flea dermatitis, food guarding, fungal infections, Giardia, heart murmurs, heartworm, hook worms, hyper-extended carpals, infected wounds, inguinal hernias, jittery, kidney stones, knee surgery, lacerated tongue, lice, mastitis, mites, nervous at the shelter, ocular ulcers orphans, parvovirus, patella luxation, periodontal disease, pneumonia, pregnant, quarantine, resource guarding, ringworm, round worms, seizures, skin infections, splayed feet, strangles, teeth infected, too small, too thin, too young, toxic commercial milk replacer, toxic mother's milk, tube feeding, upper respiratory infections, urinary catheter, urinary tract infections, urine burns, vaginitis, whip worms, yeast infections, zoonotic diseases.

Interesting Fosters

Leona was our second foster animal and one of the smartest and most interesting. She arrived on July 30, 1991. Leona was a pig picked up by the Urbana Police Department after a massive brawl broke out at an apartment building on North Broadway across from Crystal Lake Park in Urbana when some residents of the building took exception to the way she was being treated. She was intended to be the main course at a resident’s Fourth of July barbeque, but instead she was confiscated and he was cited for animal cruelty for keeping her in his car in over 100 degree heat. Leona was friendly, smart, clever and fastidious. She wound up at the Centennial Park Petting Zoo after surgery to correct a hernia. Leona started us on our way to being vegetarians--we haven’t eaten pork since taking care of her.

Petula, a friendly pygmy goat, arrived on February 14, 1996. She was picked up as a stray by Animal Control, running loose on north Lincoln Avenue in Urbana. We kept Petula in our indoor emergency horse stall, but she was an expert climber and often ventured out of the stall when we were not in the building. Petula was adopted by a family with other pet goats.

Annie arrived on May 8, 1995. A big Yellow Lab mix, she was the first dog to go into labor at our house. Dr. Neitzel had gone over the birthing procedure with me in great detail. He saw to it that we had the proper equipment and knew exactly what to do and what to watch for. I don’t remember much about Annie, but I remember her two puppies, Hamilton and Jackson! She had apparently mated with a Mastiff and they were much too big to be born naturally. I wound up taking Annie for an emergency caesarian to deliver the pups. They were the biggest puppies we have ever had, weighing about two pounds each at birth and 15 pounds at eight weeks of age. Annie and both of her puppies were adopted.

The Redbone Coonhound Pups were the most complex, labor-intensive foster project we have ever done. They arrived on September 30, 2009 and were afflicted with generalized demodectic mange, skin infections, compromised immune systems, and orthopedic problems. Consultants on this case included four veterinarians, two orthopedic surgeons, and two orthopedic vet techs. One of the five puppies died, the other four were adopted.

The Chihuahua Puppies, who arrived at six days of age on June 4, 2010, were the smallest puppies we have ever dealt with. They weighed about 4 ounces each when they arrived at the shelter after their mother died when they were three days old. CCHS Surgery Assistant Jessica Buchholz was instrumental in their survival. Jessica had experience tube feeding baby squirrels and other tiny animals. She was able to coach us on how to care for these little puppies. Jessica literally saved their lives when they started crashing due to reactions to the commercial milk replacer we were using to feed them. All five puppies were adopted.

On Thursday I’ll post about the three dogs we adopted into our Base Pack.