Sidney's
sad story
Sidney, the down under-dog was saved at the very last minute! Without us, he would be nothing more but a dead dog that noone would ever miss. This is his story and how we (all of us who helped) stepped in to make a difference - and DID!
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Sidney is a nice pure bred Australian Cattle Dog (like KAYA), unaltered male, about 1 year old. He was found roaming the city streets, lost and injured (hurt paw) and he was picked up by Animal Control on 10/25. From then on, things didn't look up for the little guy. While at the Shelter, he came down with kennel cough (a respiratory infection) and now had a badly oozy nose, eyes and a bad cough :(. The overcrowded shelter figured he would never, in his condition be able to find a home and neither did they want to do what was really necessary to really save him and restore his health, so they put Sid on the DEATH LIST.
Someone heard about it and posted a plea to save his life on the internet and I happened to hear about it, so I decided to step in and do something gosh darn it!
So Sidney was on "death row" at the North Hollywood city shelter. North Hollywood is not a good neighborhood, so everyday, loads of pit bulls and misc strays come in. The shelter is FILLED to the top. And as more dogs come in, more room is needed and some of the less fortunate dogs just have to GO (one way or another) so it is death row for a lot of the underdogs... Like Sidney... They gave him until Tuesday night, extending his previous Monday kill date, because I came by and showed interest in him. I doubt they would have can kept him much longer though, cause he was real sick and not likely to get adopted by anyone :(. So I pretty much knew I was his only chance of escaping the death chamber.
Here are the photos I snapped of him when I went to meet him. He looked soooo SAD and pitiful... Sidney didn't want to move around much. He just laid down and looked pathetic :). But he did let me pet his head and I could tell it made him happy cause he closed his tired little eyes... He has difficulty breathing so kept quiet and pretty motionless.
Sidney needed rest, meds and lots of TLC ! He needed a foster home ASAP, someone who could supervise his recovery. My vet said it would be about 2 to 3 weeks and that he should be fine by then and ready for adoption :). Even though he looked tired, I could see his potential: He could be a nice dog once he bounced back and could make a great, loyal companion.
Here I share the logs I kept of his story and how we all play our part to save his life. And this is as closest to an Angel I have ever felt...
photos of Sid as I found him at the shelter:
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"I no feel good" |
 I could be handsome again |
 please help me... |
How it all came down:
11/06/05 - I went to to the shelter and had them show me Sidney. He seems a calm dog, but all in all looks completely withdrawned. He is sick and is not getting proper care. I think he is hanging in there by a thread, but I saw the vet try to give him a pill on a stick with some dog food around it and he did not want to eat it. I don't think he is eating and I don't think he is taking the meds that they are (maybe) giving him. Pulling him out is going to be a great challenge because he is contagious. I cannot take him home because Kaya, my own cattle dog is still vulnerable, since her shots have not yet been finalized. And I cannot risk bringing in a disease to her. What to do, what to do? A)- A LOT OF PRAYING and B)- a lot of phone calls
11/07/05 - Spent all day on the phone today calling everyone I could think of. I called all the local vets and dog boarding listed but none of them would take him because he is contagious :((((. I have been receiving some donations to help but the sheletrs and vets don't want the money - nor the dog :(. So money is not going to solve this problems. Meawhile it seems we have collected enough to at least cover the first vet visit and some meds for him... Our only hope I guess is to find someone who loves dogs but does not already have one, who could foster Sid for 2 to 3 weeks until I can find him a home. A hard task in deed, cause people who love dogs usually already have one or more. :/ Sid will need a good 2 weeks of quarantine before he will be safe to be around other dogs. I feel encouraged that a few people are trying to help actively by starting their own round of phone calls. So the word is out... I have only 2 more days to line something up for Sid or he will be put down. But by God I will find somewhere for him to go!
11/08/05 - Spent another full day calling around and rattling any and all cage that I could lay a hand on :). I am racing against the clock. Tracy, my doggie day care person cannot take Sid because he is contagious, but she has been talking to her friend Rick, a vet, in the hopes he might help us out and board him for the first two weeks. This will not be cheap, but may be our only hope...
Later: No, Rick cannot take him for the first week, he will be out of town :(. RATS. I am brain storming to think of someone who can take Sid in for that week, then we would be out of the woodwork...
Still later: made a plea to my ex boyfriend Cole, who's dog Berlin just died last month. Maybe he can help. He said he will think about it. And let me know later today.... he is our only hope.
Much later that day: Nops, I got a message from Cole who said he really cannot take the dog because he is living in his RV at the moment and it would not be feasible... AGH.... All is lost?
11/09/05 - Almost out of time! I decided to be pushy (it's for a worthy cause) and went to talk to Cole in person. I made a very good plea in favor of Sid. I know Cole loves dogs, he really does and has a real soft spot for the little critters... I groveled and begged and said it was only for 1 week, then Rick, the vet could board him, please please pretty please... Finally Cole said OK. YESSSSSSSSSSSSS ! It was like hearing the ring at the race track and out of the gates I came flying! All the pieces of the puzzles are now here. Money to cover vet bills and boarding, a fostering home for 1 week and a vet willing to take him for the other 2. The great thing is that I now have 3 people (not one, but THREE) willing to take Sid and give him a loving home as soon as he is safe to be around other dogs (not contagious anymore). So it is looking up fir the little lad. Now all we have to do is go to pick him up at 5PM after work. Cole agreed to meet me there and we have arranged for me to bring him the bare necessities for Sid (a bed, collar and leash, food, a food bowl, etc...). I cannot pick him up myself because KAYA spends so much time in my truck and the truck could carry the bacteria if Sid was to ride in it.
11/10/05 - I was very upset yesterday when I went to bail out poor Sidney. I wanted to check up on him first, hoping to find that he had gotten better since Sunday (date of my last visit). Instead, I found a pitiful cattle dog, crowded with two other dogs in the small kennel cell, all curled up in a corner, barely able to breathe (panting and choking), with yellow puss coming out of his nose and one of his cell mates licking it off (YUK). Sidney looked like he was ready to drop dead. I was SO upset, I felt a big knot in my throat. Can't say I am a total basket case, I can be pretty tough, but the sight of Sidney like that just really got to me. I went and gave the vets a hard time, all 3 vet techs were just lounging around doing nothing GRRR... "Hey, how come my dog looks so much worse than he did on Sunday??? Why is the tick still on his eye lid? Is he eating? Does he have fever? Are you taking care of him?" (etc etc etc - I can be quite a pest when I want to). They kept saying he looked better, I kept saying he looked worse. Anywhoo, one of them went and grabbed Sidney by the scruff of the neck and pulled him out of the cage like he was a an old sack of potatoes. Sidney's tail went so far in between his legs as he was dragged out, he was sooo scared. He started hyperventilating and choking, I thought he was going to drop dead right there and then >8[...Now I was even more mad. I tried to keep my composure to not make enemies and to make sure I got all the help / info I needed. Had them take his temperature (good news: it was normal) etc... I kept thinking that if I had waited a few more days this dog would have been dead.... But just in time, we pulled him out of hell.
It was raining outside when Sidney, with his new collar, leash and name tag, took his first few steps as a free man. He followed us without hesitation (although walking very slowly because of his condition) and politely climbed up in the car. Mr.181 gave him some chicken treats and petted him and promptly drove off to take him to our vet for a check up.
Now the bad news: Our vet thought Sidney was a lot sicker than the shelter had claimed (I concur). Vet examined the dog, gave him much better antibiotics and sent him home for observation for the next 2 days. If condition does not get better we are to bring him back - as we fear he might have pneumonia :/ ... Sidney will need chest X-Rays ($140) if we are to figure out what is wrong with him & how bad it is. Know that the donations received so far are making all the difference in the world. If Sidney needs to be hospitalized though, we are going to be in deep doodoo because we don't have enough to cover that... But I'll worry about it when I cross that bridge. God will provide. I'll let you guys know if we need more help when and if we do. Meanwhile the rest and love he is now getting is sure to help his immune system fight off the infection better. I am hopeful, please pray for Sidney. Maybe he will pull through without the need for hospitalization...
I didn't sleep much last night, I was a ball of stress. Sidney, however, slept like a log (so I was told) and (good news!) ate like a pig. He slept solid all night waking up only once at 3AM (politely woke Cole up to ask him to take him outside so he could pee. The mate is a real gentleman). He is enjoying Mr.181's company and starting to open up and respond... Even licked his hand :). He is coming around slowly but beautifully. Now if only his health would follow !!!!
Please scroll down to read SID'S blog and see what happened next, as Cole picks up where I left at :).
