The lives of three young dogs, abandoned in a church parking lot hang in the balance as they suffer from a disease that would normally be a death sentence.
Arrow, Forest and Scout were found stuffed into a pet crate and left in the parking lot of a church in Watsonville on Oct. 12. They were malnourished and had been eating their own waste to stay alive.
The cute trio of pups were taken to Santa Cruz Animal Shelter where Arrow and Scout were almost immediately pre-adopted pending neutering and a full physical.
According to Heading Home Rescue, Arrow tested positive for parvo — a highly contagious infection that can affect the intestinal system and even the heart. Dogs who test positive for parvo are usually quarantined and euthanized to stop the infection from spreading. Unfortunately, the other two puppies also tested positive.
Melissa Finley, executive director of Heading Home, then heard about the diagnosis.
“Shortly after the parvo test result came in, I came in to the clinic with a couple of questions for the vet, and they asked if we might be interested in helping the puppies,” Finley wrote in an email to the Press Banner. “We have taken over 500 cats, and dogs in from the Santa Cruz shelter so far just this year, and being their largest rescue partner, we wanted to help but hadn’t ever taken on a case so dire.”
Finley said she and her board members began to make calls to county veterinarians to find doctors willing to treat the siblings. Arrow went to Santa Cruz Vet Hospital while Scout and Forest were taken in by Pacific Veterinary Specialty.
The dogs are still not out of the woods and there is no guarantee the treatments will work — treatment which has so far cost about $12,000.
Now the non-profit is hoping donors will step in and help defray the costs of caring for the puppies.
“Our medical and operational fund is almost depleted due to these expenses and we’ve only raised about 1/12th of what this has cost us so far, which will heavily impact our ability to continue to take in animals in need if we aren’t able to dig out of this hole,” Finley wrote.
If the dogs pull through, the family that initially wanted to adopt the two girls still wants them.
“The world has really been unkind to these innocent pups, and Heading Home is trying to right those wrongs by covering their extensive medical expenses so that they can finally have their happy ending,” Finley wrote.
People can get information about donating to help Arrow, Forest and Scout at www.headinghomerescue.org.
