Previous Animal Update: July 15, 2007
A miracle at Home for Life®
Patches gazes adoringly at HFL animal care specialist Megan Weise.
Patches, an English setter mix, came to Home for Life® seven years ago from the Animal Ark shelter in Hastings, MN. Patches had been at Animal Ark for over two years and had become despondent in the shelter setting, overlooked after such a long time. The director asked HFL if Patches could come to the sanctuary, where our fenced meadows would provide plenty of space for him to run, his greatest joy in life. Patches loves to run, but he needs to be managed carefully because his speed and seeming tunnel-vision leave him at risk for injury if he gets loose on a busy road.
Patches has been happy at Home for Life® and his many sponsors are captivated by his gentle, congenial spirit and the incredible joy he displays when running his heart out. He is a beautiful dog with a silky white coat highlighted with copper "patches."
A few months ago, the staff noticed that Patches had begun limping on one of his front legs. X-rays by our vet revealed a shocking and devastating diagnosis: his elbow joint had actually become fractured from a tumor in the joint. The assessment was that the tumor was the dreaded osteosarcoma, a very aggressive form of cancer in dogs that is nearly uniformly fatal.
The recommended therapy for osteosarcoma is surgery—amputation of the limb where the cancer appears. Even with amputation, the prognosis is poor—a life expectancy of no more than six months.
We were devastated, and sadly brought Patches home to the sanctuary for what we believed were his final weeks. We decided not to do the surgery because the tumor was in a front leg, and even with amputation, Patches would only be expected to live a few short months. He was still eating however, and with pain control, he seemed comfortable and happy to be home.
After three weeks, nothing had changed: Patches was still in good spirits, eating well, and was even exercising and running, holding his bum leg in the air. What!? Could it be the diagnosis was wrong? Back he went to the vet and the leg was amputated. The tumor was confirmed as osteocarcinoma, based on pathology evaluations.
Patches can prance along just fine on three legs, thank you very much!
Patches recovered well from the amputation and, being so athletic and agile, he easily learned to walk on his three legs. It is much harder for dogs to learn to coordinate their movement when the lose a front leg rather than a back leg, because most of their weight is carried on their front end. But even through he is an older dog, Patches not only figured out how to walk, he learned to RUN on his three legs!
Four months after his surgery, Patches is doing great and is in fine spirits, especially during this warm weather. For now, Patches seems to be one of the lucky ones who has beaten cancer. Recent X-rays of his lungs (osteocarcinoma usually metastasizes to the lungs first) indicate that the amputation removed the cancer. Observation back up these indications—Patches' joie de vivre and energy have not diminished.
We cherish every day that we spend with Patches and rejoice in his apparent complete recovery!
Hello, old friends
With this update, we check in on some long-time residents of Home for Life®.
Gisela: The free spirit of the sanctuary, Gisela marches to the beat of her own drummer. As cat lovers know, cats have a very "live and let live" attitude about those in their midst who are different or challenged in some way: the old, the frail and sickly, or cats like Gisela who are disabled and whose behavior is unique. Unlike dogs, who tend to isolate and pick on group members who exhibit weakness or eccentricity, cats show acceptance for members of their group who struggle.
Gisela ponders her next move.
Though Gisela is blind and obviously brain damaged, the other cats tolerate her eccentricities and do not shun her or pick on her. When Gisela walks into a bit of spilled water and goes limping on three legs across the cattery, her front paw held in the air, or when she charges around the cattery at top speed for no apparent reason and then stops suddenly to meow loudly at nothing, the other cats look on, bemused. "There goes Gisela again," they seem to say.
Although alleged to be solitary animals who prefer their own company, we at HFL have observed that, on the contrary, cats enjoy the companionship of their comrades and even look out for the offbeat souls in their group. Here at Home for Life®, Gisela's feline friends give her the freedom to be herself.
Igor: Igor loves to be held and to cuddle like the sweet teddy bear he resembles. Since we first published Igor's story, he has attended some of our outreach events, "The Faces of Home for Life®" at the Mall of America during the holidays. Igor thoroughly enjoyed himself and got as many pats and hugs as he could from our supporters and volunteers.He has also visited some of the nursing homes we go to each month for the Pet Peace Corps.
At the sanctuary, Igor's girlfriend is Polly, a blind and deaf sheltie. Polly enjoys visiting the nursing homes too, where the elderly residents bestow plenty of kind affection on both her and Igor.
Igor and animal care specialist Janelle Downey turn to face the warm sun.
Despite (or because of) his blindness, Igor's other senses are quite acute, and the same can be said of Polly. We believe it is important to reinforce and develop the senses that disabled animals have so that they enjoy a quality life. In the case of Polly, she gets the best quality, tastiest, and aromatic food. She also gets lots of loving touches and hugs, as well as professional grooming so that she always feels clean and pretty. Igor gets the same treatment, but because he can hear, he also enjoys soft classical music in his kennel.
The staff regularly reinforces Igor's training, imparted by voice signals, so that he keeps his mind sharp. He knows how to walk on a leash without pulling, and to sit and stay quiet when he goes on visits outside the sanctuary. Igor's disability has not stopped him from learning, growing, and enjoying life's simple pleasures.
More old friends in right column.