Help us help them

The German Shepherd used his nose to nudge the hand of the LTAR volunteer who had kept slept in his kennel for the last five days, who had kept vigil over him that entire time, and who had woken herself up every two hours to try to get nourishment and fluids into him.  A week earlier, a veterinarian had told the volunteer that the emaciated dog had ‘a very slim chance of surviving’. The volunteer, however, was determined to give the dog every chance possible to live. She named him Kennedy.

The lethargic full-grown German Shepherd with sagging skin and protruding ribs, who weighed in at barely 31 pounds, had been surrendered to LTAR a week before from the local pound on a frigid January day, and was rushed immediately by volunteers to an LTAR veterinary partner in Watertown.  He whimpered in pain as he was examined. The vet thought that perhaps he had been hit by a car, but there were no broken bones or bleeding, just some bruising. The vet staff administered IV fluids, antibiotics, and pain meds before he was released into the volunteer’s care. The fluids and meds seemed to initially help. Until the following day.

Overnight, his eyes had filmed over, and the volunteer thought he’d gone blind. He refused to eat or drink. The volunteer began gently squirting small amounts of moistened food into his mouth with a syringe, pleading silently for him to respond, to swallow just a tiny bit of the food, to lick his lips. And just when she thought things couldn’t get any worse for him….they did.

The dog seemed to have given up. He wouldn’t stand up or even raise his head.  The volunteer managed to lift him into her car and drove him back to the vet, where it was discovered that he was extremely anemic. After more IV fluids and antibiotics, she brought Kennedy back home and again offered him food, offered him water. He still showed absolutely no interest in either. With tears in her eyes, she crawled into his kennel with him to try to give him comfort. She told him he had a name. For five days and nights she rarely left his side. Every two hours she roused herself and kept trying to get nourishment into him with a syringe. She stroked his fur and whispered to him. No matter what happens, she thought, this dog is going to know he is loved. She dozed off and on, day after night after day, her hand kept lightly on his chest so she could make sure he was breathing each time she woke. Kennedy continued to sleep the deepest sleep of the severely ill, his spirit barely lingering in this world.

The sixth morning dawned. And somewhere inside that kennel, wrapped in a cocoon of safety, caring and rest, from deep inside Kennedy’s being, a flutter of hope and life arose. Kennedy sat up. He tentatively nosed at the volunteer’s hand. He watched her wake up. He saw her relieved smile when she looked into his eyes, now free of the cloudy film that had been covering them.

From that moment on, she recalls, “he just thrived more and more, he became the most loving, happy, goofy dog. He learned how to dance with me when chores were being done, he would greet the newcomers with tail wags. He went to rescue on May 7th and was soon adopted on May 21st. He was a very special dog. One of his favorite things to do was collect all the toys and put them all in his bed.”

One volunteer did indeed make a world of difference to Kennedy. Each of LTAR’s dedicated crew of volunteers make these kinds of differences every day to animals who wouldn’t have a chance of regaining their health, or any possibility of being placed in safe and comfortable forever homes, without LTAR’s assistance. As a 501.3c non-profit organization, LTAR’s help for these animals is only possible because of compassionate supporters like you. We rely on your donations to continue our mission of improving the lives of the animals on the Lake Traverse Reservation.. Your donations do, indeed, make a world of difference to Reservation animals in need and are so very much appreciated. Thank you.