In January 2022, Baby, a 4 year old Daniff was surrendered to RMGDRI after being hit by a car and her owners were unable to afford her medical care. Initially her biggest concerns were her broken leg and her extremely low red blood cell count - usually indicative of internally bleeding. After performing xrays, it was found that Baby had a clean break on her back leg, but was also suffering from a pneumothorax - when air leaks into the space between the lungs and chest wall. While technicians stabilized her leg (which would require surgical intervention to fix), the veterinarian removed as much air from her chest as possible. And then we waited. . . . Before moving forward with surgery, we needed to be sure that Baby's chest didn't refill with air and that her red blood cell count didn't continue to plummet. As agonizing as that wait was, Baby wanted to recover - and she was cleared for surgery! With the help from our supporters, RMGDRI was able to swoop in and provide Baby the medical care she desperately needed during this critical moment in her life.
Recently, we were contacted by a family whose 9 month old puppy was loosing weight no matter how much she ate and they were unable to get her the vet care she needed. Athena was found to have to have Giardia. Giardia is a microscopic intestinal parasite that commonly infects dogs and cats and is usually not the same type that infects humans.
Athena came into rescue weighting 61 lbs. and is now a healthy 98 lbs. after a few months of treatments for Giardia. She will soon be ready to go to her forever home!
Sometimes in Rescue, we are faced with long-term chronic/hereditary conditions. Conditions that may not need immediate intervention but require above average veterinary care to manage and maintain. For instance, Gypsy came to RMGDRI in July 2021. Shortly after, Gypsy was diagnosed with a grade 3 / 6 left basilar systolic murmur (a physiologic murmur). This is a murmur that is created by a unique flow in the heart that causes an increased flow speed or vibration that is audible to the human ear. There is no underlying pathology or disease that causes this murmur. This condition has no treatment and will progressively get worse as Gypsy ages. In the meantime, Gypsy is able to live her best life with her forever family and the only thing required is annual monitoring to keep track of the severity of the murmur. Our medical fund allows RMGDRI to care for Great Danes like Gypsy that have lifelong illnesses.
Gabby entered RMGDRI as an 8.5 year old Great Dane. She was experiencing arthritic changes that affected her mobility and we were able to address that issue relatively quickly and easily. Gabby's biggest issue remained hidden and unsuspecting - her teeth. It is not uncommon for a Dane as old as Gabby to have a decent amount of tartar accumulation on her teeth. In Gabby's case, that tartar was masking a much bigger issue under the gumline. She had numerous abscessed teeth that were rotting from root and had even created a fistula (cavity) of infection in her nasal cavity. After pleading her situation to our supporters, RMGDRI was able to raise the funds for Gabby to receive an extensive dental and become the best Senior Great Dane she was meant to be.