Please Help Jessie

5-31-2019
Lynne Bohney

Update (June 17) on Jessie, the Cattle Dog pulled from VCAS.

Jessie has been on the mend since being rescued by CARL & put into a foster home. She loves to be apart of the already established pack. Since she has been there, her sutures were removed and her biopsy result came back positive for Valley Fever. Baseline titer tests have been done & if she is lucky she may only need antifungal meds for a year, but it is possible she may need them for the rest of her life.

She will be having an appointment with a canine opthamologist within the coming weeks.
In the meantime she is enjoying her life like a dog should be, in a loving home with other furry friends. Her foster says her personality is beginning to come out and describes her as sweet & quiet. Being a tripod does not seem to phase her & she is moving just fine

Thank you to everyone who donated to Jessie & keep an eye out for her updates!

UPDATE (June 3rd) – Jessie was released from Horizon Animal Hospital over the weekend. Her new foster mom is a retired ER nurse and is able to provide around the clock care for this special girl. Jessie has a Fentanyl patch on which will be removed later this week. Her surgical site is healing up beautifully. She is receiving medicated eye drops several times a day. The vet has recommended that we wait to treat her eye until we get the limb biopsy report back later this week so that we know what we are dealing with (fungal infection, Valley Fever, bone cancer, etc.) We have posted pictures of Jessie in her new foster home meeting new friends in the comments. We will continue to post updates over the course of her treatments. Thank you to all who have donated to Jessie’s medical fund! We have almost reached our goal! Any excess in donations will be rolled over to our general medical fund for other dogs in our program receiving treatment.

No one ever said that rescue is easy. It consists of difficult days, and really challenging cases. Our emotions, our trust and faith in humanity are constantly tested. The tough questions such as: How did this happen? Where did you come from? What is your story?, will forever go unanswered. Today was one of those really hard days.

Meet Jessie. She is a sweet, eight year old, twenty-seven pound, purebred American Cattle Dog.

On May 12th, Jessie was brought in to VMSG as a stray. She was found in unincorporated Ventura County. She was then immediately transferred to VCAS. Her coat was covered in filth, ticks and fleas. Her upper left eyelid was missing, and she had lameness in her right posterior leg. Upon examination, she had severe pain at the distal femur. Her pain levels were then controlled with buprenorphine and carprofen.

On May 16th, Jessie’s stray hold expired.

On May 28th, the shelter reached out to CARL to see if we could help save her. VCAS sent over x-rays that showed “moth eaten” like appearances on her affected leg. Bone cancer and Valley Fever are two possible concerns.

On May 29th, we discussed with our vets some treatment options to diagnose the leg issue including a fungal titer test and bone biopsy. We decided to pull Jessie on May 30th and transfer her to our vet for further treatment and diagnosis. .

On May 30th, our plans and her release were delayed. VCAS spayed Jessie and amputated the affected leg. The limb was sent out for biopsy. Results should be available in 7 to 10 days.

On May 31st, CARL was authorized to pick up Jessie. She was rushed to Horizon Veterinary Specialists. There she is being closely monitored 24/7. The vets will sedate her and thoroughly examine her injured eye. It appears the eye injury is extremely painful, and she will not let anyone near it without sedation.

We will continue to post updates and pictures of Jessie’s journey and road to recovery.

Right now, Canine Adoption and Rescue League is hoping to raise an initial $3,500 to cover Jessie’s medical care. We anticipate the cost to exceed this once we receive the treatment plan for her eye.

After she has healed and is stable, we will start the application process for those who are interested in adopting Jessie and making her a permanent member of their family. Applications for adoption can be found on our website at www.carldogs.org

We at CARL believe in second chances. Situations like these are hard to witness. However, with the love and support from our volunteers, fosters, donors and the community, we are able to persevere. Because of you, we can save more lives, provide necessary medical treatment, rehabilitate and find forever homes.

Let’s come together for Jessie, and give her a fresh start at life. All donations are tax deductible and greatly appreciated. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

~ Canine Adoption and Rescue League