A personal experience: a successful dog rescue

Wandering the bulletin board on the way to my car from the store, I see a handwritten note, “Male Chihuahua for sale, $ 200 or best deal.” Hey, I’ll take a second look. “Zo, the Chihuahua I currently own, and I might need a friend, another member of our family.

Here in the Southwest, in a city on the border with Mexico, there is a land of sunshine, desert plains, Mexican-indigenous artwork, palm trees, and Chihuahua dogs. Chihuahuas are theorized to be descended from the Toltec civilization in Mexico, with statues similar to being found in tombs dating back to 300 BC. C. Living here, my intuition convinces me that the theory is true.

Although Chihuahuas sometimes display traces of a cheeky and irritable demeanor, they are revered as pets, particularly in this area of ​​the country. They appear to be fully adapted to the climatic conditions and environment of the Southwest.

Upon my arrival home, I dialed the phone number from the notice on the bulletin board. A woman answered. We introduce ourselves. His name was Pat. I told him I would drive to his house, which was a bit outside my city, in a small neighboring town. Shortly after I walked through the door, a long-haired blonde chihuahua with brown eyes greeted me immediately. Pat was surprised at how quickly the dog, Izzy, joined me. She explained that she did not get along with her boyfriend. Of course, I said I would take him home. He seemed energetic with no discernible issues.

About a month after we got home, I noticed that her eye was bulging. Feeling alarmed, I immediately took him to Dr. Bone, our town’s lead vet. He gave a grim opinion, stating that Izzy had a scratch or scratches on the cornea of ​​her eye. A condition known as distichiasis, ingrown eyelashes, was aggravating the injury. Izzy was prescribed a large number of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. The swelling subsided within a few weeks. After the same symptoms reappeared several times, I was referred to a veterinary ophthalmologist. The specialists were callous, apparently waiting for the $ 6,000 surgery cases to come through the door. They charged me $ 1,000 to administer another couple of rounds of antibiotics. They knew that dogs like Izzy used to sleep.

I was scared, emotionally trying many different solutions for the eyes. With so many humans suffering from eye damage from contact lenses, I thought I had a chance to find something effective. Finally, I found an over-the-counter drug called “Freshkote. “Humans had shown improvement in lab experiments. Freshkote combined with a very small amount of Travopost eye drops has been effective for Izzy for many years. I am very relieved and happy.

Izzy was also found to have a mild upper back problem. I have developed a back stretch exercise, done while Izzy is lying on a wooden floor that the vet has assumed is most likely not effective. I have not spoken publicly about the abuse of Izzy; It’s a woman-to-woman secret between me and Pat.

From the bottom of our hearts, Izzy and I wish you all the same good luck we’ve experienced. If all else fails, experiment a bit. Nothing to lose. The fight for survival does not end until it is over.