Ethel matters
By Lulu Hart
Ethel is a beautiful six-year-old brindle pit bull. Based on the condition she was in when she was dumped at PAWS, we assume she had many litters in her young life. She had a mammary tumor the size of a honeydew melon hanging down from her belly. It was apparent that she had had a recent litter and had been nursed dry. The big concern was cancer.
Her first vet visit was not good. He blood work was bad, her white blood count was very low, she would not be able to fight off any infection, it looked as if she might have cancer, and she certainly would not have enough blood to get her through a surgery to remove a tumor of this size. She came back to PAWS on medications to start building her blood supply and get her white blood count up.
Miraculously, her blood work showed great improvement two weeks later. The decision to have the mammary tumor removed was made, and the following Tuesday she endured an intricate two-hour surgery. Dr. Cameron Norton said that she actually had two tumors with one inside the other basically acting as heart for the larger one. He had to cut through arteries and carve the tumors off the side walls of her body.
From the day Ethel came into PAWS, she was never alone. PAWS volunteers everything we could to make her feel comfortable secure. Her posture was sad, and her eyes always looking down. But she soon turned into a wiggly girl, holding her head up and wagging her tail, her eyes looking up lovingly into the eyes of her caretakers. She loves her walks and will do a picture-perfect pose for a treat. We knew we had a very special girl.
Her surgery was very expensive, so PAWS had to reach out to the community for help and ask for donations. Her life-saving surgery cost close to $2,000, and we were able to collect approximately half of that amount. PAWS was not having a stellar month. With a litter of parvo pups and a paralyzed kitten, medical expenses hit $5,000.
But this would not stop the PAWS team from saving Ethel or any of our other rescues. Two days after Ethel’s surgery, she returned to PAWS and her 24-hour care. The difference in her personality and appearance was incredible. Not only did Ethel seem to feel better but she held her entire body up proudly. She is housed in the PAWS office now, not because she needs to anymore but because until she finds her forever home she deserves a couch to lie on and humans to talk to her, cater to her needs, and love her all the time.
August was rough, but we saved Ethel and the most adorable parvo pups (all of whom have been adopted), and our bottle-fed kittens are growing at the speed of light. Our paralyzed kitten is in specialized foster care and doing very well.
Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breast tumors, which are malignant or cancerous in about 50 percent of dogs and 90 percent of cats. Spaying your pet before her first heat offers the best protection from these diseases. Neutering your male companion prevents testicular cancer and some prostate problems. In theory, a female dog can have up to three litters in a year with an average litter size of seven puppies. One female and her babies can theoretically create 67,000 puppies in six years.
If you are interested in joining PAWS, please submit a volunteer application to dixiepaws.org/volunteer. If you would like to donate to our mounting medical fund go to dixiepaws.org/donate. In August, we adopted out 21 dogs and 44 cats. To learn more about PAWS, go to dixiepaws.org.
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