The Story of Precious and Paws for a Purpose

June LaVine • July 28, 2022

It was a day in July, 2018, our good friend Maureen McCann called and asked for a  favor… Maureen was the Animal Services Supervisor and had picked up an abandoned dog. She was a little thing, full of fleas, fox tails, had no chip and was not spayed. She is a Shih Tzu Mix, approximately 8 to 10 years old. It was also evident that she had given birth, perhaps several times. Most disturbing was the large mass sticking out of the right side of her mouth.  Maureen saw that her immediate care was addressed and had to decide whether to take her to County or not. Elk Grove was still in the construction stage of our shelter. Afraid that her story would not have a happy ending, Maureen asked if we could foster “for a few days” until she could find other arrangements. Well, you have heard the term “Foster Failure”, we considered this to be “Foster Family” We loved her from the moment we set eyes on her and I’m sure she knew we were her “family” My first reaction was “OMG, she is so Precious”  Now, what shall I name her? Not too difficult, PRECIOUS! We then learned that the mass in her mouth was a very aggressive cancer and was deemed terminal. It was so aggressive that it pushed all of her teeth on the right side of her jaw to the center of her mouth. Most were loose with roots exposed. While she was still under the care of Animal Services, her teeth were extracted which aided in her comfort level. If it’s possible, we loved her more each day and every time we looked at her, we would cry at the loss we knew would be coming. Her personality was that of an angel! She was so sweet, loving belly rubs (all the time) and extremely obedient. She knew to bark to go out, go lay down while we were eating, jumped for joy when she saw her harness and lease and cuddle with us for as long as we desired. She would wake in the morning, give us kisses and then curl up to go back to sleep. Her laid back nature would go from zero to 100 when it was time for her treats.  She would literally hop, jump, go in circles until she settled on our laps, and eagerly awaited her treat. Her eyes told us to hurry up! We knew she was ours for as long as we were privileged to have her. It wasn’t long before we knew we were not ready to let her go. We decided to explore the odds of addressing her cancer as well as the cost to do so. We knew it would not be easy and upon her first oncology examination, we were told the cost could be $11,000 to $35,000 depending on our choice of the path we wished to go. Removal of her jaw, as well as Chemo treatments were taken off the table immediately. We loved her too much. Heartbroken, we felt resigned to losing her within a couple of months. A faint message of hope came to us in the nature of Dr. Kristen Cuoto, our Oncologist at Vista Specialty, now at MarQueen Vets.  She had been speaking with Raymond Esquivel at UCDavis and they suggested we consider palliative treatments.   They consisted of four radiation treatments with a cost of $3500 to $5000. It would allow her to be much more comfortable with the removal of the mass as well as extending her life. Being fortunate enough to be able to carry the cost, we immediately started her treatments. Her guardian angel at UCDavis was Dr. Heather Ashcraft. The care and love she received was extraordinary. Precious handled her treatments, hair loss and sensitive skin as just another day being happy. Treatments were a total of four, one every week for a month. Her checkup a month later revealed: NO CANCER  We continue to monitor her every three months and pray to have her in our lives for a very long time. Anyone who owns a pet knows the joy, heartbreak and unconditional love of our Best Friends! It had always been our hope to be able to assist those who need help with the high cost of medical/dental care for their pets as well as helping those in our shelter.  Precious became our inspiration for our fund “Paws For A Purpose” The purpose is two-fold to benefit our shelter. The first would be to assist with families for emergency care so that they are not forced to give up their family pet and thus put a burden on our animal shelter. We all know the best place for our pets is to remain in their forever home! The second is to assist animals in the shelter with medical/dental care so that they are happy, healthy and adopted by a loving family as soon as possible. One hundred percent of the funds received by our annual “Paws For A Purpose” will be dedicated to this mission! 

Dog Stories

By June LaVine • July 28, 2022
BARKELY Barkley had stepped on something at the park and sustained a severe laceration on his foot and was bleeding profusely. His owner reached out to Animal Control who in turn contacted us for medical cost assistance. Emergency surgery was performed and Barkley is home safe. BIGGIE Biggie suffered from a cranial cruciate ligament injury which required extensive surgery. Unemployed due to Covid, his owner was unable to cover the entire cost. With help from donors and Paws for a Purpose, Biggie received his much needed surgery. BRADLEY Bradley was an 8 month old lab mix picked up as a stray by Elk Grove Animal Control Officers. He was very sick and it was soon discovered that he suffered from Parvo. Overnight care and observation was required by VCA. Two day later he was treated by the loving staff at our Elk Grove Animal Shelter. He’s back to being a happy puppy and soon to be in a loving forever home. BRUCE Bruce was described as the “saddest dog” ever seen. He was a stray and it was obvious he had been on the streets for a very long time. Skinny, sick and very much shut down. We were able to help with the medical issues but the emotional issues would take a lot longer. After a failed foster to adoption, Bruce finally found his forever home and is enjoying the love and care he so deserves. BRUCHETTA Bruchetta is a beautiful white, Bull Terrier. She required a great deal of medical care. After getting her the emergency care and seeing her happy, we were pleased when a Bull Terrier Rescue took her in for further care and then adopting her into a loving home. CHEWY Chewy was one of our first patients and absolutely one of the sweetest. Chewy showed up at a family garage as a stray. Efforts to reach his family failed and those that found him needed him to get some medical care before taking him to a shelter. Having two large breed dogs already, keeping Chewy seemed impossible. Too late. Their daughter had already named him. Chewy is now living the good life with this amazing family and two siblings. GOLDY Goldy was chasing a small dog who had managed to enter her yard and then escaped through a small hole in the fence. Goldy tried to follow and received a very serious laceration to her side from the fence. It was “the worst the vet had seen”. Her muscle was visible and emergency surgery was required. Receiving a request for assistance, we were able to get her the help she needed right away. With a six inch incision, Goldy is now doing very well. KING King is a 2 year old male kitty. He had a severe urinary blockage that required emergency surgery. We were fortunate to get his surgery right away and he is now home safe and sound. KOBE We received a request for medical assistance for Kobe due to a large mass on his ankle. It had grown to such a large size that he was unable to walk on it. Surgery was necessary but obviously expensive. Concern was also that the mass may be cancerous. Surgery was performed and follow up done. Kobe is doing well and we are so happy to report that his mass was benign! LEIAH Leiah had been attacked by a bat from a homeless man. Her injuries were traumatic and required emergency care. With the help of Scooter Pals and Paws for a Purpose, the owner was able to pay the balance to get Leiah happy and healthy again. LIBBY Our darling little Libby was born with no front limbs. She was rescued when her owner was going to abandon her at a local park. Friends of Elk Grove Animal Shelter stepped in and started a campaign to get Libby her custom made wheels. A story carried by Marlee Ginter of local TV channel 13 attributed to funding assistance. The story does not end there! Marlee and her amazing family adopted her and now Libby has a forever home filled with lots of love! MAJOR Major was on the euthanasia list at another shelter and our good Samaritan knew that could not happen. She needed help getting him some medical care and reached out to us. Major is a beautiful German Shepherd and the name truly fits him. A beautiful country home is now where Major spends his leisurely days. MAGNOLIA Cute Magnolia has a look on her face that says “how could I do anything wrong?” Well, she was not too happy with other dogs and proved it by reacting on her walks. Her time at the shelter told us we must do something to help her control her reactions. She was scheduled to get professional training by a foster at the same time an adopter came along. Friends of Elk Grove Animal Shelter paid for training for Magnolia together with her new family. We are now expecting a very happy ending with Magnolia in her forever home. MARBLES Marbles was part of a litter of kittens brought into Bruceville Pet Hospital by someone who found them. Marbles had a severe eye infection to the point that her eye was bulging out of its socket! Surgery was required immediately. Marbles healed very well and was adopted by a little girl. MARTA Beautiful little Marta was suffering from a uterine infection. Surgery was required immediately or she would die. After visiting and calling several vets with a price tag of $4000, they reached out to Elk Grove Animal Shelter and was referred to FEGAS. With compassion and a more reasonable cost, Bruceville Pet Hospital performed surgery right away. We were informed had we waited even a few more hours, she would not have survived! NALA While planning a dental appointment for Nala’s brother, Nala ended up needing immediate Pyrometra surgery. It is an infection of the uterus and if gone unchecked, she would have died. We are forever thankful that we were able to get her the surgery she needed and is now home and happy. NANA Nana is a beautiful fluffy long haired chihuahua. As a senior at 10 years old, she was needing extensive dental work. Her owner fell in love with her and adopted her from the City of Elk Grove Animal Shelter. Assistance was requested and with a reasonable cost from Bruceville Pet Hospital, Nana is now feeling much better and has a beautiful SMILE! We were happy to supply Nana with her very own bed and lots of toys. NIKKO Nikko showed up with such severe dental infections that he had three breaks in his jaw. Dental surgery was performed immediately and we are happy to say that Nikko has recovered and is back with his family. NUNU Nunu showed up at the City of Elk Grove Animal Shelter as a stray with major dental problems. She was also shown to be FIV positive (feline immunodeficiency virus). Friends of Elk Grove Animal Shelter was able to assist with the dental. Nunu is feeling much better and is awaiting a forever home. Her new parents will need to follow diet recommendations and follow up with annual checkups due to her disease. She is so sweet and will be a wonderful campion as an indoor only kitty. PABLO Pablo suffered from a broken leg that unfortunately could not be fixed. We helped with the cost of an amputation and Pablo has adjusted very well and is now a very happy doggie. PEABODY Peabody showed up at the City of Elk Grove Animal Shelter with chronic constipation. It was discovered that he had suffered from a pelvic injury which was not treated but had healed. After evaluation at UCDAVIS, it was determined that with proper medical care, surgery would not be necessary. A rescue is being sought that is expertise in dealing with disabilities. RIVER River is a beautiful little kitty who is a walking miracle! She was brought in as a stray and it was determined that she had swallowed a FISH HOOK! Determined to save her, the City of Elk Grove Animal Shelter had her evaluated at UCDAVIS and they were confident they could safely remove the hook. They did! River is now leading a happy, healthy life. Paws for a Purpose was very happy to assist with the medical care for River! ROXY Roxy was urinating blood and needed immediate attention. An examination revealed several stones in her bladder which would be life threatening if not removed. Surgery was performed immediately and Roxy is now home well and happy. SHILOH Shiloh had been a recent Mommy and was found on the side of the road to fend for herself! Good Samaritans contacted us after many attempts to locate her owners. Shiloh was so happy when they opened the car door, she immediately jumped in and started to lick her face! Shiloh is the most loving, gentle dog we have had the pleasure to rescue. She was spayed and received all her necessary medications. Shiloh is now living the good life with an amazing family. SWIPPER Swipper came to our attention due to life threatening urinary blockage. Fortunately, his owner was able to cover a large portion of his emergency surgery but needed some financial assistance. Friends of Elk Grove Animal Shelter was able to help and Swipper is now a happy little kitty. TED Ted is a 7 year old Chihuahua living with a heart murmur and heart disease. Due to enormous personal medical bills, Ted’s owner needed some assistance covering the meds that Ted required. Having found a less expensive medical delivery company, Ted is getting his monthly meds thanks to Friends of Elk Grove Animal Shelter. ZEUS Zeus is a young Husky service dog. He managed to escape and was hit by a car. Emergency care was given. His internal injuries recovered but he needed surgery as soon as possible for a dislocated hip. Arrangements were made and we are happy to report that Zeus is back to being a very happy and healthy dog. The best of all was seeing the smiling eyes of their 5 year old daughter when she got her best friend back! ZIGGY Little Ziggy had been hit by a car and suffered a broken pelvis and a broken leg. Ziggy needed a great deal of surgery which he received with the assistance of Paws for a Purpose. He came through with flying colors and is doing very well at home with his happy Mom! WILLOW  Willow came in needing emergency Pyometra surgery (a severe infection of the uterus) and can be life threatening if not treated right away. Fortunately, it was caught in time and Willow is now home safe and happy with her family.