Specially-abled Pups Need Furever Home
August 2021: Five puppies were carried into our facilities looking dazed and dehydrated. We thought they were on the verge of heatstroke and took them into our care in order to immediately help them out. As the minutes ticked by and hours passed, we realized their dazed eyes were not a symptom of heat stroke, but a sign of something deeper.
After our vets and clinic staff saw them, it was confirmed these pups were all nearly blind and had a range of mobility and neurological issues. Mandy, the only female of the litter, was in the worst condition. She had scoliosis and could only sit upright. She tried to drag her body to keep up with her brothers but often failed. We believe their conditions resulted from inbreeding.
Throughout the course of the year, under the guidance of our vets, we and our generous foster parents, assisted these puppies with water therapy and did whatever we could to help them. However, all the effort and love everyone was pouring into them was not enough.
Our final goodbye to Jax.
In November of 2021, we had to say goodbye to Mandy.
In February of 2022, we had to say goodbye to Billy.
Jax was the one puppy of the litter that was about to be adopted into a loving home but his health deteriorated rapidly without warning and we had to also say goodbye to him.
Of the five litter, we have Irwin and Grim, whom we are desperately seeking a furever home for them.
Irwin and Grim have shown themselves to be so strong in spite of all their challenges. They are just happy dogs who get overly excited at any attention and crave companionship. We will sometimes take them out during our small dog socials with our dog park members and they love running around in the sun and feeling the earth on their paws.
In their excitement, they will stumble over themselves and their near-blindness makes them not as aware of their surroundings, yet they absolutely enjoy being around people. Once their excitement calms down, they are practically lap dogs who are easily comforted and they’ll naturally wander into a lap to lay down in.
Because of Irwin and Grim’s circumstances, we NEED them to be in a loving home, or rescued into a facility that is dedicated to helping special needs animals. Our staff pours as much time and love as they can to Irwin and Grim but the shelter setting cannot give these specially-abled puppies the care and attention they need to thrive and have the best quality of life they can.
Irwin and Grim’s special needs means they will need a special person(s) that is aware and prepared to take on their care. They will both need a home where someone can supervise them and a person that will be kind and caring toward their needs. If you are able to be that home for them, please directly contact our Animal Care Adoption Supervisor, Ruben Cantu, at ruben.cantu@valleyanimal.org.
If you are not local to the Fresno area but are dedicated to saving these puppies and adopting them into your family, please reach out.
Share their story so that we reach as many ears and eyes as possible and get them the home they need to thrive and be the companion animals they are.
Valley Animal Center is dedicated to serving animal companions in the Central Valley and beyond. Our mission is to unite dogs and cats with loving people. We believe every animal deserves a loving family and furever home. Through our membership-based dog park and our low-cost clinic, we also provide local and accessible resources and services to the animal lovers and pet communities while rescuing animals in need from local animal control agencies. Donate to support our endless mission HERE.