Muffin's Story

 

Muffin is an elderly female Cocker Spaniel who was left behind in the backyard when her owner evacuated for Hurricane Katrina.  What makes her story so particularly heartbreaking . . . is that her owner returned to vacate and take her belongings, and left Muffin behind - to starve to death.  A compassionate neighbor waved down some animal rescue volunteers to ask them if they could take this poor dog.  Muffin arrived at Pasado's Safe Haven staging area on Sunday October 2nd and was not even strong enough to stand up on her own.  Vets immediately put her on IV fluids for four days and began the slow process of introducing her stomach back to food.  (getting fed tiny amounts every two hours)  She was covered in so many fleas that she had massive hair loss from scratching & itching.  Her ears were completely infected and the vet suspects that there is a very high chance she has heart disease (putting her lifespan at only one to two years at best).  It appears that poor Muffin may had been used for breeding many times in her lifetime (by her saggy nipples).  Muffin looked so frail and depressed that Cathy fell in love with her special case and asked if she could bring her back to Los Angeles. 

 

By Wednesday, Muffin was able to stand on her own and even walk a little bit, although very slowly.   It is discovered that Muffin is totally blind (most likely from severe glaucoma) and probably has been so for a long time.  She has a style of walking where she keeps her head and nose close to the ground to try to sniff her way out of walking into things (although she still hits her head on everything, probably why she doesn't walk very fast).  Cathy decided to change her travel plans and instead of flying back to Los Angeles, to drive the rental vehicle back - so that she could take Muffin home.   (didn't want to have Muffin's infected ears exposed to the ear pressure of flying).

 

That was when Cathy decided to bring two more dogs back with her, to try to find homes for.  (see Cody's Story and Beau's Story).  After a long drive from New Orleans to Los Angeles, it was well worth the efforts to see just how much better Muffin is doing, getting some one on one nurturing and care taking.  Her appetite is ravenous and she is drinking a lot of water (all good signs that she is well on her way to recovery).   Cathy also discovered that Muffin actually has a little voice!  She has a teeny tiny little howl that she started to use.  She uses it for one of three reasons, she has to go potty, she smells food or she is just checking if someone is there, to make sure she hasn't been abandoned again.  Awwww!  Little sweet Muffin!

 

Back in Los Angeles, Muffin had her first of what will be many vet appointments.  The vet said that "Muffin is just a mess" and needs so much help.  The first step was a heartworm test and a blood panel.   She tested positive for heartworm and we are awaiting the results of her blood panel.  She may not be well enough yet to begin to receive treatment for her heartworm, so we are just working on feeding her every two hours and giving her lots of love and encouragement to build up her strength.   The next appointment will be for an EKG (to check on Muffin's suspected heart disease) and she may possibly need an ultrasound at one point (that would be at a specialist).  She is getting her infected ears treated and slowly getting introduced to raw food (to help with her immune system and her itchy skin).  Her skin is still so itchy, that she has raw spots on her skin (she may need to go to an specialist, but that is down the road while we address her immediate concerns).  Her eyes need to be looked at asap and Cathy is trying to do some fundraising for that (the glaucoma is most likely putting pressure on her eyes and the medical expenses of an ophthalmologist can add  up quickly to many thousand dollars, especially if she needs one or both eyes removed). 

Muffin is settling in nicely to her new home at Cathy's house.  She is living in a little playpen area (so that she doesn't walk around the house and hurt herself or fall down).  During the daytime, she is in Cathy's office and at night her playpen gets moved into the bedroom.  Sometimes in the middle of the night, she will wake up and start to howl and Cathy goes over and gets into the playpen to hold her and comfort her.  After that, Muffin can fall back asleep.  Cathy suspects it just may be that she wakes up and worries that she has been abandoned again and just needs to know someone is still there to care for her and love her. 

 

Muffin needs to gain some weight - right now if you were to hold her, your heart would break because she is all bones.  She needs to be held very gently.  Muffin's spirit is SO STRONG and now that she is somewhere safe, she has the will to recover and heal.  If you would like to help Muffin you can do one or both of the following:

1) Say a little prayer for Muffin's recovery - and if you can, send a message from your heart to her heart, that she is beautiful and loved.

2) You can make a contribution towards Muffin's extensive medical bills.  You can contact either one of Muffin's vets and make a contribution via credit card.  Or you can send a check to Cathy to use at whichever vet has the highest bill (probably the ophthalmologist).

Here is the contact information for how you can do any of these options:

To contribute to her regular vet expenses: 

Best Friends Animal Hospital   818-766-2140

5425 Laurel Canyon Blvd.

North Hollywood, CA 91607

Dr. Sindy Habib, DVM is amazing!  She is giving Muffin a 30% rescue discount! 

 

Or if you want to make a donation towards Muffin's ophthamologist bills,  you can send a donation via check to Cathy: 

Cathy Stanley   310-358-9918
14320 Ventura Blvd., #236
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 

 

Thank you for all of your support and Muffin thanks you as well!