Puppy's Family Abandoned Her At Vet Because She Was 'Paralyzed'
They wanted her to be put down, but the vet wouldn't give up on her — and hours later she was walking again.
When the 6-week-old puppy could no longer walk, the owner took her to the vet and asked for the puppy to be put down. Then the owner left, leaving the puppy’s fate in the vet’s hands.
The vet, however, decided not to follow the owner’s orders, and ran a series of diagnostic tests on the paralyzed puppy, named Bella (formerly Bo), instead. The vet also got in touch with Piper Wood, founder of Hand in Paw, a California rescue group, and arranged for her to take Bella into her care.
As it turned out, Bella wasn’t actually paralyzed, but simply suffering from hypoglycemia.
“Maybe they weren’t feeding her enough, and her blood sugar was too low,” Wood told The Dodo.
Bella had also been taken away from her mother too early, which may have contributed to the problem. But with a little care at the vet, Bella made a rapid recovery.
“After being on IVs for two hours, she was able to stand up,” Wood said. “She was a little shaky, but she was standing up, and eating on her own.”
“It was a pretty simple fix,” Wood added. “A couple IVs, some fluids and she was fine. It probably cost less than euthanasia.”
Bella did take a little while to fully recover. She got a mild case of puppy strangles, which is a skin infection. It also took the little dog some time to become confident.
“She was very quiet, especially for a puppy,” Wood said. “She just laid around a lot; she’d shake a lot. She was very sweet, but you could tell that she was very scared.”
But with proper care and attention, and lots of love, Bella made a full recovery — both physically and mentally. And a couple weeks ago, Bella found her forever home.
“When I took her to her new home, I saw her play for the first time,” Wood said. “She was playing with like 10 different toys at once and running around, and she was so happy. That was incredible to see because I’ve only seen the scared side of her. She’s definitely feeling so much better, and she feels at home now.”
While Bella was lucky to get a second chance at life, Wood explains that lots of animals are put down for easily treatable medical issues.
“If you’re going to get a dog or any animal, they are a family member,” Wood said. “If you’re not ready to deal with health issues that come up, and you’re not prepared to give them what they need, then you probably shouldn’t have an animal.”
“There was no need for her to be put down,” Wood added. “She has a beautiful full life ahead of her.”