Hospice Fosters Have Heart
Sometimes when we bring a dog or cat into our care, we learn they have a life threatening medical condition. For those animals, we provide hospice care.
Providing hospice care for an animal is a big commitment and a rewarding experience. If you are interested in providing foster care for a dog or cat, near the end of their life, please complete a foster form and note on their that you would like to be a HOSPICE FOSTER. As with all foster families , Claws and Paws Rescue will cover all medical expenses for our animals in hospice care.
Make a difference … foster an animal in need.
Always happy BLANCHE
We rescued a dog, Blanche, who would be dead if she hadn’t been found. Blanche is a seven-year-old Bulldog that was found by a young woman as a stray eating a turkey carcass alongside a county road in Ogemaw County. The young woman saw her nearly get hit by the car ahead of her, so she stopped and scooped her up. She was emaciated, gaunt and sad. She took her home for the night and then contacted us for help.
After receiving the call, we sprang into action to do everything possible to get her into our care. This sweet Bully broke our hearts, as she was skin and bones and starving! She weighed a mere 25 pounds on intake day. A neighbor said that he’d seen her many times running the area looking for food, and had been living off roadkill for weeks.
After her owners were located, we tried desperately to get them to surrender Blanche, but they refused. We don’t just “take” dogs. We often get tips about animals in peril and we go out and do interviews to gather as much information as we can. We work with law enforcement when we need to, and in Blanche’s case, we worked with the Sheriff. The owners finally surrendered Blanche and we finally were able to get her legally into our care.
Blanche is a hospice dog. This sweet girl has non-regenerative anemia, as well as a mass on her belly that is inoperable cancer. The tumor is filling up a major portion of her belly and is also entangling her liver and spleen. The anemia is a result of the cancer, and her red blood cells are unable to respond adequately to the need.
But Blanche doesn’t know she’s sick. She’s always bright and happy and a true blessing to all she comes in contact with. Jamie and Kelly, Blanche’s hospice foster family, have given a warm, welcoming home to Blanche. Blanche loves her foster family and even snuggles up and sleeps with them every night. Through good high quality food, donated by Holistic Pampered Pets, Blanche is now a solid 41 pounds.
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OLLIE Given a Second Chance at Life
Ollie was originally brought to our local shelter as a stray, nothing but skin and bones and with undiagnosed health issues. While there he was adopted out to a family that was unable to care for him, or get him the critical medical attention he needed.
While in this home he lived crated with little family interaction. We were contacted on Ollie’s home situation by a local animal lover and asked to help this sweet senior. Ollie was a walking skeleton, wobbly on his legs and suffering from an overall lack of basic care when we met him.
We worked with the current owners to have them surrender him into our care. Once the legal part was done we placed him with an emergency foster home and immediately scheduled him with for medical evaluation. Once again, Ken from Holistic Pampered Pets, stepped in to provide a regime of healthy food and treats to put some weight on his frail body.
Meeting Ollie brought me to tears with the kindest most soulful eyes that I have ever seen. Those eyes cut straight to my soul and I knew we needed to help this sweet guy.
~ Mary
Sadly, we learned that Ollie had cancer and we then placed him into a hospice foster home where he would be loved and spoiled for whatever time he had remaining. Finding this home was an easy task, as Ollie is so loving and happy to be in a home to call his own. Ollie was finally happy and living the life he deserved. He even had a kitten friend that gave him daily kisses and cuddles.
We are sad to say that Ollie has crossed over the Rainbow Bridge but we find peace in knowing that we were able to give this sweet guy happiness in his last days.
As his emergency foster, when I first brought Ollie home I was stunned by how frail he was. It was clear that he had lived an incredibly difficult life. He was the sweetest old soul I’ve ever met. All he wanted was to be treated with kindness and shown some love. He so wanted to play with my lab, but he was far too frail. I’m so grateful that the last months of his life he spent completely loved by his hospice foster family who adored him.
~ Marj
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Meet ROSCO
This sweet Coonhound puppy came to us at 8 weeks old, unable to lift his head or move his legs. After a visit to our veterinarian, and x-rays, we learned Rosco had congenital scoliosis of the spine. Due to the severity of the scoliosis his organs were shifted to the side making it impossible for him to stand or walk on his own.
Jennifer Marcotte and her family stepped in to hospice foster Rosco. Her and her girls committed to giving Rosco the best life possible, for as long as possible. Rosco finally found love. He was now surrounded by people that loved him, and a pack of dogs and cats that accepted him.
We assembled TEAM ROSCO that went the extra mile beyond his standard veterinary team. Dr. Susan Dorgai (people and animal chiropractor), regularly adjusted his spine. Ken (Holistic Pampered Pets) provided top notch food and treats that Rosco quickly gobbled up. Ruth Normile, provided physical therapy and massage. Everyone else gave him all the love, attention, treats and squeaky toys that a growing puppy could ever want.
This sweet pup made an impact on every person he met. He made us cry. He made us laugh. He made us better then we were before we met him. We love you Rosco and we will never forget you.
We are sad to say that we lost Rosco in May of 2017. Rosco, you are gone but you will never be forgotten.
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BAMBI, our sweet little doe eyed pup
Bambi came to us as a 7 week old Pomeranian/Rat Terrier pup, weighing just a mere 12 ounces, and in crisis.
Upon a local medical exam we learned that Bambi has what is called PATENT DUCTUS ARTERIOSUS (PDA). In lay terms the ductus arteriosis is a blood vessel that connects the two main arteries of the body ~ the aorta and pulmonary artery. This blood vessel is normal in the fetus, and shortly after birth should close on it’s own. It didn’t with Bambi and she was passing extra volumes of blood into her lungs causing congestive heart failure.
We hit the road with Bambi for a road trip to Blue Pearl Specialty + Emergency Pet Hospital in Southfield to be seen by a top notch cardiologist. Unfortunately there was nothing that could be done to save this sweet little soul and we opted to end her pain and have her humanely euthanized. Bambi’s temp was dropping quickly and her blood pressure was extremely low and her little body was simply no longer able to fight. We know this is going to happen from time to time but it never gets any easier and we are grieving the loss of Bambi.
I cannot express how proud I am of our rescue for never wavering from the no-kill philosophy. Every animal that comes into our care we give the absolute best shot at life. Unfortunately this little girl was too young and too sick for even the specialists to save. RIP our sweet, sweet little doe eyed pup.
