Kona
This is the story of Kona but it is really the story of Kimo and Kona. These two young boxers were owned by a guy in the military who was deployed to Iraq and hired someone to take care of them. They somehow got out and Kona was hit by a car and was seriously injured. She lay injured and did not have a collar with ID… but Kimo did and he never left her side. They were taken to a shelter and then sent to a clinic because of the extent of her injuries.
The clinic said she has fractured ribs, severe contusions and possible brachial plexus avulsion of the front right leg (which means the nerve endings could have been plucked from the spinal cord and render this leg useless). The Clinic then sent the dogs to another shelter to await contact with an owner to ok medical help. The owner was contacted and asked to either come get his dogs, okay payment for medical treatment or relinquish so that a rescue could step up and help. He said that there was no way he would be able to care for her and was grateful that BRLA was willing to help. He could not pay for the expensive medical she requires but he found it in his heart to donate what he could to BRLA in Kona’s name.
BRLA mobilized quickly as Kona had been bounced around and was in a lot of pain and needed help ASAP. Our dedicated father – daughter volunteer team raced to get Kona and drove the 200 mile round trip to get her to our specialist at Banfield Medical University in Pomona. They handled her like precious cargo and she seemed to be relieved and understood she was in good hands. Our vets were standing by and went right to work on her.
She is resting quietly and is no longer in severe pain as she is on strong pain meds. We are awaiting the outcome to the extent of the damage and what can be done. It will be a long road for this sweet girl.
In the meantime we have not forgotten the faithful Kimo who will hopefully be reunited with his beloved Kona soon.
Please donate to Kona’s medical lifeline. Any amount is appreciated and we will update her condition regularly.
Update: Kona will make it! Her ribs will heal in time, her contusions will take daily dressing and bandage changing.
The trauma to her foreleg will have serious consequences . The nerves and muscles under the armpit were stretched beyond the limits and are not regenerating. The only solution is amputation once her ribs have healed in about 4 weeks so she can mange life on three legs. Kona has the spirit of a true survivor and is grateful for the care she is now receiving.
Please donate any amount to Kona's medical lifeline as she will need extensive treatment.
George & Honey
The medical cases never end. BRLA is contacted daily in regards to helping Boxers in need. Sometimes we cannot do it all and we reach out for help. Our Canadian friends at Without Borders Boxer Rescue go above and beyond the call at times and that is exactly what saved George and Honey.
George was sitting at Carson shelter in isolation unable to be temperament tested due to his broken femur which needed surgery. The break was severe and we had no idea if he was dog aggressive. His time was running out and when we asked our Canadian friends if they could help, without hesitation they agreed and George was saved. It was a leap of faith.
Honey was purchased as a puppy and when she was just 8 weeks old she injured her leg. The extent was unknown as her owners could not afford any surgery so they kept her in splints from January until July changing it monthly but never dealing with the problem. Canada already had one medical case coming so they figured why not take them both.
Logistically it worked out better for Chantelle, the founder of WBBR to fly down and escort these Boxers back to Vancouver. She had TSA and baggage personnel at airport gently carrying the Boxers to the plane rather than conveyer belt them. They were indeed precious cargo. Everyone made it back to Vancouver safe and sound, Chantelle no worse for the wear from the 22 hour day of flying in and flying right back out, dealing with customs and all the hassles of travel. This is above and beyond at it’s finest.
The dogs were at the vet first thing for X-rays and to plan surgery.
George was scheduled to get his bones aligned and stainless steel pins inserted to repair the leg. Unfortunately there was already considerable calcification and the decision was made to not re-break his leg but to stabilize and let continue to fuse. He will always walk with a limp but is the sweetest soul you could ever meet. He is recovering and given months of physical therapy and restricted mobility he will be ready to be adopted. Thanks to WBBR
Honey was the mystery dog- what was under that splint? It was not good. When the original injury occurred a tendon was severed. If repaired at the time she would be good as new. The 5 months of simply splinting the problem caused the muscles and tendons to die on both sides of the tear. She literally had skin hanging from her leg bone with absolutely no muscle. It was so sad to know she could have been helped had her owners sought treatment. The damage was done and the best course of treatment is to amputate the dead limb. It is a burden to her. Honey is one of those delightful creatures that will not even miss a blink in her transition from 4 legs to 3. She will have her surgery, recover in a foster home and be adopted. Thanks to WBBR.
George and Honey will be fine and lead happy healthy lives thanks to Without Borders Boxer Rescue. WBBR does not go to these great lengths for BRLA Boxers because they are made of money. Quite the opposite is true; they struggle like any rescue to make ends meet. They pay for all travel costs and of course the medical expense for treating these Boxers. We are humbled and grateful for their contribution and never ending support.
As a supporter of Boxer Rescue LA we ask a special favor that you reach out and support WBBR for the rescue and treatment of George and Honey. They definitely went above and beyond by committing to take these two broken Boxers. They are such amazing supporters of BRLA and contribute to our ability to save so many live.
A donation of any amount to the WBBR medical fund would be a wonderful gesture to a group of people who have always been there for BRLA. Now it's time for us to be there for them.
Thank you in advance for helping George, Honey and WBBR
DONATE TO WBBR MEDICAL FUND
Sam
Sam is one very sick little man. He has Valley Fever which has settled not only into his bones but into his spine, pelvis and shoulders making movement extremely painful.
We are told that there was a landslide of emails circulating to get Sam pulled and to the vet. Apparently no one stepped up, because the Kern County shelter called BRLA and asked for our help. As always without hesitation we were on our way and got Sam help immediately. It was almost too late..
Sam was taken straight to a vet. As soon as Valley Fever was even a possibility we called upon our trusted resource in AZ who see this condition more and more due to the desert conditions throughout the state. CA has our own desert areas and that is typically where Valley Fever cases occur.
The first days were critical as Sam needed vet care prior to his arrival at BRLA. The pain was apparent and he was given 24 hour care including morphine to try and help with pain management. It was very emotional to his caregiver as one feels so helpless at times even knowing that everything is being done. He cried constantly. He was given massive doses of antibiotics and various treatments to start to deal with the infection.
The treatment has made some progress as Sam is no longer in constant pain. He does not want to move much but that is okay as he will need extensive treatment and long term care to recover. Sam is still not out of the woods.
He is with our best medical foster, again getting 24/7 care. From day one the vets prescribed strict cage rest. He is supposed to be in a crate. Since he does not want to move we are breaking vet rules and he has the freedom of a cozy dog bed to sleep most of the day away while his medication does the work. He has an eye on him all day long. He is eating, but only when hand fed. He does not want to drink so he gets Pedialite in an oral syringe. Sam is getting the best care possible between vets and home care fostering.
BRLA is in this for the long haul but can always use your support. The first few days with intensive care cost over $1000.00. His costs continue on a daily basis but we feel Sam is worth every penny.
For all of you out there who participated in the emails about Sam but could not afford to pull him from the shelter here is your chance to do something positive and be a part of his recovery. You can donate to Sam’s BRLA medical lifeline.
For anyone out there who has ever heard an innocent animal cry in pain, we need your support to provide Sam with every medical option to save his life.
Thank you all in advance for joining the Sam campaign for life! Any amount will help support his ongoing medical care which will determine life or death.
Thank you to all of you who so generously stepped up and donated to Sam's medical lifeline. We were able to step up the treatment and he began standing on his own and giving his foster kisses! He was even eating and drinking on his own. Modern medicine seemed to be working and he was set for IV infusion treatments. .
The other day Sam was acting strange. His foster took him to the vet to check on a foot wound that was draining. It was a lesion caused from the lack of movement in his limbs and the highgrade infection he had from the valley fever.
They stopped by a supporter to pick up noni and when it was agreed that he was not doing well. We squeezed in appt with the Internal Medicine specialist who would do the IV infusions that were set up for Sam to continue his treatment..
Sam was breathing short and rapidly. Chest xrays were taken to make sure he did not aspirate and what they found was the infection was eating away at his shoulder bones and there were many holes and gaps. This meant his breathing was pain related since the lungs were clear.
The doctor said even if the iv infusion could attack the fungus he would still have to survive the treatments and then a absolute amputation of the front leg with all the damage and still had only a 1 to 2 % chance of any quality life.
Sam had put up a brave and strong fight but he was now obviously suffering and we made the heartwrenching decision to set him free. He was loved and held until the end. When his foster returned home there was a freak summer rain shower and there was a double rainbow in the sky. We are certain is was Sam thanking us for all we did.
Thank you all for all your love, support and donations for Sam's medical treatment.
Kayla
What could be worse than roaming the streets of Mexico scrounging for food.
How about being shot and sustaining a serious injury to your legs?
Wait it gets worse…How about some stupid idiot thinking that trying to remove your injured leg with a rusty saw would help. Yep it’s all true and Kayla lived through this horror.
A Good Samaritan got her out of Mexico. Her leg will be saved, she will gain the weight back and the emotional scars will heal with love and time.
She has come a very long way. She is a beautiful girl with a beautiful soul and a will to live like you would not believe.
Please donate to Kayla's Medical Lifeline
Papa
This is Papa and believe it or not he is an AKC registered purebred boxer under two years old. You would never know by looking at him. His owner has come to the sad realization that she can no longer care for him. She has been forced to rent out her home to survive and is moving to a tiny apartment. Papa’s condition is not from neglect. As a matter of fact the opposite could not be more true. She spent a ton of money with a vet that was happy to take their payment but has not successfully treated Papa.
She carries a lot of guilt thinking that when Papa was a puppy she left him at her mom’s house and he chewed on posts that were termite infested. She thought this condition was her fault and the vet apparently played on that. Papa was given weekly injections of a very toxic medication which causes the bloating. Papa needs the proper protocol to treat his mange and help his over-medicated body recover.
He has a congenital heart condition with a bad heart valve - some sort of stenosis which causes the fluids to back up because - the fluids go into the stomach and dilute the foods and prevent proper nourishment causing malabsorption of the food. We are putting him on injectible diruectics for the weekend to see how well that helps to dissipate the water accumulation. Then he will be going back to Banfield on Monday for the week for further monitoring and watch for fluid release. We need to get rid of the water because it is starting to affect his breathing.
He being put on high quality high calorie food to help compensate for the malabsorption. We are treating him with Promeris for his demodectic mange and an antibiotic in the ears for the yeast infection which is also from the mange. We will take it one step at a time.
Please donate to Papa’s medical lifeline to help him return to a beautiful boxer so he can find a new loving home
Papa is now known as Popeye and he is doing well. His condition was due to a rare heart condition. He will need on-going treatment and is looking for that special home.
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