Hope Faces Some Challenges But Continues On the Road to Recovery

(Editor's Note: For those of you who haven't been following the story of Hope, you've missed a lot. About 10 days ago someone driving by saw a dog struggling to walk in Branford. She took the dog to the Dan Csogrove Animal Shelter and staff called it one of the worst cases of animal cruelty they had ever seen. Staff said the dog was starved and was a day or two away from death. Over the past 10 days, shelter staff have cared for the dog around the clock and named it Hope. Over the past week, Hope has begun to make some progress in her recovery and the news continues to get better.)

Shared and written by the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter

Hi Everyone,

Here is the Hope Update for today:

Hope had a really great Friday and Saturday ( see the Saturday afternoon video)! As a matter of fact she was even playing with a tennis ball for a bit. She had some really good energy and you can really start to see her personality!

Sunday morning she did great too! She’s been enjoying time lounging on a couch and getting lots of snuggles and belly rubs.

Sunday night Hope became lethargic and spiked a fever. She also had discharge coming from her nose and did not want to eat. Luckily because she is under constant care, she receives whatever she needs immediately and continued to be on fluids and antibiotics. The vets did x rays and took urine samples as well as blood work.

The good news is Hope does not have a UTI and she also did not have pneumonia (which was a concern). Her blood work is improving as well. So we are not sure at this point what caused the fever.

Monday morning at 10:30am Hope’s fever was gone and she definitely has her appetite back! She was in good spirits and happy and wagging just as she has been. The biopsies came back from her intestines and Hope has Irritable Bowel Syndrome. This vet believes this can be caused from having a lowered immune system so she will be treated for that as well. Hopefully Hope will get strong enough where she won’t need these meds for the rest of her life, but for now we want to get her strong and comfortable.

All and all Hope is doing really well. She has maintained her 9 pounds or so and she is eating every 3 to 4 hours. Hope thanks everyone for following her story and for caring so much. By all of you sharing this story, we can get the attention out there for other animals that may need help . Thank you again to everyone for calling, emailing, stopping at the shelter and sending gifts and donations for Hope. We are so appreciative of everyone’s Support!

Photo credit: Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter