Here at Project Noah we recently came across the artwork of Carole LaRoche, an artist based in Santa Fe, New Mexico… And we’re hooked. Take a look at her website, www.laroche-gallery.com, particularly her new Ark series:
Greetings Project Noah supports…
The new Gateway Animal Clinic is up and fully operation. You can find us just a block away from the old clinic… Our new address is
Gateway Animal Clinic
1819 Abbey Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44113
and our phone number is (216) 771-4414.
Like us on Facebook for regular news about the clinic…
On September 9th we’ll be celebrating the opening of the new clinic as well as our time at the old clinic during the Tremont Art Walks. Dr. Brian Forsgren’s photographs from the past twelve years at Gateway will be on Display…
Project Noah and the Gateway Animal Clinic have teamed up to present Lisa Leeman’s Film, One Lucky Elephant at this year’s Cleveland International Film Festival. Find out more about the film and the festival on their website… Cleveland Iinternational Film Festival.
We hope to see you there on March 25th, 26th, or 27th…
Project Noah has again revamped its website in an effort to keep you up to date on our latest efforts… We’ve added RSS feeds so you can receive our updates more easily and hear our breaking news…. We’re still committed to expanding the resources available for veterinary care for Good Samaritan acts for pets and pet owners in need. No public care resources are available. The need for special care is a daily occurrence and includes the following examples: * Rescue and rehabilitation of stray animals What is the care gap? Unlike human health service, there is no established system in place to provide care to many animals at risk and deserving care. In the care gap, the alternative to providing care is often euthanasia. However, through Project Noah care is provided to avoid needless suffering of animals through the local veterinary hospital, as the key player to close the care gap.
* Vet Expertise for management of feral cat colonies
* Animal care in domestic violence situations
* Animals suffering from abuse and neglect
* Support for rescue and rehabilitation
* Support for low income pet owners
* Support for service dogs
In early August a rescue group arrived at the Gateway Animal Clinic with a big 18 pound neutered male cat that had been returned from a foster care owner due to a persistent urinary tract problem. Mr. Bobtail was suffering from chronic recurring cystitis and urinary blockage.
This sort of condition is all too common in male cats. Essentially the metabolism of the cat allows for the creation of sand like crystals within the urine. As the cat urinates these crystals proceed down the urinary outflow track and through the penis into the litter box (hopefully!).
All too often these crystals begin to collect and form larger urinary stones. A combination of crystals, irritated bladder secretions (mucous and blood) and stones can become larger in diameter than the pathway within the cat’s penis (urethra). As the cat tries to express the urine and sediments the animal literally becomes blocked.
As the kidneys continue to function the blockage creates a complete distention of the bladder. Mr. Bobtail’s bladder was as big as baseball when he arrived at the clinic. Once the bladder reaches this sort of crisis size, back pressure on the kidneys causes them to shut down. At this point any cat is in critical condition.
A “blocked” cat is a clinical emergency. These situations cannot wait until the next day. Immediate relief of the obstruction is necessary to re-start kidney function and begin reversing the metabolic impact of the obstruction related kidney failure.
Anesthesia and the placement of a catheter (small plastic tube) into the urethra of the cat and up into the bladder is the first step. As for Mr. Bobtail we accomplished this with some difficulty. The long term collection of sand and stone material within his urinary tract has led to a dense obstructive mass of debris. After finally getting the catheter in and urine flow resumed, we took a radiograph.
Unfortunately our suspicions were confirmed. Mr. Bobtail had not only developed a thick collection of crystals, but a large number of stones had formed. Most of these stones were way too large to ever pass through his normal urinary tract. The stones are visible on the radiograph as a collection like a bunch of grapes in the bladder.
It is important at this point for the readers to understand the implications of Mr. B’s clinical condition. Here, in a nutshell, were his medical problems:
Scenarios like Mr. Bobtail’s are not uncommon. Catastrophic surgical and medical problems complicated by financial reality. Many veterinary institutions refer cases of this complexity to specialty facilities. There is always the sad reality that complicated cases with this magnitude of problems lead the owners to choose euthanasia as the only alternative.
Through a cooperative effort with the entire staff of Gateway Animal Clinic (greater than 50% fee reduction), Project Noah ($300 support), the rescue group and an anonymous donor ($600), a financial cap was placed on the entire surgical and medical therapy needed.
The Healing Process:
First step: We performed a perineal urethrostomy on August 5th. During the surgery the surgeon noted that the entire floor of the pelvis and the out flow tract were dramatically scarred down. Considerable fibrosis made the surgical loosening and repositioning of Mr. B’s urinary tract a bit more complex. Mr. Bobtail had suffered a car injury two years ago. His tail had been pulled from the vertebrae so it was removed, thus providing him with his name. It was that previous injury that led to the fibrosis and scar tissue in the pelvic canal.
To make matters worse, prolonged irritation from crystals and stones jammed against the urethral tissues made surgically suturing these tender tissues to the skin a real concern relative to post-op healing.
Second step: post-op pain management and healing. Mr. Bobtail proved to be a remarkable patient, the kind every surgeon dreams about. He was eating and acting totally unphased by his surgical restructuring the day after surgery. When I visited his cage the day after surgery he demanded his usual head rub, but quickly returned to munching some canned C/D.
Third step: Ten days later we performed a cystotomy (bladder surgery with stone removal/ the stones are visible on the surgical drape along with the specialized surgical stone spoon removal device!).
Fourth step: Again he was dream patient. By the next day he was his old hungry for food and personal recognition self. A week later he was feeling good enough to be a little tired of being in a cage… he expressed his displeasure of being confined with a series of well rehearsed tragic facial expressions and when that didn’t work he let out some powerful meow while head butting the cage door. The staff succumbed to his charm and gave him free roaming privileges before we opened and during the evenings.
Fifth step: Pain management and antibiotic therapy were discontinued after four long weeks of intensive therapy and care. Mr. Bobtail is currently recuperating and urinating a nice big stream, back in the custody of his rescue group. He will need a consistent diet of Hill’s C/D to minimize bladder infections. However with the success of the surgery he will pass any of the small crystals that may form before they can develop into stones.
Epilogue: The challenges that complicate the medical and surgical aspects of the management of this cat’s case are mind boggling. Money is always an issue. The veterinary profession can do marvelous things in this day and age but everything costs money. Time is money, skills are money.
Often the process is so daunting the system fails and the cat is mercifully put to rest. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of all involved, the mercy extended to Mr. Bobtail extended beyond euthanasia to a new lease of life. He was a remarkable patient. He is a really amazing cat. On behalf of all of us, thanks to everyone involved and for Project Noah for caring and working hard enough to make the world a little more humane than it was before we collaborated in saving the life a really cool cat.
No one is ever prepared for a real disaster. A fire breaks out in a suburban condominium complex. An eighty year old man throws a cigarette into a trash can. Three people die.
Fire fighters put out the blaze as a stunned group of on lookers wonder how they are going to put their lives back together. One of the survivors is more frantic than the others. Her cat is still in that fire.
Rocky River firefighters realize that there is still a chance for the cat. Two brave firemen renter the smoking debris. It’s hard to see and hope is flickering. They search through the first floor and find a collapsed ceiling panel in the living room. Instinctively they lift it up. Under the heavy piece of dry wall, covered with soot and certainly in shock, they find Lily.
Fire fighters know CPR. In these situations the smoke damages the sensitive lining of the lungs. The irritation can lead to edema, a fluid that fills the lungs. Smoke inhalation victims can’t breath. Lily was a lighter shade of purple. They rig up an oxygen mask and start helping Lily come back to the real world.
The mayor of Rocky River and the Animal Warden are on the scene. Certainly part of the cat owner’s recovery will be connected to the survival of her cat. The mayor gives the word. “Try to save that cat. We’ll find a way to get the medical bills paid. Just try to help that kitty.”
Rocky River Animal warden Mike Hearn is a participating Animal Control Officer in Project Noah. Lily is rushed to Gateway Animal Clinic.
She is given immediate attention. Life saving oxygen therapy, diuretics, antibiotics and antishock medication are administered. Respiratory distress is a fragile state. Everything is on a tight rope.
Once stable, animal technicians began cleaning the soot and debris from her. Cats are very fastidious creatures. If Lily begins licking herself, she would ingest toxic material from the soot and fumes that clung to her hair coat.
Lily’s owner called the clinic at least five times daily for the next four days. Every one at Gateway understood her stress. She would repeat herself. We never were sure she was quite with it. Who could blame her? The woman’s life has literally gone up in flames.
Finally, on day four, the two were re-united. Piece by piece, slowly, but surely, Lily’s owner’s life was coming back together. It would be a long road, but she was starting to see the way. Lilly’s recovery played a remarkable role in the process. The physical healing paralleled the mental and spiritual progress.
By the fifth day, Lilly was doing well. She could go home to her owner, but her owner had no home. Gateway Animal Clinic with the assistance of Project Noah agreed to provide boarding until the owner was ready.
The owner came to visit daily for a week. Her life was literally up in smoke, but a least her Lily was safe. The desperation of her situation was forcing the owner to move out of state. Taking Lilly with her was not an option. More support, more shelter from the storm was needed.
Project Noah agreed to shelter the cat and work through local humane and rescue operations could find her a new home. The owner was remarkably sad, but at the same time so relieved that Lilly had survived. She truly loved this cat in a very unselfish way.
She loved her enough to let her go, to let her find a new life. We could learn a lot from such an example of real caring.
The Human Animal Bond often brings out the best in the human species. Project Noah finds a way to keep the bond alive and more importantly to pass it on.
Filling the Care Gap: support for animal control /humane society adoption and rehabilitation efforts. Roxanne is a 3 year old female Rottweiler. Some where along the line, she got lost. Lost dogs end up in animal control facility kennels. Roxanne found herself in the Lakewood Animal Shelter. She is a formidable looking beast. The movie ‘The Omen’ probably made more than a few potential adopters shy away from her. For Roxy her physical size (120lbs!) was daunting. The kennel Staff at Lakewood knew that Roxy’s happy go lucky, love-me-please heart was bigger than her 120 pound projected image. She was a lover, a permanent puppy, just the giant variety size. Dogs and cats that get caught up in stray animal kennels have a very limited successful adoption rate. It is almost like a clock is ticking. There are only so many cages and new animals arrive daily. It is a wicked numbers game that many highly lovable animals get caught up in. The staff in Lakewood was determined to keep Roxy as long as they could. She ended up staying for 8 weeks. Finally she got a adopted. Rewards for their efforts are often rare. Being a dog warden is a tough job. Roxy’s adoption made the whole crew’s day a little brighter. Then, a problem with the adoption caught everyone by surprise. The adopting family took Roxy to the family veterinarian for a check up. She had three big problems. One of her mammary glands was swollen. It could be some form of cancer. Further blood tests indicated that Roxy’s careless previous owners (the same people that allowed her to be lost and picked up by the dog warden) had not provided heartworm infection prevention. She was infected with heartworm parasites. The fact that she needed to be spayed was totally complicated by the heartworm disease. The potential medical costs for treating these two problems were way beyond the means of Roxy’s new family. With tears in their eyes, they were forced to bring her back to the kennel. Roxanne’s story is typical of the vicious cycle Project Noah refers to as the “Care Gap”. A wonderful animal is suddenly faced with euthanasia because there is no financial safety net to cover the costs to help these animals. It is a totally frustrating situation. Fortunately, where there is a will, there is a way. The kennel staff and a group of high school volunteers were dedicated to the big heart of Roxy the Rott. Lakewood animal warden Mike Stewart offered to foster her until the treatment funds could be raised. The intrepid group of Lakewood High School students took up collections during their lunch hours and raised almost $300 (who says today’s kids are lazy and don’t care?) As things evolved, Roxy’s mammary swellings turned out to be cystic rather than cancerous. She was given her first dose of heartworm treatment and managed the therapy quite well. A month later phase two heartworm treatment was well tolerated. She is currently be fostered by a potential adopter. Her spay surgery is scheduled for early September. Project Noah member Gateway Animal Clinic is overseeing the final phases of Roxy’s rehabilitation. The loving efforts by all involved and money raised has provided a safe haven and true rescue from the system that would have left Roxy falling in to the Care Gap. Her big heart is healing thanks to the big hearted efforts of Project Noah members and a great group of high school students. Roxanne’s journey shows us all that maybe the future is brighter than we thought. When people work together a way can be found.
