Roxanne - Filling the Care Gap.
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.
