Galway's Road to RecoveryROAR partners report their work each month after receiving a shipment and these reports typically include a hardship or success story. We were introduced to “Galway” via one of our Partner’s reports submitted on January 23. This partner, Sherry, updates us regularly about animals that come into their rescue. Galway was clearly going to be a success story to share. It was clear that the porcupine quills were interrupting Galway's ability to eat.
Galway was found on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in south central South Dakota. Sadly, he had a mouthful of porcupine quills. Unfortunately, tussles between porcupines and dogs have been a long-standing problem. In 2006, a Canadian Veterinary Journal published a paper on “Porcupine quill injuries in dogs: A retrospective of 296 cases (1998-2002).” A glaring lesson from the report was, “because of the increased frequency of complication with a longer interval until presentation, clients should be strongly encouraged to bring the dog in as soon as the quill injury is discovered.” It was clear that these quills were interrupting Galway’s ability to eat. Interventions were necessary at various levels of care, each one as important as the next. Kudos to the teacher who was able to convince the injured Galway to trust her enough to travel in a car and to be turned over to Sherry and her veterinarian for the next level of intervention! Galway showing off his shiny coat. Reservation Animal Welfare (RAR) is also a link in the intervention chain. Through the delivery of food, supplies, shampoos, and some flea and tick medication, we help support our Program Partners in their work with the animals. Many partners have a network of foster families who care for the healing animals. They receive the food and supplies we send to help minimize their out-of-pocket expenses. This is important because many times the medical costs can spiral for high-needs animals. Sherry received six shipments last year and has been a partner for several years. Another way many of the ROAR partners communicate with supporters to rally around their rescues is by using social media to highlight a specific animal. Galway was actually turned over to Sherry in mid-November last year. They immediately began to introduce Galway and his special needs to their online community. Here are the initial entries the first week of Galway’s rescue and recovery…
In many cases, these posts include advocacy and education to the online community. In one post, it was shared that Galway’s’ condition did not even register on the Canine Body Condition Score Chart — also referred to as a Body Condition Score (BCS). Using a 5-point scale to assess animals, this is the terminology used in animal assessment from several common sites:
"Galway" is named after Sir James Galway, the flutist. Just a few days after Galway was rescued, there was a big 'shout out' to those sponsors who provided funds for his vet care:
After fourteen weeks of rescue, recovery, love, attention, toys, and food, Galway was hearing the music again. He had entered the Canine Body Condition Scale and was close to his ideal weight. Adoption was just around the corner for him. Health and wellness is paramount to rescues and that’s why many Partners’ adoption process includes:
The intervention chain of Rescue and Recovery is a strong one with many links. We are honored to be part of this chain. Thank you for being a strong link in this chain as well!
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