Desert Haven Animal Refuge

Whitney, on arrival at Desert Haven

Whitney, a tiny young Terrier Whippet mix who had been wandering the Palomas countryside with another little girl-dog, was recently rescued at Desert Haven Animal Refuge (DHAR), together with her little buddy. Whitney was injured and needed to undergo a very serious operation to repair a ruptured diaphragm. We were told by the veterinarians who diagnosed her injury that it was probably created by trauma that little Whitney suffered either before or after being “dumped”. A kick by a former owner or some senseless passer-by, perhaps a larger dog such as the one pursuing her and her little buddy at the time they were both rescued, may have been the cause of Whitney severe injury that, if not treated immediately, would cause this little girl-dog to deteriorate rapidly and die a sure and painful death.

We had a choice to make at Desert Haven - either euthanize her before she continued to suffer with no chance at survival, or risk a surgery that, if successful, would give little Whitney her only chance to live at all. Whitney underwent the three-hour surgery last Monday. A gentle little girl-dog with a strong will to live, she is now recuperating at the animal hospital until she can be brought back to DHAR and its crew.

Individuals who abandon domestic animals, whether on the side of busy highways, in neighbors’ yards, or near peaceful neighborhoods, are causing them an enormous amount of stress that often develops into mental and sometimes irreversible trauma. Their time spent on their own disrupts their immune system and often brings on grave illnesses, deadly diseases, painful injuries. What a horrible end for a dog or a cat whose greatest fault is to have been born unwanted!

Our animal welfare organization operates under a very tight budget that forces us to often make difficult choices to insure continued financial stability. Should we have euthanized little Whitney because of lack of funds? Could we instead let her keep on suffering until she died from her injury? Or should we give Whitney her only chance at life, by choosing the very costly operation instead?

The costs of a surgery of this type are prohibitive but we felt that Whitney deserved this one new chance at life. Perhaps, in doing so, we were also attempting to correct in some small way, something badly wrong in our own society, when too large a segment of the population still treats animals like trash, to be discarded at will. Too many unwanted and abandoned animals suffer painful and lonely deaths as they struggle to survive on their own. To us, little Whitney embodies the attempts of those of us who sincerely care about animals, to redeem, in some way, our Society for the wrong created by some of its members.

If some of our readers wish to help us cover parts of the huge costs of Whitney’s surgery, please let us know how you can help us raise the needed funds. Visit us at Desert Haven on Tuesday, contact us at 894-2778 or check us out at http://www.DeserthavenAnimalRefuge.com. Or follow up on little Whitney’s recuperation here on this blog.