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URGENT TRANSPORT - Shelter to rescue - Young puppy

Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 4:34 pm
by jdunham
Number of animals being transported: 1
Breeds, weight, age: Great Dane mix, 20 pounds, 3 months
Health Condition: Upper respiratory infection, swollen leg
Heart worm Status: Unknown
Vaccinations: Unknown
Health Certificate: Intrastate - not needed
Spay/Neutered: No
Special needs: Should not be transported with other dogs due to URI
Name of Sending Rescue/Parties: Copperas Cover animal shelter
Name of Receiving Rescue/Parties: San Antonio Great Dane Rescue
Contact information (publicly viewable on forum): Jerry Dunham, [email protected], 512-961-8398
Are you a 501c3: Yes
Additional Info/situation:

EMERGENCY TRANSPORT NEEDED - Copperas Cove to San Antonio - Dane mix puppy

This is a small puppy, less than 20 pounds. He is coming down with an upper respiratory infection and has a swollen leg, so the shelter wants to put him down immediately. If we can get him to San Antonio Great Dane Rescue he'll go immediately to the vet. We have someone in Copperas Cove who could drive to meet someone in Marble Falls or Georgetown. The most important thing is getting him out of there before the shelter follows through with killing him. Time is very short.

Any help or suggestions appreciated.

Thank you for all you do for the homeless animals!

Re: URGENT TRANSPORT - Shelter to rescue - Young puppy

Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 4:52 pm
by Acfox31
I could do it Friday morning. Pick up in Copperas Cove and then drop off at any San Antonio airport, I think there is actually one in boerne also.

Re: URGENT TRANSPORT - Shelter to rescue - Young puppy

Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 5:22 pm
by jdunham
Thanks for the offer. I'm hoping for something quicker because I don't think the shelter will allow him to live that long and because he needs medical attention, but if we don't find something sooner we might be able to pull and board him overnight.

Here's his photo: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4mv2y151k4p2i ... 717_33.jpg

Re: URGENT TRANSPORT - Shelter to rescue - Young puppy

Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 5:31 pm
by asiegman
Planes / weather allowing, I'd love to help with this if you need me Jerry.

I'm flexible on time. Seems like LZZ (Lampassas) would be closest for pickup to Copperas Cove if that helps.

Weather wise, tomorrow is still sketchy but I'm willing to play it by ear.

Edit: Looking at the forecasts, I think tomorrow is really sketchy. You might not be able to get this flight out by air, at least not by a VFR pilot, until Friday. I'd be willing to take the dog here in Austin if your Copperas Cove volunteers can drive a bit further tonight, if that will help other ground/air transporters. I've got everything to foster a pup for a few days if needed.

Re: URGENT TRANSPORT - Shelter to rescue - Young puppy

Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 8:34 pm
by jdunham
I think we're set. The weather is no good for flying at the moment, so Alex, an Austin Pilots N Paws pilot, is going to drive north to meet the driver bringing the pup from Copperas Cove tomorrow morning. He's set up to do overnight fostering, so he'll keep the pup until the weather clears (probably Friday) and fly him on south to 5C1 then.

It's too bad that the weather won't let us get this sick pup to a vet more quickly, but at least we have a plan, and will have him out of the shelter when they open in the morning. Let's hope this pup doesn't get too much sicker before we can get him treated.

Re: URGENT TRANSPORT - Shelter to rescue - Young puppy

Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 8:38 pm
by asiegman
Weather tomorrow afternoon or evening might work out for someone with an IFR rating or their own plane, I'm also dodging rental schedules on top of weather. I'm happy to meet a pilot at KAUS to grab this pup also if another pilot can fly him in IFR when I can't (quite yet). I'm available on short notice except for a work meeting in the afternoon.

-Alex

Re: URGENT TRANSPORT - Shelter to rescue - Young puppy

Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 3:39 pm
by asiegman
Handled this for Jerry today.

Weather was being iffy with thunderstorms throughout the area and low clouds a-plenty and convective sigmets. When I picked the dog up from the ground transport to Austin, I knew he had to go to the vet today and couldn't wait for weather. I just stayed in the car and drove him the rest of the way.

So, while I wasn't piloting my typical Cessna or piper, I completed this transport none-the-less =)

Re: URGENT TRANSPORT - Shelter to rescue - Young puppy

Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 11:13 pm
by jdunham
This took a strange twist today. Our pilot, Alex, drove to pick up our sick puppy and take him back to his house to hold until the weather cleared. He didn't get that far. He realized this pup was sicker than any of us knew, and offered to drive the pup to our vet in San Antonio. It's a good thing he did. This poor pup is suffering from:

URI + distemper
Hookworms/roundworms/coccidia
Pneumonia
Severe bone infection left rear leg

While his prognosis isn't good, it would be far worse if Alex hadn't gotten him to the vet by noon today. This was a case of a PnP pilot going WAAAY beyond the call of duty. If the pup lives, we'll have Alex to blame.

Many thanks, Alex. You're the dogs' hero yet again.

Re: URGENT TRANSPORT - Shelter to rescue - Young puppy

Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 11:30 pm
by asiegman
jdunham wrote:we'll have Alex to blame.
Yep. Simply terrible, that guy is.

Re: URGENT TRANSPORT - Shelter to rescue - Young puppy

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 4:03 pm
by jdunham
Here's our sick boy this morning:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uygahkvrb3j3a ... 30719.jpeg

The next couple of days will be critical. If he makes it with no lasting effects, we'll be proclaiming a miracle.