Sunshine in the New Year

Sunshine’s family abandoned her and moved away. Afterwards she was injured, probably in an animal attack, and her injuries became infected. She had wounds on her face, legs, body and her tail bones were stripped of flesh and exposed. She had detached muscles in her haunches as well. Poor little girl was terrified and in severe pain. Her plight was posted to Facebook by people in her neighborhood and our rehabilitation coordinator watched her story as we hesitated due to the size of her probable veterinary bill. Our doors had only been open for a few months and the bank account was very slim. On Friday, August 4, 2017, when it became clear that none of the local rescues felt able to take her on, Sunshine went home with Paulina. Her first stop was to Foothills Animal Clinic in Forest City, NC. God bless our local veterinarians who provide buckets of reduced  cost care to these helpless creatures (and at great stress to their own personal finances).
Sunshine rested at home with pain medicine and antibiotics for a weekend. She had  a warm bath to rid her of fleas and clean her wounds. She was scheduled for amputation of her tail on Monday. Her surgery went well and she was on the road to rehabilitation. Her need for rehab was substantial. She needed a long time to heal and she needed a longer time to recover psychologically. At first, she only could relax in her kennel. Sunshine  was not too happy being around other dogs and needed lots of time and exposure to safe situations. Her TAIL WAGGED for the first time on August 12th and we celebrated for her.  ​

Paulina's dogs are trained to help traumatized animals to recovery. They will ignore an animal who sends out signals wishing to be left alone and are tolerant of animals who wish to play, but have poor dog social skills. Sunshine slowly learned to be around other dogs. She slowly felt comfortable out of her kennel, then out in a fenced yard. She had a few physical setbacks along the way. Her confidence had to be built little by little. Nowadays she is a happy, healthy  little dog.
Sunshine came to us August 4, 2017 and is only now being listed for adoption. Lee Shore Rescue has stood by her for 5 months and we will be with her for as long as it takes. This kind of rehabilitation costs quite a bit. Any help is appreciated, even $5.00 helps. As you make your plans for the New Year, and Sunshine has hope for her new year, please donate!