Torro's Story--Update
Torro is 4-year-old pit bull terrier that shouldn’t be alive today, let alone healthy. This is his back story.
Torro several days after his arrival
Torro came from Mexico where he was found injured and starving on the side of the road. A kind Canadian couple took him to a local veterinarian in Mexico who diagnosed him with bad case of ear mites, mange, many broken teeth, and a broken back leg from being hit by a car.
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The veterinarian pinned his leg and placed him in a small crate for almost a month to keep him from moving and re-injuring the leg.
When the leg was judged to be "healed", the Canadian couple arranged to Torro to be transported to Canada, where they planned to re-home him with a friend. The planned adoption fell through and Torro was surrendered to the Bow Valley SPCA.
The extent of his medical problems were only discovered after examination by our local vet clinic. The examination showed:
- Torro's mange returned and need additional treatment.
- X-rays showed that both back legs had been broken, and the surgery done in Mexico to repair the worst break had not knitted properly. Physiotherapy was required to improve mobilization of the leg.
- He had a serious case of anemia because of a tick-borne disease, similar to Lyme disease. Anemia results in a low red blood cell count and that meant that no surgical or chemo-therapy intervention was possible until his condition improved through the administration of antibiotics.
- Torro had a form of canine cancer that has a cure rate of 95% if treated with chemo-therapy. The treatment course is one treatment per week for six to 10 weeks. But to make things even worse, Torro had to have his red blood cell count taken the day before every treatment. On the day of treatment he had to be transported to Calgary and the restrained while the drugs were delivered intravenously.
- After the doctors pronounced Torro's cancer was in total remission (cured), eleven broken teeth were extracted--including his upper canines.
- Torro was neutered during the surgery for teeth extraction.
This boy is a survivor and very good-natured, especially considering his intense medical treatment. Watch him only one day after his final surgery for the extraction of his teeth and being neutered and the four days after when he finally gets to go off-site for a walk.
Torro is finally ready for behavioural training. He has been through a lot and understandably has a profound fear of veterinarians and being restrained. We also will work with him to increase his stamina, interact gently with other dogs, walk with a loose leash, return when recalled, and obey simple commands like "sit" and "down".
Torro's vet costs are still being compiled, but even with the steep discounts offered to us as the BVSPCA, the costs will be around $4000. Of course, there have been countless hours of attention from volunteers and staff.
The Veterinary Care Matching Campaign is a great opportunity to help Torro and the other dogs and cats at the Carla Cumming Sojonky Adoption Centre.
The offer of matching funds for veterinary care is extremely important. It adds impact to any contribution made from our donors and potential donors.
If you sign up for monthly donations, the match will be 15X that single monthly donation (A quick calculation: $25/month will result in a contribution of $400 [$25 X 15 = $375 contributed by the match] + your first month's donation of $25 gives a total = $400.) This total is important, but even more important is that the Bow Valley SPCA can count on your ongoing support to change lives and make a difference.
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