*Sophie update
From our Director, Heather Wilson Safsten:
“We got Sophie in to see our amazing vet ASAP. Unfortunately, the news wasn’t good. The mass has grown into her bone and can’t be removed. It is very likely cancer and can burst at any time which would cause a painful death. Her lymph nodes were enlarged indicating the cancer has spread through her little body. Both her eyes would likely need to be removed. Her teeth all rotten and infected.
We have no real options for helping her. Her condition is too advanced . Her mass is a ticking time bomb leading to a painful death and there is nothing we can do about it. I won’t let her die painfully and scared.
The heartbreaking decision was made to let her go. She passed peacefully in my arms as I stroked her head and told her she was loved. That she mattered.
I am devastated. I am heartbroken. I am so very angry. I don’t understand how one living being could let another living being suffer like that. It’s disgusting and ugly and I will never understand how this happens. Where has the humanity gone in these humans who do this? I am so livid it physically makes me sick.
Goodbye sweet Sophie. Please know we tried. You were loved deeply and you will always have a place in my heart. I’m so sorry we couldn’t do more. You deserved so much better.”*
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Meet Sophie, a 10-year-old blind Maltese mix we pulled from the euthanasia list at MCACC, and our hearts are absolutely shattered.
Nothing prepared us for the condition she was truly in. Her mass is huge, bleeding, and dangerous. She’s completely blind, her corneas are raised and scarred. The tops of her paws are raw and bleeding, her nails so overgrown they curl sideways when she walks, she just goes in circle trying to find her bearings.
She had to be bathed three times just to get her remotely clean. The mats hanging from her face, neck, legs, and stomach were so thick and tight they were literally pulling her skin. This isn’t a dog who has been fending for herself on the streets for years, she wouldn’t have survived. This level of suffering happened over time and due to neglect. And we’re just… at a loss.
Once she was clean and dry we introduced her to her new room where she finally curled up in her soft, warm new bed and fell into a much-needed sleep.
Sophie has been failed in every possible way — but that ends now. But, we need help getting her urgent medical care. Her mass, her eyes, her paws, her full workup… she needs everything. And we depend entirely on donations to make this happen. She has a vet appointment with the amazing Sun City West Animal Hospital and Dr Johnson.
Please help us give Sophie the safety, dignity, and love she has been denied for far too long. Welcome to safety, sweet Sophie. The rest of your life will be nothing but love.
