On the evening Jan 1st, 2017 our Client Care Specialist, Mira, was out for a walk along a trail in Arlington and saw what she thought at first glance was a deceased deer on the side of the trail. On closer inspection, she realized it was an emaciated dog, unable to stand or walk, covered in urine and feces, but just barely clinging to life. She called another employee Eboni, to help her carry the dog to her car. Together they rushed the dog to the Arlington Caring Hands, calling practice owner Dr. Jeff Newman on the way so he could meet them there and begin emergency treatment.
Initially, the poor dog’s body temperature was so low it wouldn’t even register on the thermometer. They ran a blood profile and found that in addition to being hypothermic, emaciated and weak, she was dehydrated, had dangerously low blood sugar, and low calcium levels. She was placed on heat support and IV fluid therapy, cleaned up, and the team stayed with her late into the night until her temperature began to come back up to normal.
Sun, as she would later be named, would spend the next several weeks hospitalized and cared for by Dr. Newman, Dr. Sites, and the team at Arlington. Her progress has been remarkable over the past couple months. She has gone from an emaciated 22lb dog barely clinging to life, to a bounding, playful, inquisitive pup weighing in at 48lbs. Sun has touched the hearts of everyone who has met and cared for her, including Dr. Newman who ended up adopting her. We are all so thankful that she ended up with right people at the right time, in what otherwise would’ve very likely been her final hours that January night.
