Puppy With Special Needs Changes Her Life and Ours
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A few years ago, a man witnessed someone throwing a small Pit Bull pup out of a truck window. The good Samaritan contacted the local shelter, and rescue workers cane to collect the dog and take care of her. Her rescuers decided to call her Delta because she was wrapped in a red Delta Airline blanket when she arrived at animal control. They noticed straight away that there was something a little unusual about the pup’s appearance, but they were not quite sure why she stood out from the other dogs. Staff from the center suspected that it was her unusual appearance that had made her original owner throw her out of the truck window, although her past remains unknown.
Despite the cruel and callous acts of the truck driver, Delta had been unhurt in the incident. This meant that staff from the rescue center could begin to look for a new home for the pup straight away. Fortunately, Michelle Thomas was on hand to help. Thomas is a dog foster carer with New Life Dog Rescue. As soon as she heard about Delta, she volunteered to foster the dog until she found a forever home. She made the four-hour journey from Tampa to Miami to collect the pup and bring her home. As soon as Michelle saw her, she felt an overwhelming surge of love and believed that Delta belonged with her instantly.
After taking the pup home, she settled in well. It wasn’t until she was around four months old that Michelle began to notice that the pup was having some problems, reports I Heart Dogs. The main problem that Michelle noticed was that it seemed the dog had stopped growing. Other issues she noticed were that Delta was having difficulty breathing and that she was struggling to eat a full meal in one sitting. Michelle knew that it was important for Delta to see the vet so that they could investigate her mystery illness. The vet conducted a series of examinations and tests to investigate what was causing Delta’s issues. Eventually, the tests revealed that Delta has two separate conditions; canine dwarfism and brachycephalic syndrome.
Cuteness describes how dwarfism is caused by a genetic mutation on the growth receptor gene. It is something that is more common in some species than others. It is passed to a pup when both its mother and father are carriers of the gene that causes the mutation. This is an incurable condition and a dog’s growth is permanently stunted. Dog breeds that have ‘squashed-up’ faces, such as Bulldogs, Pugs, Boxers, and Shih Tzus, are the breeds that are most likely to suffer from Brachycephalic Syndrome, says Pet Health Network. It is common for these breeds to suffer from this condition due to their facial structure. A dog with this syndrome has an elongated soft palate, stenotic nares, everted laryngeal saccules, and a narrow trachea. For this reason, they often have trouble with their breathing.
Due to her diagnosis of brachycephalic syndrome, Delta required surgery to improve her breathing and feeding. This was a necessity to improve her standard of living, but it was also a costly procedure. Fortunately, New Life Dog Rescue was on hand to help out. They raised the funds for Delta to receive the care they needed. The funds also covered the cost of any follow-up care that the pup would need in the future. Thankfully, Delta recovered quickly for her surgery and it was clear that she was breathing more easily. The pup was also able to eat larger meals thanks to the improvements the surgery had made. Unfortunately, there was nothing the vet could offer that would cure her dwarfism. This wasn’t something that was going to stand in the pup’s way of changing her life.
The next stage was to find Delta a permanent home. However, this was potentially tricky due to her health problems. Michelle decided to speak to the founders of New Life Dog Rescue so that she could offer to become a permanent foster carer for Delta. She had become attached to the dog and didn’t want her to suffer the upheaval of returning to a shelter to wait until adoptive parents were found for her. The founders of New Life Dog Rescue agreed, and they also agreed to continue to fund Delta’s care. This was probably fantastic news to Delta, as she had already settled into her new home with Michelle.
Delta hasn’t let her health problems slow her down or hold her back. She enjoys doing all the things that other young dogs enjoy, such as playing chase and running around. However, one of her favorite activities is swimming, and she spends as much time as possible diving in and out of the pool. Michelle also has two other dogs, both of whom are much bigger than Delta. However, the smaller dog is not intimidated by her new housemates. She loves to play tug with the other dogs, and Michelle says that Delta is often the winner of these fun battles.
Onlookers often look at Delta with pity, says Michelle. She doesn’t know why because the little dog is so adorable. Michelle has no concerns about the outlook for Delta in the future, and she is exceptionally proud of the progress that she has made. In fact, Michelle is so proud that she has even started Delta her own social media pages, and these already have more than 1,200 followers. Michelle posts fun pictures of Delta enjoying her favorite activities so that her followers can see the progress she has made. Although Michelle has a long history of caring for dogs, she cannot believe the difference that this one little pup has made to her life. She was only supposed to have Delta in her life for a short period until a permanent home was found, but now she cannot imagine life without her.
