Fetcher Dog's Sanctuary Dogs - Stella

Fetcher Dog have a number of 'Sanctuary Dogs' these are dogs that will not be adopted and spend the rest of their lives being looked after and cared for by the Fetcher Dog team.

'Animal sanctuaries are a more permanent solution for rescued or disowned animals. Dogs are usually brought to animal sanctuaries to live out the rest of their lives in peace. There they will be respected, well-taken-care-of, and allowed to retire in comfort and happiness.

The aim is to allow these animals to live their lives in dignity, away from harm. Animals living in sanctuaries tend to have sad pasts and origin stories involving abuse or exploitation.' 

Sanctuaries offer the animals adequate space, care, shelter, feed, medicine, and love so that these animals can live out their remaining days in comfort. They are rarely funded by governments and are almost always dependent on generous donations, sponsorships of animals, and volunteer work from the general public or corporations. (Various Sources)

Stella

'Stella was rescued from a high kill shelter in Bosnia and spent several months in our Bosnian kennels before joining us in Kent. Stella has a unique look; big brown eyes, huge ears and a sweet little underbite. At two years old, she is full of life but still hasn't quite worked out how to play. 

When Stella arrived in February 2019, she quickly became poorly; sneezing, coughing and spluttering. Her eyes and nose were constantly running. This was the start of a rough few months for our girl, with countless trips to the vets and several exploratory procedures to help diagnose her illness. We were initially told that she had an infection and she was prescribed various antibiotics, when one seemed to do very little, she was put on another. This continued until we were referred to a veterinary specialist. 

Upon inspection by the specialist, we learned that Stella had been born with an underdeveloped soft palette which allowed food to move through a hole between her mouth and nose, then down into her lungs. The food entering her lungs would then rot, causing regular lung infections. She must of been suffering with this her whole life, with infections occurring periodically. We were told the condition was extremely rare and that the operation required to fix the defect had only been performed a handful of times, but without it Stella would have very little chance of a long and happy life.

Stella was booked in for her operation in April, we had to keep her on her antibiotics to make her as strong and healthy as possible so she had the best chance of success. We were anxious leading up to it, scared that our sweet girl would not pull through. Our nerves reached an all-time high on that day, sitting by the phone waiting for news but finally the vets called us. The operation had been a success and Stella was drowsy but responding well. We would have to wait a few more weeks to know if the operation had healed correctly and if the infections had gone, but it was a big victory for Stella that day. 

Stella has been living at home with us. Kennels aren't really suitable for a poorly pup and we wanted to be with her as much as possible. She slowly got more and more energy, became even more playful and got louder and louder. Stella has to eat soft food, three times a day from a high platform to make sure no food goes into the wrong hole and help to prevent further infections. Stella may require veterinary treatment for the rest of her life.

The cost of Stella's stay at the rescue centre is £100 per month, which includes, food, heating, blankets and bedding, walks and toys

If you would like to donate towards Stella's living costs, please contact Paul at paul.connor@fetcherdog.com

 Thank You