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Thank You

Coastal Pet Rescue wishes to thank Tallulah Trice, director of Beaufort County Animal Services, who provided the transport and got Bama to us quickly for rescue.

Thank you also to Jimmy Woo, Jessica Grenoble, and Dr. Brandy Bragg with the Animal Hospital at Rice Hope for making Bama's quick start on vet care possible.

Updates

Scroll down the page for latest updates. We are trying for morning and afternoon, but it's based upon when we are able to get information from the vet clinic as they have a lot of patients to tend to right now.

We would very much like to thank WJCL for their coverage of Bama's story and the people who came to show support for him. Click here to watch (or read) the two stories by WJCL.

Bama Needs You

In the early afternoon of September 6, 2014, a set of photos were posted to Beaufort County Animal Services' Facebook page of an emaciated dog, thought to be a Bulldog. CPR's founder and director was taking a break from watching football when the images showed on her facebook feed. Two phone calls later, plans were made to pick up the dog, to be called Bama, at a meeting point off of I-95 in Georgia.

Upon arrival, Bama looked to be in worse shape than the initial photos showed: he appeared to be blind in one eye, had green goop covering both eyes, blood coming from the right side of his jaw, and lethargic. He could not wait for vet care. Once loaded into the CPR Puppymobile, a call was made to the owner of one of our partner vet clinics, Animal Hospital at Rice Hope. Bama was rushed over to get blood work and start on an IV.

Once at the clinic, Bama was carried in, seeming to not have the will in his bones to stand on his own. He was laid on the floor to start blood work, making a very soft whimper as the needle entered his almost closed vein. A quick over showed one shoulder may have been dislocated and his gums appeared almost white. The work showed a low white blood cell count, but he was also heartworm negative. A 24 hour care plan of action established.

A little while after the IV, Bama vomited, and it was all leaves, grass, and dirt, probably all he had been living on for awhile. He was genuinely excited about getting some food presented to him, though he vomited after only a few bites, which makes us think his body was rejecting the food because it wasn't used to having it in so long. He'll be on small meals several times a day to try and help him adjust, and will possibly need a blood transfusion.

Bama should never have been made to suffer this long. He needs all the prayers and support he can get right now.

Update September 7, 2014 5:51 PM:

Evening update on Bama: No change in his labs. :( He has glaucoma in his right eye, to potentially be enucleated if we get that far. He has blood from his GI tract, uremic ulcers in his mouth and esophogus from renal failure. He is on pain management and we will give him 24 more hours to see if there is any change in his blood panel tomorrow.

Update September 8, 2014 10:24 AM:

Went by to check on Bama on my way to work this morning and give him some love. His eyes look so much better, and he stood up a bit. It gave me comfort that he could now see that people were around him to love and care for him. He didn't want to eat though, and that made me sad. I'm hopeful that he'll decide to eat a little later. We have to wait for afternoon labs to see what he looks like, if his body can recover. I still just can't imagine that someone didn't say something about him sooner. At the very least, Bama will know that there is compassion and love in the world, just hate that it took him so long to know it.

Update September 8, 2014 6:42 PM:

Evening update on Bama for those who have been waiting: Sadly, no change in his labs. We will do another blood draw at 2 pm tomorrow, and make a decision from there. On the plus side, he has stopped with the vomitting, so maybe perhaps he'll have some interest in food. We have made plans for him to come home with us tomorrow evening to have at least one night as part of a family. Thank you to everyone who has been pulling for him. Maybe his purpose is to teach others that if you see something, say something. I am haunted by the fact that no one did sooner.

Update September 9, 2014 10:00 AM:

No change overnight. Bama did take a short walk outside this morning, but still is not eating. We'll have a medical update after 2 pm today.

Update September 9, 2014 8:00 PM:

Thanks to everyone who came by our "Hugs for Bama" party tonight, and thanks to WJCL for the news coverage. We know he appreciated all of those great scratches, hugs and kisses! | See photos on our Facebook page

Update September 10, 2014 9:38 AM:

Last night, I took Bama home to be a part of our family, to see that the life he had was not what he had deserved, to know as much love as he could possibly handle to make up for however long it's been.

Unfortunately, despite many efforts and much, much caring, Bama's body was just not strong enough to overcome his neglect. We still could not get him to eat, and he was unable to stand or walk. In addition to his kidneys, other organs had started to fail him. A very tough decision was made this morning to ease his suffering and give him the peace he deserves. We hope that he left this earth knowing he was loved, even if just for a few days.

I know many of you are heartbroken as are we. But instead of sadness, let us celebrate that this beautiful creature's story and presence brought so many of us together to show that there is compassion all around us. It is my hope that Bama's story is a reminder that cruelty and neglect is not something you see just in ads on TV but exists in our backyards. The only way to stop it is to speak up and act, and that's something every one of us can do.

Our sincerest thanks to Dr. Brandy Bragg and the wonderful and compassionate staff at Animal Hospital at Rice Hope. May God bless all of you who stood by Bama and our rescue this week. We are all better for having him in our hearts.

Update September 11, 2014:

We would very much like to thank WJCL for their coverage of Bama's story and the people who came to show support for him. Click here to watch (or read) the two stories by WJCL.