Saint Francis Animal Sanctuary Inc.

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Saint Francis Animal Sanctuary is dedicated to all the animals abused, starving and neglected. May God touch lightly the soul of an animal we did not rescue in time. The ones that may never have known a kind word or a warm bed and loving human.

Please view the slide show of some of our animals. CLICK IN THIS SPACE.

We are a small rescue operating out of our home. We hope you enjoy the photos and stories of our animals. Most of the animals will remain with us for the rest of their lives due to age or illness. From time to time we have wonderful adoptable pets that are in need of safe and loving homes.

German Shepherd Dog Rescued
He only had hours to live May 6, 2008

Chance was named by the pound workers

They paryed for a miracle that a rescue would take this boy and give him a chance for life.

I thought I was a seasoned rescue person. I have seen it all abuse, neglect, birth defects, amputations, diabetes, crippled and just unwanted dogs. This baby just made me sit and cry. Saint Francis Animal Sanctuary agreed to take this boy into rescue with only hours left for him to live. Chance was an owner surrender to the dog pound in Zainsville Ohio. He was turned in and his owner of several years paid their $40.00 for euthanasia. THEY DID NOT EVEN TELL THE POUND WORKERS HIS NAME! The vet at the pound examined him and did a heart worm check along with a physical. Heart worm negative he decided to name him Chance and give him one chance to find a rescue. The vet gave the pound / shelter workers 24 hours. He looked into his face and said he just was not ready to die. We have Chance in rescue tonight and he is at the vet right now.

Chance has no hair on his body.

He has open sores on his shoulders that are draining fluid.

Chance was taken to a dog pound to be put to sleep

But the vet looked into his face and said "we have to give him a chance" so he gave them 24 hr.

Chance is only about 3 years old. He is most loving and will do anything you direct him to do. We now know he does not have thyroid problems. His blood work came back normal. He does not have demodectic or scaroptic mange, the tests were negative. He is heart worm negative. A cytology showed bacteria so Chance was placed on a strong antibiotic along with a medication for the topical fungus / yeast infection. He had a medicated bath today. I know he has to be feeling better then he was. A punch biopsy was done under local anesthesia which we will not get the results for a few days.

Chance has been to the vet and this is the second vet that has told us he has not seen anything like this before. Negative for everything! A punch biopsy was sent out yesterday 5/5 and we are waiting for the results. Chance is on strong antibiotics and anti-fungal meds right now. He had a medicated bath at the vet. Resting now at Saint Francis Animal Sanctuary we wait for the results of the biopsy to come back.

Chance is a young dog.

Please donate so we can help the dogs that need a chance to see how good life can be.

Chance has been on Rx. medications ( antibiotics and anti fungal) for a few days now. We still are waiting for the biopsy results and the opinion from the dermatologist in Florida. Click here to see a short clip of our Chance.

Please help us.

FEMALE DOG WITH INSIDES COMING OUT!
         THIS ONE TOOK US BY SURPRISE
           PLEASE DONATE IF YOU CAN! May 6, 2008
                      *** ( Heart Worm Positive ) ***

This is a dog that has been untreated for weeks.

She needs vet care and treatment right away to save her life.

This is part of the email I received today:

I had a lady from the poorest part of the county call me tonight wanting help with her dog. She said she has no money and only gets child support and there was something wrong with her female dogs private part and it has been like that for 3 weeks. She wanted to know if I would take the dog. I told her I would come this evening and take some pictures and would see what I could do. I had no clue what I was going to see. I am shocked and floored.
They have a female yellow lab Shepherd mix, tied to a dog house, about 1 year old with her uterus ballooned outside of her private area. The stench is horrendous. It absolutely killed me leaving her there but I knew I would be coming back fist thing in the morning to take her. That's 9 hours from now.

The lady told the rescue person that the dog has NEVER been to a vet in her life. She is only 1 year old.
We are in the process of getting this dog to Saint Francis as soon as we can. Requests to transport have been sent out. I have already called my vet and she is going right in for assessment / treatment of the emergency then we need to have her treated for heart worm! Please donate .... we are a 501c3 non profit and donations are tax deductible.

We do not ever know her name yet. She is getting ready for transport here. This poor dog has spent her entire life on the end of chain. She does not even know what it is like to have a family. Just think back for the last year, Christmas, birthdays, spring, summer, winter and fall. This baby deserves to find a real family to offer her love! We are going to get her better and find that home! This is an Ohio dog who came from an area just South of Toledo.

When we are asked to take an emergency we
react right away. We then ask for donations.
In this case everything happened so fast!
Please help us help this poor dog.

MATTHEW
HOW MUCH CAN ONE LITTLE GUY TAKE?

Matthew was a stray in Eastern Ohio

No one came for this little guy so the dog warden took him home to save his life.

Matthew was named by the dog pound workers. They fell in love with this little guy. He had long dirty hair that was so matted to his body they said it was hard to tell which end was which! No one came for him and his time was up. So the dog warden took him home and saved his life. She took him to a groomer that was a friend of hers and cleaned him up. They found a large tumor on his rear end at the base of the tail.

This "tumor" is located at the base of the tail.

You can see the veins making this tumor very vascular.

Saint Fracis Animal Sanctuary said we would take him into rescue. While he was at the pound worker's home ( waiting for transport ) they noticed he was drinking a lot of water and going to the bathroom several times a day. When he arrived here it took about 30 seconds to look at him and think... "CUSHINGS DIESEASE". I am no vet but if you look down a few stories on this page you will see "Ginny" less then 2 months ago she was diagnosed with the same thing. Matthew has hair loss all over his back and very thin on the tail, legs and face. His abdominal area is enlarged. With the increased thirst and urination it looked obvious to me.

So we have 2 issues with Matthew.... or so we thought! Yes he tested positive for heart worm today while he was in to have his tumor removed and blood work drawn for his Cushing disease. So Matthew's tumor removal and Cushings Disease are on hold and tonight he is at the vet for life saving heart worm treatment. Matthew is only 5 to 6 years old and his luck was running out. Tonight he is safe and we are going to get him fixed right up! First heart worm treatment then blood work to determine the appropriate dose of Lysodrin ( $155.99) per 30 pills. Then we remove the tumor on his rear.

His back has almost lost all of its hair.

The hair loss extends down his sides, tail, upper legs and face.

Three strikes and your out! Not at Saint Francis Animal Sanctuary. We will most likely have this little guy for the rest of his life. You see he is so full of life. Once we tend to his medical needs he can continue to be the happy little dog he is. His medication will have to be given for the rest of his life. Once again I have to ask for donations. We are a 501(c)3 non profit group and that is the only way we survive. Please consider a donation if you can and a prayer if you like sure would help too.

We have PayPal for donations and regular US mail if you wish. Donations sent by US mail can be sent to Saint Francis Animal Sanctuary Inc. 12516 Cherry Road Vermilion OH 44089. Thank you very much. Donations are tax deductible.

STARVING BOXER LEFT TIED TO A TREE
Update 4-25-08: Joe is at the vet for neuter today. He is HW negative .... The vet feels Joe is approx. 3 years old! Joe is up for adoption as we have done all we can for him - now he needs some T.L.C. AND FOOD! Joe Boxer has some hip issues at this time we really do not know the extent of his problem. ( he walks a little funny in the rear ). He had dental work done to clean up his mouth also. UPDATE 5/5/08 JOE HAS BEEN ADOPTED!

This is a severe case of abuse and neglect.

Meet Joe Boxer.... friendly and loving as can be!

This Boxer was left in the drive way tied to a pine tree behind the kennels. He is just a living skelaton of a dog .... hair and bones. He has open areas on his hip areas that look like pressure sores from laying on his protruding bones. He had dried blood around his ears which look like bite marks from another dog. The photos that were taken ( 4-17-08 ) will tell his story more then any words I can write here. He is cryptorchid as he has one undescended testicle. His teeth are BLACK and green.

Joe Boxer is just skin / hair / bones

How could someone let this poor boy get in this condition.

This Boxer had to put a real effort into walking .

His weak condition and loving disposition just is amazing!

We gave him some food and just seems to thankful for any attention from a human. I would like to think this dog has been on his own for some time now. Because if someone did this to the dog it would be criminal. I am glad somehow someway he found his way to Saint Francis. He has to gain strength before we can get him neutered. He is cryptorchid and will need abdominal surgery. He will need dental work because they are black! Lets hope his heart worm status is negative. Cases like this just seem to fall our way and we sure could use some help with his medical bills. Please donate and help us get Joe Boxer healthy and adoptable.

He has NO fat or flesh under his hair...

just look at his hip bones. He has pressure sores on the bone area that he rested on.

With the people trying to surrender dogs to us for what ever reason and the sick, injured, crippled and abused dogs we are taking in we would like you to consider a donation. We are a 501(c)3 non profit. Your donation is tax deductible. Please help if you can.

                                      ANGEL
                       THE LITTLE INNOCENT DOG
                   THAT HAPPENS TO HAVE 5 LEGS!

This is Angel a true gift from God. Designed by Gods own hand this baby has an extra leg. We have many 3 legged dogs and even a dog with 2 legs but this is a first. What her purpose is in life will be seen as time goes on. Angel was picked up as a stray and taken to a gassing dog pound in a rural town about 2 hours south of Springfield MO. No one came to claim this little baby as we anxiously waited the 5 days which were required for the owner to find their lost pets. Angel was pulled from the dog pound by a contact we have in that area and she is in a foster home until she starts her long journey to us here in Vermilion OH in 2 days. She was loaded with fleas and ticks. Some abrasions were noted on her tiny 25 pound body along with either flea allergies or demodetic mange. Skin testing has aready been done and we are happy to report Angel does not have mange. The dog warden did tell me on the phone that when he would reach for something around her she would cower in the corner and duck her head as if she was going to get hit. It was obvious that she lived in some kind of an abusive situation and when no one came to claim her I just thought to myself .... they did not even care enough to go get her from a pound that gasses dogs as a form of euthanasia. Angel's troubles are over and we will be very happy to get her home with us. She has a vet appointment set up for Monday March 31, 2008. The doctor will do x-rays and blood work along with a complete physical exam. The x-rays will show what the bone structure is in the area of her extra leg. She is approximately 6 to 9 months old so it would be rather safe to assume the blood flow to the legs must be adequate. In addition to the diagnostic work up Angel will be heart worm checked, micro chipped, checked for parasites, vaccinated and spayed next week. The determination will be made from an orthopaidec stand point as to weather she will have her extra leg amputated. Angel does walk on the longer of the 2 front legs and uses it as a crutch. What ever abuse or neglect Angel came from her life is about to change. We operate totally on donations - we are a 501(c)3 non profit group. Donations are tax deductible.

This is the x-ray taken showing Angel's double leg

After examining X-rays, Krupka determined that a genetic aberration split Angel's leg.

Please make a tax decuctible donation to help pay for Angel's medical care.
Donation's make it possible for us to continue taking the abused, sick, unwanted animals from all over the United States. Please donate so others less fortunate then Angel may have a chance. Thank you.

CUSHING DISEASE
Little did we know when we rescued this Chihuahua mix. girl from a dog pound in West Virginia that she would have such big problems.

We were told by the dog warden in WV that she was pregnant. She went right to the vet for an evaluation. The decision was made based on her large abdomin to get a "head count" of how many babies she had inside her. Much to our shock there were NO puppies viewed on xray. So Ginny was spayed and vaccinated, heart worm checked and micro chipped. NO worms were found in her stool. Once home her adbomin (stomach area) just kept getting larger and larger. Her coat of hair was getting very thin at the same time and after a few weeks she almost had some bald spots. We had blood work drawn for thyroid tests which turned out to be normal. The next test which was done ACTH stim. test showed Ginny had "Cushing disease".

The course of treatment consisted of a drug called Lysodren. The Rx. was picked up at a local drug store for $189.00 / 30 pills! Let me tell you about sticker shock! We did find another local pharmacy and got the drug Rx. filled for $159.00/ 30 pills. Ginny was on the drug everyday for 2 weeks. We had more blood work done which repeated the tests to see what dose of the medication she needed for maintenance dosing. She is now on 1/2 pill twice a week. Repeat blood work will be done in a few months to make sure we have this disease under control. Ginny will have to remain on the medication the rest of her life with periodic lab work done. Ginny is up for adoption but if you would like to help us pay for her medical bills and life saving medication please donate today! Ginny is only one of our many special needs animals here at Saint Francis and your donation goes a long way!

Saint Francis Animal Sanctuary Inc. is a 501(c)3 non profit group and your donation is tax deductible. Please donate today!

INTUSSUSCEPTION
UPDATE : 2/14/08 How appropriate Cupid is coming home for the first time on Valentine's Day .... He looks like a normal - happy - healthy pup!

I received an email asking for help with a pup in Kentucky. The email said the "intestines were coming out". This is the photos they sent.

This poor baby only had hours to live.

We had to get him from Kentucky to Ohio within those hours if he had any chance at all.

CLICK HERE TO SEE CUPID HAVING FUN IN THE SNOW AND RUNNING AROUND LIKE CRAZY!

This is a 10 week old 10 pound Lab / Shep mix.

I am an RN and I know what this is... .intussusception. His bowels were coming out the rectum and I knew we only had a few hours to surgically correct this or he would be septic and die. I put out an emergency request on the net to all my rescue friends across the United States and I started getting offers to transport him to me within 10 minutes. I had to drive to Mansfield Ohio at 10:00PM Saturday night and meet the transport. I had a surgeon standing by at the Avon Lake Animal Clinic and met us there at midnight. The poor dog only weighed 10 pounds and was 10 weeks old. He was tested for parvo and was negative. He had surgery within a few hours of asking for transport help. Here is the photos I took Saturday night Feb. 9, 2008.

Prep for surgery with intubation, oxygen and IV's.

We had one shot at surgery and little time to get it done.

Cupid could hardly stand upon arrival at the vet.

Thedistal end of the exposed bowel had already turned necrotic. ( dead tissue )

At midnight on Saturday Feb. 9th. he had a bowel resection and lost 4 inches of bowel that had already turned necrotic. He was placed on IV's given pain meds and antibiotics. He was placed on a heated pad to keep his body temp. normal it had gone down to 96.0 . I stayed until I knew his condition was ok... We almost lost him a few times on the table and had to bag his respirations to keep him going .... if we had waited he would have died in a cold dog pound in Kentucky alone and septic... with this being the week end.

THANK YOU TO THE RESCUE IN KY THAT POSTED HIS STORY
THANK YOU TO ALL THE CROSS POSTERS ( SOME EVEN CALLED )
THANK YOU TO ALL THE TRANSPORT COORDINATORS ( THEY CALLED TOO )
THANK YOU TO THE DRIVERS
THANK YOU TO MY WONDERFUL VET...(who met me at midnight to save his life!)

By 2:00AM this pup was in recovery

He was placed on a heating pad to keep his body temp. up to normal.

The surgery was complicated as you can see.

Part of the bowel was necrotic and had to be removed.

We depend on donations so please give if you can. We are a 501(c)3 non profit group and donations are tax deductible. Click here to go to PayPal. Thank YOU!

Chichi is paralyzed in both hind legs.

We have no idea what happened to him but we can make sure he has a good tomorrow!

PARALYZED CHIHUAHUA

CHICHI Chichi is a small Chihuahua that came from a vet clinic in PA. They contacted us to take a paralyzed Chi that has no use of his hind legs. He was taken to the vet clinic as a stray. X-rays were taken and he has a compression fracture to the lower thoracic area. He needed a hemi-laminectomy where they would have removed part of the spine that was fractured. NO surgery was done because of the cost, he was just a stray and had no money backing him. If he had surgery within a day or two of the injury he may still have the use of his back legs. Now Chichi walks with his front legs and drags his hind quarters along. He is incontinent of urine and stool. He is about one year old! Please see the video clip below. We need donations for a wheel chair from Doggone Wheels in Boseman Montana. http://www.doggon.com/home.html If this is not bad enough.... he is cryptorchid. Chichi needs abdominal surgery to remove his testicles. Poor little guy. He has open areas on his hind legs from dragging them. We can let him out in the snow and he loves it because he is not on a hard surface. We are a 501(c)3 non profit and donations are tax deductible. We take special needs animals from all over this side of the United States and depend totally on donations to continue this work. Thank you in advance if you can donate.