On Wednesday January 19th CCR saved Nikki from Euthanasia!

Nikki has EXTREME Valley Fever and was on the Euthanasia list at Maricopa Animal Control because she is unadoptable.

Nikki had been dumped at the Maricopa (Phoenix) pound by people who had adopted her last May KNOWING she had Valley Fever – the endemic fungal disease, which left untreated can kill dogs. They never took Nikki to a Veterinarian, nor did they supply her with the costly but needed antifungal drug Fluconazole.

As a result of this neglect the disease has gotten into Nikki’s bones and organs. Her rear legs and shoulders are impacted mostly, causing her pain when she tries to walk. She has open lesions caused by the Valley Fever on her rear legs as well.

Nikki will now need to be on medication – at least $100 a month for the Fluconazole – for the rest of her life. Nikki will also continue to need the pain medications and anti-inflammatory drugs we have started her on to maintain a level of comfort.

Nikki will need regular bloodwork to ensure the fungal infection is not getting worse. She will also need X Rays to watch the progression of the disease in her bones and organs.

Nikki is skinny and you can see every rib. Currently, at about three and a half years of age, Nikki weighs in at only 28 pounds when she should be about 40 lbs.

After all Nikki has been through, she is a loving little dog! Everyone who has seen her thinks she is both beautiful and charming.... but she is indeed very ill.

On the way home from Benson on Wednesday, we took her to our Veterinarian Monika for updated bloodwork, a new Valley Fever titer and new X Rays.

Attached are the receipts for the over $ 618 for Nikki's medical care and medicines spent in just two days...

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The bone lesions are MUCH worse than last May when previous X Rays at Maricopa were done before her adoption... 

It amazes me that she can walk! But when tired, Nikki even has a hard time standing.

Currently (January 24 2022) Nikki is on 150 mg Fluconazole twice a day, coupled with Carprofen to ease the pain due to swelling in the bones and Tramadol for the general pain she is experiencing. She is also on a liver supplement and a probiotic. She will be starting on Gabapentin, another pain medication, tomorrow.

In addition to the anti-fungal drug and pain medications we have started Nikki on antibiotics for the skin lesions on her rear legs and ear ointment for an ear infection she arrived with. The medications will be given for the next ten days to 2 weeks while the wounds and her ears heal.

Currently, Nikki has her own space inside our heated travel trailer. She has a small outdoor fenced area we set up before she got here. Although I know Nikki is lonely, until we know she hasn’t picked up anything contagious at the pound, we are keeping Nikki from the other dogs.

We are delighted that Nikki eats really well. The pound had said she wouldn't eat kibble, only canned food - but we have found if we leave the kibble out she eats that too! (Maybe our kibble is tastier than what they had??)

We give her as much to eat as she wants. She doesn’t overeat and seriously needs to gain weight!

Nikki is frightened by the once-again-new situation and wants either of us to be with her all the time, which is impossible of course but we are spending as much time as possible with her. 

This is so hard on her - I can't help but wonder how many homes she has been in in her short three-year life.
Someone obviously once cared for and trained her. She is house broken, prefers sleeping in a crate (we leave the door open) and is leash trained. (Since one of the X-rays we received showed lesions in the bones of her neck, we will be using a harness when leash walking her.) It is hard  to think how many homes she may have been in....

We feel so bad for her given all she has needlessly been through!

Nikki will do well here when she knows this is her safe-haven and she will be in sanctuary for her lifetime. We already have fallen in love with her and will take the best possible care of her.

Since it is winter and she is a skinny short haired ill dog, we bought Nikki a couple of coat vests as she gets really cold. We didn't want to put sweaters on her and moving her legs and shoulders is painful. These vests have Velcro to close around the neck and her tummy.

Special thanks to Vickie and Better Days rescue for helping us pull Nikki from the Maricopa pound...and to Elaine and Richard G. for picking Nikki up at the West side pound and transporting her all the way to Benson (2.5 hours each way!!) ...and of course, to the wonderful people at Phoenix Animal Care Coalition for helping us get Nikki started on her much-needed costly medical care by providing a small Medical Grant.

Nikki's medical care will be costly. In addition to a lifetime of antifungal and pain medications, she will require bood tests and X Rays every few months.

Won't you help us help Nikki?