"Tinkerbelle"…
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came to Bay East Animal Hospital in June of 2008. She was a very sick, 6 month old, little girl. She had been vomiting, was dehydrated and very lethargic for a couple of weeks before her first visit to our practice. It was a concern that she may have a foreign body in her abdomen causing her to be ill. Her owner was unable to afford the testing needed to determine the extent of her condition and ultimately had to make the difficulty decision to surrender her to our rescue. After x-rays, blood testing and tender loving care from our staff Tinkerbelle made a full recovery without surgery. When available for adoption Tinkerbelle was introduced to several families until we were able to find her "forever" home. She now lives very loving family that has children to keep her busy, which for a terrier is a must! Her new family has since renamed her Annabelle. She will always hold a special place in the hearts of the Bay East Staff.
"Trixie"...
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came to us in October of 2008. A concerned client brought in the young barn cat for evaluation of deep open wounds on both front legs. Not only did she have the wounds, her left leg was also fractured. While being treated for her leg injuries, Trixie developed a rare complication to her medicine and her esophagus began to constrict. This prevented her from eating food and she would regurgitate anything she ate almost immediately.
She then had a feeding tube placed into her stomach and began taking trips down to the Fox Valley Animal Referral Center to undergo dilation of her esophagus. She was always a spirited little calico and entertained our staff and Fox Valley’s with her crazy shenanigans. She had many treatments on her esophagus and, in the end, was able to eat canned food that was well mashed and wet down – her very own cat-food soup. To this day, she’ll try to eat anything she can, regardless of the fact she may throw it back up almost instantly.
Trixie stole many hearts during her time at Bay East. After a few home visits to Dr. Skaletski’s in-laws, they decided Trixie needed to be a permanent part of their family. So, Trixie now spends her days racing around their house, keeping all who meet her well entertained with her acrobatic antics.
"Skip"...
What a great dog! We first met Skip (who also went by many other monikers; Skippy Jon, Skipster, The Skipinator, etc.) on November 9th, 2006. He was adopted from the Bay Area Humane Society by a family that was hoping that the mortgage for a home would go through. Skip, a Black Labrador mix, was a mess. He had terrible skin due to allergies and secondary bacterial and fungal (yeast) infections. He had fleas. He had terrible ear infections that left his ear flaps scarred and crinkled. He also suffered from continued trauma to his tail tip or “Happy Tail”.
Skip was immediately started on treatment for his skin and ear infections that would take months to heal. Also, the trauma to Skip’s tail was so extensive that his tail had to be amputated. (That did not keep him from wagging the stub, however!) While Skip was in the hospital for his neuter, the original adopters found that their mortgage was not approved and that they could not keep Skip. They did not want to take him back to the Humane Society, and signed him over to Bay East to continue his treatments and find a home. By early spring, Skip’s ears had improved and his skin had cleared up very well. His coat was now as beautiful as his demeanor. Always wanting to play and be with people, he was just what one would expect from a Black Lab mix!
Skip was with us at Bay East for almost a full year, until October 26th, 2007. It was sad to see him go, but Skip has found his loving, forever home!
"Che
wy"...
(Written by the Bay East staff)
was turned over to the Bay East Animal Hospital Rescue in September of 2001. She was having some continuing medical issues that her former owners were unable to deal with. She was a nine year old Chow Chow mix, and sweet as could be, which made it easy to find her a forever home. On October 2nd, 2001, she joined the Wall family to live out her golden years.
(Written by owner, Ken Wall)
Chewy was the most laid back dog I have ever owned. She had the look of a Chow with a big, sturdy blanket of red fur, and the loving demeanor of a Golden Retriever. When my daughter-in-law first saw her, she said “I think I’m in love.” Everybody loved Chewy, and she unconditionally loved everybody right back.
I walked Chewy every day in our old neighborhood. It was good exercise as well as a great way to socialize her. One morning, Chewy and I were walking down the street when a woman approached wheeling a two-tired baby buggy with two little boys. She looked apprehensive when we drew near, but I assured her that Chewy liked children. Sure enough, Chewy looked at the little boy on the lower level, licked him in the face, and then did the same to his brother behind him. I gave her two pieces of candy for her brave – and now slobbery – little kids, and then continued on our way. Several days later when we met the woman and her two children again, Chewy performed the same: Stare, lick, stare, lick. “Mister,” the mother said, “I just love your dog.”
Chewy was already nine when we got her from Bay East Animal Hospital, and we had her for almost five more. We nursed her through various ailments, and some, like her arthritis, were painful for her. She bore through them all with the same stoic demeanor. Her final illness was brief but agonizing. I took her on our final visit to Bay East that morning in 2006, and it was time for that final duty which eventually faces almost every pet owner. We don’t regret adopting Chewy for a moment. The devotion and joy of animals like Chewy bring to our lives is beyond expression.
Rest in peace Chewy, we love and miss you!
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"Sabre"
(Written by the Bay East Staff)
Sabre was surrendered after his previous owners were unable to keep up with his many medical needs. In January of 2003, at the age of five years old, he became a member of the Bay East Animal Hospital Rescue. Sabre was a gentle, sweet, and goofy German Shepherd who, despite all of his medical issues, always remained that way. After having him here at Bay East for ten months, we all grew very fond of him and would only settle for the very best home. The staff got what we were asking for when “the best home” actually found us, and Sabre left with Mary.
(Written by owner, Mary Roellchen)
I had gone about two years without a dog when I started looking at German Shepherd rescue websites. I contacted one the put me in touch with Bay East Animal Hospital. At the time, they had a six year old Shepherd that they had rescued and were trying to find a home for. I went to visit him a couple of times. One day, Dr. Vukich called me and asked if I wanted to take Sabre for the weekend. I brought him home on a Thursday night, and he never went back.
In the beginning, it wasn’t easy for either of us. Sabre was in his third new home in less than year, and wasn’t too happy about it. He was not the same happy dog that I had met at Bay East; he slept all of the time and seemed depressed. He destroyed kennels and urinated in the house every day. About a month after I brought him home, a friend’s dog came to stay with us while her owners were in Iraq. He was no longer home alone during the day, and he began to happily accept his new home.
Sabre was a gentle dog that got along with every person and animal that he met. There are a lot of killdeer around our house, and if he got too close to a next, one would get in front of him and squawk up a storm. He would stand there and wag his tail - he never went after them. One morning, a horse showed up in our yard that quickly became Sabre’s new friend. He had his neck stretched up as far as possible and the horse had his head down. They were nose to nose checking each other out.
Sabre was a smart dog, he trained me well. He had hip surgery and had to wear a cone around his neck. He was having trouble drinking out of his water dish, so I would hold it for him. That habit never went away, and if he was on the bed, panting heavily, I would bring him his water dish and hold it for him. Because of his hips, he also needed help getting on the bed. If he wanted to get up there, just his bark would make me go into the bedroom, pick him up, and put him on the bed. There were also many days when he would end up in snow that was too deep for him to get through, so I would go get him, pick him up, and carry him back inside.
When he wanted to play, he would throw his head and bark. In the morning, when I was ready to leave for work, he would go to the front door like he had to go to the bathroom. I would open the door, and he would walk out on the porch and start swinging his head around trying to get me to play with him. He must have thought that if he could get me to play that I would stay home. When that didn’t work and he knew I was leaving, he would get stubborn and not take a treat. He loved going for car rides. If he car door was open he would jump in, stretch out on the back seat, and refuse to get out.
I had Sabre for two years before we had to say goodbye to him. Everyone that was working that day at Bay East came in to say their farewells, and not one of them had a dry eye. He had spent nearly a year there, and became very attached to a lot of people. He was always excited to visit everyone when he had an appointment, especially when he got to see Andrea and Dr. Vukich. One thing that stuck with me that day is that even though he was only eight years old, he was a dog that was truly loved by a lot of people. And he knew it.
Rest in peace Sabre, we all love and miss you!
"Sparks"...
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Sparks warmed his way into our hearts on December 28th, 2006. He was found in the Best Buy parking lot in Ashwaubenon trying to sneak into the store. A shopper brought him to Petsmart, which is where they called us.
He was in a lot of pain with 2nd and 3rd degree burns along the right side of his body, burns on all of the pads of his back feet, and a singed tail and whiskers. He did not have any smoke inhalation and his burns were from heat, not chemicals. This leads us to believe that he was not in a fire, but had had contact with one. Sparks was placed on IV fluids for about one week, and had bandages on his burns for almost two months. At first, in order to treat the burns, he needed to be anesthetized every other day to replace his wet to dry bandage. This helped to speed his healing process.
His story evoked interest from the media, which in turn had animal lovers all over the nation, the farthest being from Northern Europe, donating to his cause. Sparks was adopted by a loving family at the end of April, 2007, and now resides in Massachusetts.
Here are some fun facts about Sparks from his family, who get to enjoy “King Sparks” every day.
- Sparks plays relentlessly with his two buddies, Erinn and Moose.
- He sleeps curled up with Kiea, his dog sibling.
- He would spend all day and night out on the screened porch if he could. It is by far his favorite place to be.
- He has to be watched carefully because he wants to get into any place he shouldn’t be, i.e. the dryer, washing machine, file drawers, dresser drawers, nooks and crannies, and of course, he strategically waits for doors to open to try to scoot outside. Fortunately, we are keen to his Jedi mind tricks and can anticipate his escape plans. Foiled at every turn, much his frustration.
- His favorite toy is sparkly balls, and his favorite place to sit (other than the porch) is any warm, soft lap. He’s quite demanding about sitting on a lap.
- He is filled with personality, and we enjoy every moment with him. He is after all the King…and we are his servants.
Sparks in 2009
