What’s this, another animal success story thanks to generous grant funding from Petco Love? The following story is about a family, grieving the loss of their beloved dog, who listened to their hearts and stepped up to foster and adopt when SVASC needed them most. If you can help us help dogs like Cooper, please head over to https://svasc.net/fostering/ after reading this heartwarming tale.
Wingman (now Cooper) originally came into the shelter as a stray on 12/2/20. After being adopted, he was returned on 2/23/21. He seemed happy and healthy upon return and the shelter staff did not notice any pain or concerning signs. Five days after his return, he began limping and avoiding putting weight on his back leg.
Wingman was taken to have x-rays and receive pain medication. The vet was unable to see any vertebrae, but she did not think the issue with the back leg was related to a disc injury. They determined that he had Ehrlichia, a tick-borne disease, and connected the pain and lameness to that. He was immediately started on Doxycycline and Carprofren.
Near the end of March 2021, the Sorrenson family agreed to a two-week foster-to-adopt trial with Wingman. Though they were nervous to commit to a dog with medical issues after recently losing their beloved dog Diggy to congestive heart failure, they felt the urge to take a chance on Wingman. Lindsay shared that “it was obvious within days that he wasn’t going anywhere.” Wingman was officially adopted and became Cooper Sorrenson on March 23, 2021.
When asked what made them want to foster and adopt, Lindsey explained that after losing Diggy, she and her husband found themselves without a canine companion for the first time in decades. Lindsey explained: “So, we began visiting the SVASC website to find a dog that could help fill the big dog-shaped hole in our heart that [Diggy’s] loss left. One day Cooper showed up on their website, big floppy ears and big brown puppy dog eyes and it was love at first sight. We emailed our application in that day.”
Cooper finished his Ehrlichia treatment with his family and is now thriving and loving life as the newest Sorrenson.
SVASC’s medical funding from the municipalities is not enough to cover costly treatments like this for most of its intakes. Dogs like Cooper used to be euthanized for having treatable but expensive conditions like Ehrlichia if the shelter could not get rescue and transport arranged for them. Petco Love‘s grant funding enabled SVASC to spend $375.35 to get him evaluated, x-rayed, diagnosed, and treated.
“I don’t know how one can say thank you enough for helping save a life…but SVASC and Petco Love both have my sincerest gratitude. Most animals are lucky to get a second chance at a family and a home; Cooper was lucky enough to get a third chance thanks to Petco Love and the dedicated staff at Shenandoah Valley Animal Services Center.” – Lindsey Sorrenson
Petco Love has generously invested $277,500 in Shenandoah Valley Animal Services Center since 2014. Without their assistance, many animals with injuries and illnesses would not have had the opportunity to receive treatment or get adopted by loving families in Waynesboro, Staunton, or Augusta County. Their funding also covers the bulk of SVASC’s spay/neuter surgeries; these critical surgeries have contributed to their significant overall decrease in intakes and increase in save rate since 2014. Preventing unwanted litters keeps the shelter population from exploding and saves the citizens of the municipalities from having to make the heartbreaking decision to surrender their animals to the shelter. Petco Love has invested over $300 million dollars with 4,000 animal welfare partners across the United States.
To learn more about Petco Love: https://petcolove.org/
To donate to Petco Love: donate in any Petco store at the end of your transaction or visit https://petcolove.org/put-your-love-into-action/
To foster with SVASC: https://svasc.net/fostering/
To volunteer with SVASC: https://svasc.net/volunteers/
To donate to SVASC via Friends of Shenandoah Valley Animal Services Center: https://friendsofsvasc.org/donate/
