Kessler Defines “Rescue” at Col. Potter!

Written by a CP Intakes Coordinator

Kessler, an approximately 9 year old Wheaten Male

Please welcome Kessler to our Col. Potter family!  Now some of you will say, “Hey wait a minute!  We just had Kessler join the CP family a few weeks ago… What's going on?”  Well, that little boy, from a few weeks ago, found his Forever with his Rescue Angel before he ever got transported to CP, and so we wanted to be sure this very special name donated through our Name a Rescue Cairn Program by Amy H., in memory of her dad's beloved boy, was carried on to another CP furkid.

Kessler is a little Wheaten dude, weighing in at just 15 lbs.  He’s from one of our big cities, let’s call it Gotham, where he was found tied to a fence - left defenseless and without resources.  He was sick, cold, and hungry - and in pain.  Eventually he was picked up by Animal Control and brought to a shelter.  And, as has happened before in these situations, the shelter was unsure of what to do with him.  “Rescue only” they said.  No chance for adoption.

When Col. Potter learned of Kessler’s situation, we knew we couldn’t leave him there in the shelter.  And, through the compassion and terrier tenacity of our volunteers, in particular Sheri K. and Mary Ellen L., we were able to pull Kessler from this shelter and get him into the warm folds of the Col. Potter blanket.

When we brought Kessler to the vet, we learned just how much trouble this one little guy was in.  He had a laundry list of medical problems, including the fact that he was still intact.  To begin with, his thinning fur and dry skin were found to be the result of an under active thyroid, a condition that once diagnosed is easy to treat with medication.

His eye had a large growth on the lid, a cyst that pressed against his eyeball giving him constant irritation.  This required surgical removal of the cyst to relieve his discomfort.

On x-ray he was found to have many many bladder stones that had lodged in his urethra, making urination very difficult and painful. The surgery to remove these stones required a dangerous incision, and it took hours to clear them all out.  Keeping Kessler on a special diet will prevent this from happening again.

And what was probably Kessler’s first dental exam ever revealed seven rotted and abscessed teeth that had to be removed during his dental surgery.

It’s difficult to think about the amount of pain this dog must have been in - and for a very long time - for things to have gotten as bad they did.

Kessler is estimated at around nine years old now, and he was originally purchased as a puppy from a pet store.  So we imagine he was loved for a little while - or at least someone was amused by him for a while - but no one ever cared for him or his well-being.

Kessler’s story is one that just brings home the true meaning of Rescue.  His story is one that we all live and breathe in our hearts - one where we all say, “Someone, please help this dog!”   And in a way, we’re lucky, because we’re Col. Potter Cairn Rescue - and we can be that someone who will help this dog.

Maybe you’re not close enough to Kessler to drive his transport or to Foster him, but consider becoming a Guardian Angel for this little guy, or maybe drop a few dollars into the “Kessler Fund.”  The surgeries and treatments that were needed to give this little Cairn his quality of life back were extensive and expensive.  The good news is that he’s healing and will be whole again soon - and that’s because of who we are at Col. Potter and what we do.

Thanks to all of you!

Col. Potter’s Name aRescue Cairn Program

http://mall.cairnrescue.com/forms/frm_namecairn.htm

Col. Potter Guardian Angel Program

http://www.cairnrescue.com/rescue/sponsor.php
 
Please Send Your Donations to:

Kessler Fund 
c/o Danielle Rackstraw
PO Box 1354
Menifee, CA 92585-1354