My name is Splinter*ADOPTED!*!

SPLINTER HAS BEEN ADOPTED!!!


****UPDATE 1/27/16*****
Splinter came to our rescue May 2015. As you can see from his before photos, that he had suffered horrible cruelty and neglect in his previous home. You can read more about his story and see more photos from the day he was rescued and of his progress by following the link provided below this update.Splinter has been with our rescue for 9 months now and is doing wonderful and is really thriving. He is 100% healthy now and is loving life in his foster home! He has a ton of character and is by far the most clever, determined and loving dog I've ever met and I'm sure that's what kept him going in the condition he was in. While all of his physical neglect has been remedied he still has some behavioral issues that have made placing him challenging. He's still not housebroken, which can be hard to manage with a 90 pound dog. He can go 2 sometimes 3 weeks without an accident, but then will regress and have multiple accidents a day. The bigger challenge seems to be his desire to eat EVERYTHING, not just food, but he tries to eat almost everything, edible or not. He chewed a collar off a dog and tried to eat that and recently got into a cabinet and ate a box of ziploc bags. He has to be watched very closely, like a very young puppy, and if he can't be watched closely he has to be kenneled or in a "Splinter proof" room. If he has access to a large yard, he may have to be muzzled to keep him from ingesting something harmful. He LOVES bones and rubber balls and will entertain himself for quite some time if provided with a variety of durable toys. Splinter is being fostered with several other dogs and gets along with everyone. He especially loves small dogs and puppies, however he is a bit like a bull in a china shop and does not know his own size/strength. He can play quite rough with the smaller dogs, so he'd do best in a home with dogs at least 25 pounds. He does not do well with cats. He has learned to go up and down stairs, but being a senior Shepherd, he has some arthritis in his hips and spine. The fewer the stairs, the better for him. We know his perfect home is out there, but in the meantime, he is being very spoiled and is very loved in his foster home. If interested in giving Splinter his forever home, please email palsplace1@hotmail.com. His adoption donation of $275 benefits the rescued dogs of Pal's Place Rescue.
*******************************************************************************************************************Splinter is a 10 year old German Shepherd rescued by Pal's Place 9 months ago from a lifetime of cruelty and neglect. He is making tremendous strides and recovering beautifully; he finally knows what it's like to be loved and cared for! His medical bills are mounting though, and being a small rescue, we having trouble keeping up with his expenses. Please copy and paste the link below or visit our main page to read his story below and follow the link if you'd wish to donate or be kept up to date on his progress!

http://www.youcaring.com/letshelpsplinter


"Senior Shepherd being euthanized in 20 minutes, can you help?only seconds after receiving this text and a blurry photo, I received a call from Starfish Rescue. They are a wonderful organization that transports homeless dogs from kill shelters in rural Kentucky to rescue groups in the Chicagoland are; where their chances of adoption are much greater. I had already committed to picking up an older German Shepherd from them, could I possibly take another?

The director of Starfish frantically explained that the senior Shepherd had been surrendered by his owners to be killed. He was bald and seemed about ten years old. If he did not make it onto the van being loaded up with animals headed north to be rescued, he would be put to sleep by the already full animal control facility that had taken him in.

Could I handle another older Shepherd after already committing to one that needed expensive heartworm treatment? Like most rescues, Pal’s Place is ever short on funding and foster homes. I am constantly faced with the difficult decision of deciding which dogs we can accept within our limits, so that we can provide the best possible care for the dogs already in our adoption program.

A lifelong love of German Shepherds wouldn’t let me say “no.”

The following day, I arrived to pick up the dogs. The blurry photo showed him as bald, so I braced myself for a bad case of mange - not pleasant, but treatable. As I arrived, a transport volunteer ran over to me. “Are you taking the senior Shepherd?” she asked. “Yep, how’s he doing?” I replied. She asked me to follow her to a trash can and pulled out a heavy collar with a thick chain attached to it. “This is what he was wearing, we had to cut it off.” I held the collar in my hand, feeling its heaviness. It was smelly and rusty. He must have worn it for years, barely able to lift his head.

Once I opened his crate, I was shocked. He faced the rear of the crate with his head in a corner - too broken or demoralized to face front. I gently coaxed him out and could not believe what I was seeing. After more than 15 years in rescue, I have never seen a dog in this condition and still alive. Huge open sores covered much of his nearly bald body, as well as several lesions (resembling rain rot in a horse). His skin was thick like an elephant’s and his joints and face were painfully swollen. You could barely see his eyes through all of the pus. His bones were prominent and there didn’t seem to be an ounce of fat or muscle left on him. The tip of his tail was dead; completely blackened skin with the bone poking through. The tips of his ears; also blackened with notches that had been carved out by the tissue that had died, most likely from frostbite at some point in his life.His movements were slow and deliberate; he kept his head and tail down low. This was an animal suffering in the extreme.

He was offered a small bowl of food and several bowls of water, which he gobbled up readily. A short walk to the car caused him to stop and catch his breath several times. I began thinking euthanasia might be the most merciful solution for this animal. When we finally made it to to my truck, I wrapped my arms around the big guy and lifted him into the car. As soon as I set him down, he let out a huge sigh of relief and gave me a quick lick on my face. It's almost as if he knew that things were going to get better for him. That was it; I knew then that I had to do whatever it took to nurse this dog back to health.

His “owners” hadn’t given the pound a name for him, so he needed a good name. Being a child of the 80's I knew right away there was only one name for this dog; Master Splinter. Master Splinter is a cartoon giant rat. He is sensei and adoptive father to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In his bald and swollen state, our sad German Shepherd looked more like a giant rat than a dog. However, Master Splinter is wise, determined, proud, and stoic. Given this dog's appearance and temperament, I thought it was the perfect moniker.
Splinter rode quietly in the back seat on our way home. He seemed grateful just to have a soft place to rest his body. At home I gave him his own room with a cushy bed where he remained until the following morning.

Splinter deteriorated even more over the evening. He was unable to stand on his own and was losing interest in food. We headed off to the vet first thing in the morning. As we walked into the clinic, you could see the shock in the eyes of all the doctors and staff. A thorough examination and several x-rays and blood panels showed his heart and lungs were in fairly good shape, but the other diagnostics were not so good. His blood was nearly clear, not red as it should be and his protein count was only eight. A normal protein count is 35. His white blood cell count was off the charts, indicating a raging infection throughout his skin and body. The x-rays also revealed nothing but the bones of tiny mammals in his stomach, most likely the only thing he had to eat for a long time were rats or mice. The poor guys was probably eating any small creature that would run near his chain to survive. He had almost every parasite possible, including heartworm and scabies. He was emaciated and anemic. Immediate hospitalization and a blood transfusion were recommend.

Splinter's body was shutting down, he most likely would not even survived another week in his current condition. The doctor warned his prognosis was very guarded and his outlook grim but we both wanted to give Splinter a chance to feel better and to know what's it's like to be loved. I gave him a kiss and a hug and left him in the very capable hands of the doctors. Splinter was administered a blood transfusion right away. Initially, it seemed to do him good, he perked up and had a bit more energy. The following day however, the vet called to let me know his face and legs were even more swollen and that his protein count had once again dropped. His veins were too weak to handle the new fluids that were entering into his body and any blood he received leaked was leaking into his body cavity. It was recommended we take him off IV's and fluids to give his very broken body a chance to adjust and to heal. Splinter remained stable the next two days and he was then administered another blood transfusion which he seemed to tolerate better.

After a full week of hospitalization, Splinter's blood levels had elevated just enough for his vet to feel comfortable with him being released to continue his recovery in a foster home. He's getting stronger and stronger everyday and is making remarkable strides, but we need your help to continue helping Splinter!

Splinter has been with our rescue for 9 weeks now and is thriving, but his medical bills are piling up. Splinter's initial hospitalization and care totaled more than $2000 for the first week. When his body has recovered enough and he's strong enough for surgery, he still needs to have the dead half of his tail amputated as well as a neuter surgery. He goes in for blood panels/exams every 2 weeks and is still on expensive antibiotics and steroids which he'll continue for another several weeks. He's heartworm positive as well and will complete treatment once he's able. We are estimating that Splinter's upcoming bills will approach an additional $2000. Pal's Place is a very small no-kill rescue and we rely entirely on the very generous donations of our supporters to help us continue our rescue mission and help dogs in need like Splinter. Any amount you may be able to spare with be greatly appreciated, no amount is too small! Please check back frequently to the update section of this page as well as our Facebook page to be kept up to date on Splinter's progress.

https://www.facebook.com/palsplacechicago

http://palsplace.neocites.org


DONATIONS CAN ALSO BE MADE DIRECTLY TO SPLINTER'S VET. JUST BE SURE TO INDICATE THE DONATION IS FOR THE ACCOUNT OF PAL'S PLACE

ANIMAL CARE CENTER CHICAGO
1248 W. WASHINGTON BLVD
CHICAGO, 60607
312-243-6655