Milagros has a story that literally brings tears to your eyes. She was found by a firefighter a couple of days after the devastating volcanic eruption of Fuego June 3, 2018. She was tiny, skeletally thin, and someone had scrawled “AYUDA” on her side with ashes (this means HELP! in Spanish). The firefighter picked her up and brought her out of the zone and to us, and he and his team scoured the area for two days afterward looking for trapped people, but never found any sign of anyone.
Milagros was a very, very sick puppy. She was emaciated, dehydrated and had advanced parvovirus. She spent the first week in critical care and on I/V fluids at the veterinarian. After she was released, she went to super-experienced and fabulous foster mama Carin Steen. There was much wrong with this puppy. She was very wobbly on her feet, and extremely weak. She had a severe upper respiratory infection that made it difficult for her to breathe and didn’t seem to respond to antibiotics. She had heavy discharge from her eyes and nose, making us suspect distemper. And she steadfastly refused to eat.
Carin dedicated the next month and a half of her life to nursing this puppy, carrying her everywhere, medicating her round the clock and preparing all manner of delicious (and refused) home-cooked meals. Until she discovered chicken gizzards. For some reason, Milagros decided that these were the most delicious things on the planet! Once she began to eat, things started to take a turn for the better.
Milagros is now a pretty healthy puppy. Our Dr. Jim confirmed that she had distemper (and she truly does live up to her name of Miracle, because surviving parvo is one miracle, but surviving distemper too is almost unheard of!). She has damaged enamel on her teeth, one effect of distemper as a puppy. She also has a bare spot on her neck that has not responded to treatment and we have not been able to diagnose. A biopsy has been sent in.
Milagros will be spayed in a couple of weeks, and she has a wonderful and very patient family awaiting her in the US. We’ll be sending her up as soon as we have a clean bill of health on her. She is a wonderful, sweet, and absolutely lovely puppy thanks to Carin’s tireless care and love.
