In a perfect world, every senior dog would be living their best lives daily where their biggest concern would be choosing the comfiest place to nap or lap to snuggle in. The heartbreaking fact is that’s not the case, and many senior dogs find themselves abandoned simply because they’ve grown old.
Estimated 13-15 years of age, this precious girl was surrendered to ACCT Philadelphia with a request for euthanasia due to her age and declining health. The shelter vets did not believe this is how Claudia’s life should end and that is when we received the gut wrenching plea to help this tiny soul.
Since when does growing old mean life is over? Canine aging, like human aging, is a natural life stage. Rather than being prematurely euthanized or neglected when they slow down they deserve specialized senior care, and it is abundantly clear by her condition that she had not received care.
Claudia was covered in fleas, has limited vision, severe periodontal disease, is extremely muscle wasted to the point where you can see every vertebrae in her spine, and has osteoarthritis of the rear hips. Her Body Condition Score was a 3/9, Muscle Condition Score a 1/3. Her blood work tells us that she has some things going on that require further diagnostics and it will all be done.
Her body is frail, her soul crushed, and once again we are picking up the pieces of a broken heart while trying to heal a badly neglected body.
Little Claudia still has a big spark of life in her. She is beautiful, vibrant and so deserving of this second chance. She is imperfectly perfect and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
This is what we do here at Paws Give Me Purpose not because it’s easy, but because so many others can’t.