Sloan My Story

On Tuesday, March 26, 2002, Diane, who lives in Alvarado, drove into her driveway to find an emaciated greyhound barely able to stand. She opened her car door, offered him a bit of food, and he stumbled over, making it possible to lift him into the car. Diane had never seen anything quite so thin, weak and so covered with ticks. She immediately took him to her vet.

Diane called GALT the next day, Wednesday, to ask if we could take him into our program. Her call was a life-saving one for this sweet boy. "Sloan", named after his rescuer, was picked up on Thursday by Debi Joynt, one of GALT's dedicated volunteers, and taken to Preston Park Animal Hospital for evaluation.

Sloan is a very, very sick greyhound, heavily infested with parasites, positive for heartworms, positive for Ehrlichiosis, severely anemic and malnourished. Sloan is only two years and five months old, born in November 1999; we will never know his history, as his right ear is double tattooed, making it impossible to trace his NGA registered owner.

He had obviously been traveling for quite some time; his tick infestation was, on a scale of one to ten, a TWENTY…..and his weight is only 55 pounds - a good 15 pounds under what he should weigh. His hip and shoulder bones protrude dramatically under his thin cream coat. As we sat with him at the hospital pulling off dead ticks, he looked up with those beautiful soulful eyes and gently put his paw on the volunteer's arm. His eyes were full of gratitude, saying "thank you just for caring and helping me".

Sloan is a true rescue in every sense of the word...THIS IS WHY WE VOLUNTEER OUR TIME AND RESOURCES - trying to make a difference one greyhound at a time. Sloan has a long, expensive recovery ahead of him; first, many weeks of antibiotics and rehabilitation before he can even be considered a candidate for heartworm treatment. Heartworm treatment is very, very expensive. These special medical treatment costs needed by Sloan is why the Miss Mesa Fund was established.

Update 4/30/02

Sloan is under the care of Dr. Jeff Ellis of Preston Park Animal Hospital. Sloan is still a very sick boy. Although he is showing improvement, it will be another 30 days at least before he can be evaluated to begin his heartworm treatment.

Thank you to those of you who are helping with Sloan's medical expenses.

From Kristin Fields, Sloan's Foster Mom

We have now had Sloan in our home for a little over 4 weeks. When we first brought him home, Sloan was extremely thin; you could see most of his ribs, his hip bones were protruding out, his bottom was mostly bald, the tips of his ears were crusty and scabby, sores covered the area behind his ears due to the flea and ticks bites, sores covered the skin down his tail and spine, as well as many other areas on this body. Basically he was a mess.

Within this time, Sloan has put on quite a few pounds, the tips of his ears are a little smoother, many of the scabs have healed, he is starting to grow fur on his bottom, and his bones are showing less and less every day. He has a wonderful appetite and has even figured out how to scam the cats' food. Sloan is a very loving and affectionate grey and has a goofy trot he does when he is happy - which is all of the time. He has learned to "collect" as many stuffed animals as possible in his bed, as well as how to give us those sad eyes when he wants something. We feel so fortunate to have him in our foster home and are enjoying giving him as much love as he can tolerate from us!

Update 6/14/02

Sloan began his Heartworm treatment on June 5th, and is tolerating this first phase okay. He returns in 30 days for another injection. His foster home is keeping him very quiet for this period of time.

Update 7/19/02

Sloan completed his second phase of treatment for the Heartworms on Wednesday, July 17, and so far, is tolerating everything as well as can be expected. He has been hospitalized during this time, and today will return to his foster home where he will again have to stay extremely quiet for the next 30 days. At that time he will be tested again to see if he tests negative for the heartworms. He has been one sick, sick greyhound, but with the tender loving care of GALT's excellent vet staff and his foster home, Sloan is on the road to having a wonderful life.

Update 8/24/02

Sloan returned to Dr. Ellis on August 16 to be rechecked for parasites, testing positive again for hookworms. He is under treatment for these parasites, and testing for his heartworms is now scheduled for the middle of September.

It has been a long road for this sweet boy, and hopefully he is rounding the last curve. Keep your paws crossed for him, and many thanks to those of you sending donations to help with his care.

Update 9/19/02

From Sloan's Foster Mom: We have had Sloan in our home for approximately 6 months now and the changes have just been incredible.

Sloan came to us just 2 days after we had lost our Greyson - I truly believe he was sent to help us get through our sadness. For the first few months, he was very weak and tired. His eyes even had a look of sadness. But now, Sloan is a completely different dog. He is a very happy and affectionate boy. Whenever we walk into a room, he jumps all over us, showering us with kisses and hugs. His eyes now glow and his ears are always standing up, attentive to everything going on around him. He now runs and trots around, whereas before, it seemed like so much effort for him to even get up to go outside. In fact, a couple times a week, he will go outside and just run laps for about 5 minutes. He has so much energy now - I know he must be feeling better. He absolutely loves his stuffed animals - he has become a "true collector". Anything with our scent, he wants in the bed with him. From shoes, to hairbrushes, to clothing - he loves to have all these things with him. I think the funniest thing he does is, he loves to lay on the first step in the pool. This is the first place he runs to EVERY time we let him outside.

I feel Sloan has been a real blessing to us, and I thank GALT so much for allowing him to come into our home. He has brought us so much joy and happiness, especially at a time when we were so sad. I have to say, this has been the most rewarding fostering experience I have had, and if anyone has ever thought about fostering, I would really encourage you to do so. I feel I have made a real difference in his life, but even so, I feel Sloan has given us so much more. He truly helped heal our hearts.

Update 10/4/02

With all that Sloan has been through, he has now been bitten by a spider on his right front foot and is currently under care for that. It is a very bad wound, and we are hoping he will not lose a toe.

Update 11/13/02

On 11/13 Sloan had to have his injured toe amputated. The surgery went well. He will be slow moving for a while, but we're hoping his recovery will be fast.