Success Stories
Arnold’s Journey To Living His Best Life
Arnold was found by a volunteer and brought to Dr. Holgate
Remember Arnold? As you may recall, Arnold was found by a volunteer and brought to Dr. Holgate. He was very emaciated but at the same time, his abdomen was distended and oddly out of proportion. This little medium-sized pup had a growth on his belly the size of a basketball, which made it nearly impossible for him to stand or walk.
He was in such bad shape. Just as Dr. Holgate and her team thought he might be on the mend; his health would decline again.
“I recall the severity of Arnold’s treatment — he did not look or act well. You could look at his face and his behavior and you couldn’t help but think, ‘are you ready to go?’ It was scary, but I had to think about what we could do, what could we try. We had to nurse him back to health, but he went up and down. And when they go down I would kind of lose that drive and think ‘is he at the end?”
Dr. Holgate and her team started blood work and put Arnold on Doxycycline since he tested positive for tick disease: ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis. Then they started trying to find things Arnold would eat. “I tried rotisserie chicken, I was using the white meat — because I tell people ‘No skin, fat, oil or grease for your dog — especially when they are sick.’ I microwaved potato, to make it extra yummy, and I even started eating with him!”
After making a full recovery, Arnold was adopted soon after into his loving new family.
Dr. Holgate and Arnold started to have dinner together, and whenever she would shop at Sam’s Club and get the chicken that is ready to eat, they would call it Arnold’s chicken! Over time, Arnold completely transformed, “it’s almost like a different dog — his demeanor, his attitude, and his sweetness. I was seriously thinking of adopting him, but I kept thinking ‘no, no,’ there’s another one on the way and he or she is going to need a lot of attention and I really need to be there for the next ones.”
Animals are truly incredible. Even after all he had been through at such an early time in his life, Arnold never gave up.
“That was a roller coaster ride, and we went on it together — in the end he is happy,” Dr. Holgate told us. Arnold ended up at another foster once he started responding to his treatments.
Arnold is a great example of resilience. “I can see his face in my mind, but he’s making other people happy just like he made me happy,” Dr. Holgate told us. She saw updated photos of Arnold and saw that he had received a matching harness and blanket. "He looks handsome,” she smiled.
Arnold was adopted by his foster family who includes a veterinary technician! Although he had to have many more surgeries after he was adopted, he is doing great.
It is because of supportive and generous friends like you that dogs like Arnold are able to get the care they need — saving their lives — and helping them live their best life with fosters and new forever families. When you support RAR, you are a part of the miracle of an animal like Arnold finding the care they need and their forever home.