During the month of May, Stephanie Smith-Justus received a phone call from a neighbor who was concerned about her. It had recently been brought to his attention that there was a dog that was in critical need of assistance, and he was at a loss over what to do about it.
Smith-Justus, who works at a city shelter and also manages the no-kill Buchanan County Humane Society in Virginia, grabbed her husband and raced down to the end of her street, where a neighbor claimed to have seen the puppy. Smith-Justus did this in order to protect the animal from being killed. There was a dog that Smith-Justus was able to save.
She had reached the point where she was ready to give up by the time she had completed her quest through the dense woodland. In contrast, her husband was eventually successful in locating the dog, which had been dozing off in a collection of weeds at the end of the road for a considerable amount of time. His remarks to Stephanie were, “I don’t think he’s going to live.” Stephanie was shocked to hear those words. As stated by Smith-Justus, The Dodo was made aware of the situation.
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Smith-Justus, who works at a city shelter and also manages the no-kill Buchanan County Humane Society in Virginia, grabbed her husband and raced down to the end of her street, where a neighbor claimed to have seen the puppy. Smith-Justus did this in order to protect the animal from being killed. There was a dog that Smith-Justus was able to save.
She had reached the point where she was ready to give up by the time she had completed her quest through the dense woodland. In contrast, her husband was eventually successful in locating the dog, which had been dozing off in a collection of weeds at the end of the road for a considerable amount of time. His remarks to Stephanie were, “I don’t think he’s going to live.” Stephanie was shocked to hear those words. As stated by Smith-Justus, The Dodo was made aware of the situation.
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www.jovviral.com
Initially, it appeared as though he had been scorched by the heat,” Smith-Justus recounted. “His condition appeared to be critical.” The puppy, who was only four months old at the time, was covered in a terrible case of demodectic mange, which he had most probably inherited from his mother. The puppy was covered in the mange. She stated, “It was a very unfortunate piece of occurrence.” To put it another way, you should consider it a burn of the second degree.
Smith-Justus and her husband hastily gathered the little puppy and made their way to be with the veterinarian. As luck would have it, a veterinarian had recently moved into a house down the street, so they were able to have the opportunity to meet the veterinarian. The excuse that she provided was that “We didn’t even knock.” It was nothing more than a hasty entry into her residence that I made with him.
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After watching the dog, which was ultimately given the name Watkins after the street on where he was discovered, the veterinarian got a sensation that something was wrong with the dog. One of the things that Smith-Justus mentioned in his explanation was, “She claimed that he was dying.”
They took him to the veterinarian’s clinic, where they discovered that the first problem with his skin was just the beginning of his problems. They learned this information after taking him there. Prior to this, he had already been shot with a pellet gun on many occasions. In addition to the fact that he weighed only about 34 pounds, he had gone so long without eating that his intestines had entirely collapsed.
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His ankles did not develop in the appropriate manner as a result of his malnutrition, which was a consequence of his circumstances. As stated by Smith-Justus, “The degree of flexibility that his tendons possessed had decreased.” When he was on his paw pads, it was impossible for him to even stand by himself. It was a terrible sensation to watch him walk since he slouched down on his wrists. This made it difficult to stand in front of him.
He was in such a fragile state that the mange was so terrible that it was threatening to cause his body to collapse. When Smith-Justus expressed his recollection, “He was literally pouring with fluids,” he was referring to a damp region that encompassed him wherever he sat and had a circumference of eight inches. There was just a problem with how puffy he was.
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The fact that Smith-Justus was deeply troubled by Watkins’ situation and had a great desire to help him did not change the reality that she placed the biggest weight on doing what was most charitable.
She offered the veterinarian her understanding by stating, “If he is so terrible, if you need to euthanize him, I understand, but I want to do what is best for him.” She was expressing her understanding to the veterinarian. They pushed, “Let’s help him,” and she urged them to do so.
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Nevertheless, it was never a simple undertaking. It was almost immediately after Watkins was transported to the clinic that he experienced a twisting of his bowels, which resulted in him having to undergo emergency surgery. That Watkins would make a full recovery following the treatment was not something that the doctor had anticipated.
The assertion made by Smith-Justus was that she had conveyed to him the news that he would not be able to survive and that he need to be farewelled quickly. In addition to that, he maintained his positive attitude until the morning of the following day.
After a few weeks had gone, however, the situation became much more precarious than it had been before. He stopped eating, which led to him losing 34 pounds and needing the implantation of a feeding tube, which he finally was able to gnaw off. He eventually became able to gain control of his eating habits. The process of rehabilitation that Smith-Justus went through was referred to be “a comedy of mistakes on multiple occasions.”
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In addition to spending some time in the intensive care unit at Virginia Tech, Watkins worked at the veterinarian’s office for 119 days. He also spent some time there working. Furthermore, as he battled to recover from the difficulties he had encountered in the beginning of his existence, something that was equally significant began to take place. This occurred at the same time.
People from all around the world who had heard Watkins’ tale and wished to wish him well on his journey to recovery began sending Smith-Justus messages of support. These communications contained good wishes for Watkins’ recovery. Watkins received these uplifting responses from individuals who wished to wish him the best of luck in his endeavors. It was then that blankets and dog beds began to arrive from all across the United States and even from foreign countries; one family traveled to several different states in order to pay him a visit.
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At the moment, there are more than 12,000 individuals who are following a Facebook page that chronicles his journey and provides facts about it.
According to Smith-Justus, who asserted that his photographs and his narrative must have evoked the same emotional response in them as they did in me, he must have struck a chord with them in the same way that it caused me to feel.
In addition, Watkins was able to return back to his hometown with Smith-Justus on July 11 as a result of the unwavering support he received from his supporters and the multitude of individuals who were in his corner.
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He did not, without a shadow of a doubt, encounter any medical professionals throughout his life. He was needed to go to the doctor on Tuesdays in order to cure a recurrent ear infection, and on Thursdays, he was required to endure “puppy chemo” in order to get rid of the demodectic mange. Both of these treatments were necessary in order to treat the infection.
Not only did his relentless drive continue to astound everyone, but it also continued to amaze them. Due to the fact that the dysfunction that Smith-Justus was experiencing in his legs continued, he decided to schedule an appointment to have his legs checked. On the other hand, just as she was going to take him and take him with her, Watkins took yet another big step – and this time it was really literal. He stood up and began walking in the manner that was anticipated of him, as Smith-Justus explained. This occurred immediately after the last event. The “I am at a loss for words” expression is an example.
Over the course of the succeeding few months, Watkins progressed in his recovery, and despite the fact that he is still healing at the current moment, he is far closer to becoming a content and healthy 10-month-old puppy than anyone could have possibly dreamed he would be.
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Meanwhile, he is continually rewarding Smith-Justus, as well as her friends and family, with his improvement. This is something that he is doing. Even though he used to be frightened of cars and people who smoke marijuana, he now finds that driving by car is something that he enjoys when doing so. Running around in the yard, which is something he has just recently learnt to do without crying, has assisted him in regaining his self-assurance and has already assisted him in becoming stronger.
One of the things that she said was, “He is such a delight; he is such a nice puppy.” He started to have a sense of increased strength, his skin started to improve, and his ears started to develop further.
Additionally, Watkins has found a best buddy in his toy lobster, which he will keep in his water bowl until evening, at which point he will retrieve it and cuddle with it. Watkins has found a favorite companion in his toy lobster.
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In addition, despite the fact that Watkins had a difficult life, he is remarkably full of affection for his family and friends. Watkins pounced at the chance to adopt a bunch of soot-covered kittens and their mother, who had been injured in a home fire, when Smith-Justus recently took in a group of kittens and their mother. Watkins cleaned the kittens while their mother watched in terror from where she was standing.
Prozac is the medication that Watkins is now taking in order to alleviate the stress that he is experiencing as a direct result of the medical procedures that he is doing. It is going to be a very lengthy journey for him. Nevertheless, each new day reveals more of the small puppy that Watkins had buried beneath all of the agony he had experienced as a child. Watkins had previously buried the dog.
Despite the fact that they had voiced their hope and prayers for him, the medical specialists at Virginia Tech informed me that they did not believe he had a reasonable chance of survival… After that, she said, “He surprised each and every one of us.” For all intents and purposes, he is a miracle.
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If you are interested in making a gift to Watkins’ ongoing veterinary expenditures, you can do so here. If you would like to do so, please continue reading.
By visiting Adopt-a-Pet.com, you can find dogs in your area that are in need of adoption and provide a permanent home for a dog like Watkins. If you want to help ensure that additional pets are not abandoned like Watkins, you may provide a permanent home for a dog like Watkins.
