-

Not all animals arrive at the Burbank Animal Shelter ready to find their new forever home. Some come in with a variety of serious medical issues that need to be addressed. That’s where the Shelter’s Medical Team comes in. In addition to a routine check-up to make sure all animals are up to date on vaccinations, the Shelter’s Medical Team make sure serious issues are treated promptly and develop a plan for recovery.

While some procedures can be done in-house at the Shelter, more complex cases need help from outside specialists. That’s where the VBAS comes in. Working together with outside veterinary clinics and animal hospitals, Shelter Medical finds treatment options for our sick and injured animals. Since most of these complicated surgeries and treatments are outside the scope of what the Shelter can provide, VBAS steps in and funds them. These animals receiving these special surgeries and procedures would not be adoptable otherwise.

In addition to paying for outside medical treatments, VBAS has a dedicated team of volunteers who help the Shelter’s medical department in a variety of ways. Whether it’s something as simple as holding animals while they receive vaccinations or helping to transport animals to offsite medical appointments, the volunteers provide critical resources to ensure our animals get the best care possible.

This Shelter has been especially busy lately with many animals coming in requiring specialized outside medical care.

Six-month old Bones arrived at the shelter in bad shape and in a lot of pain. Preliminary x-rays showed his back leg had been snapped in two. Despite the pain, Bones was very sweet and friendly and always excited to see people.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we were able to send Bones to VCA Animal Specialty Group and save his leg.

After the surgery, Bones had a long road to recovery. He went to a foster home to heal and got lots of lap time watching TV with his foster mom every night. As his leg got stronger, he was able to explore more, even if it meant having to wear a cone.

After several follow-up check ups and and X-rays, Bones’ stitches were removed and he was able to roam around his foster home without a cone, which he was very happy about.

Unfortunately, Bones’ road to recovery took a bit of a detour. He developed some complications and the metal plate and screws in his leg had to come out, requiring another surgery. Thankfully the surgery went great and after a few more check-ups was cleared to be adopted. He’s currently living an amazing life with his new cat siblings in his forever home.

Stella was another animal who needed extraordinary care. At 10-months old, Stella came to the shelter barely able to walk and in a great deal of pain. X-rays at the shelter showed that Stella had a broken pelvis. She would need extensive surgery to repair the damage.

We reached out again to VCA Animal Specialty Group for help, and their surgeons installed multiple plates and screws to put her pelvis back together.

After the surgery, Stella recovered at the shelter for a few weeks to allow her bones to knit. She was able to take short walks throughout the day with the Shelter’s Kennel Attendants, but had to use a special sling to help keep the weight off her hips.

Eventually Stella went to a foster home. Stella was cleared to go on longer walks with her foster family, but still had to limit her movement and how much weight she put on her back legs. Stella was fine being a couch potato during this time though, even if she needed help getting up and down occasionally. She loved getting pets, belly rubs and cuddle time with the family.

After a few more checkups and some physical therapy, Stella was cleared by Medical and adopted!

In addition to Bones and Stella, many other animals at the Burbank Animal Shelter receive extraordinary surgeries. A public shelter being able to provide life-changing surgeries like these is not common, and we are only able to do it thanks to the generosity of our donors.

The Medical team, the animals and the Volunteers of the Burbank Animal Shelter would like to say a huge thank you to our donors Your gifts are saving lives and making so many happy stories possible. Thank you so much for making Burbank a special place for the animals. We couldn’t do it without you.

Please consider making a donation to help the next animal needing a life saving surgery like Stella and Bones.