MIRACLE IN CAMDEN
Many times in the past as a volunteer with one
of the animal humane enforcement officers in
Camden, I have reached out to help local
citizens who either cannot afford to take care
of their animals or do not have a car with
which to transport their animals for vet
care. Such was the case on a hot night in late
June when I received a call from a Camden
animal control officer that a resident needed
help transporting her dog to a vet.
Arriving in Camden, the temperature was a
scorching 96 degrees. No breezes cooled the
hot cement that doubled as “backyards” nor
were there any grass or trees to offer respite
in Camden that night. I entered the tiny house
with no air conditioning late in the evening
and saw a thin German Shepherd lying with its
head on its master’s lap. I immediately sent
my husband to the CVS to purchase a
thermometer to take the dog’s temperature.
While it was hovering around l03, which is a
little above normal, we all decided the best
place for Tazzie, the shepherd, was to come
home with me so I could transport him to my
vet first thing in the morning.
Once at my home, Tazzie slept in a soft bed
with a gentle breeze in a backyard full of
trees in a safe, quiet environment, away from
the chaos and cacophony of Camden.
The next morning at 7:00 am, when I went to
check on Taz, he was dead. Dead in the literal
sense that he was almost not breathing, he was
in shock, he had no capillary response, his
eyes were fixed and dilated, he was totally
limp. Taz was lying in and covered with blood
and diarrhea..
Still in my nightclothes, I scooped him up and
put him in the back of my SUV. Minutes away
from my local vet I reached the office just as
they were opening.
We carried Taz into the hospital on a
stretcher. When asked “how far do you want to
go to save this dog”, I didn’t hesitate. I
advised my vet to “do whatever has to be done
to save this dog.”
Tazzie was plunged into a bath of cool water
and an iv drip was started. Taz’s temperature
was a staggering ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHT
DEGREES!!! Taz should have been and by all
rights was dead.
Urgently, the doctor and the vet tech pumped
Taz with antibiotics and fluids. Ice packs
were placed around his body while I used a
hose to keep cool water flowing on him and
rinse away the blood and feces covering his
limp body. I was told Taz would probably not
make it and to be prepared to make the
decision to put him down.
Miraculously, Taz survived that day and into
the night. The next day Tazzie was trying to
hold up his head. Each day that went by, his
will to survive was stronger and stronger. He
spent four days in intensive care and was
released to me because it was a holiday
weekend and I lived very close to the vet in
case Taz would go back into a coma again.
Tazzie had survived the mean streets of
Camden, a temperature of l08 degrees and four
days in intensive care. Almost two weeks after
Tazzie’s near death experience, he was
surrendered to me so that I could provide him
with a safe environment and a loving family.
As summer continued her sojourn and Taz
regained his strength, he started to gain
weight and began to play and discover his new
surroundings. One day Taz decided to venture a
paw, with trepidation, into our pool. One paw,
two paws and off Tazzie went the rest of the
summer swimming in our pool, with or without
us, it didn’t matter. We had to buy him a life
vest so that he would be safe while he swam
all the time.
We knew the family Taz would be adopted to had
to love the water and that is the family we
found. Although I received literally dozens of
requests to adopt Taz, only one stood out
among them all. One family I knew almost
immediately would be the family I would select
to provide the love and a second chance at a
happy life for Taz. The fact that they had
emailed or called me every day for two weeks
to see if they had been selected certainly
made me feel that I had made the right
decision.
Almost two months to the day on Labor Day
weekend, I delivered Tazzie to his new home.
He could not be more loved, adored or spoiled.
Taz swims with his new brother and sister,
Nicky and Samantha and they even brush their
teeth together!!!
Taz’s story is a miracle and demonstrates what
all of us can do when we are willing to go the
“extra mile”, put ourselves out for an animal
and never give up even in the most
extraordinary circumstances. Tazzie, didn’t.
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