One of our Registered Veterinary Technicians, Colleen and her husband Chuck, met Pablo in Costa Rica while they were on holidays. At the time, he was a stray beach dog who begged for food at one of the popular resorts. Colleen knew he was sick, as he had goopy eyes and nose, a bad cough, and was very skinny. Her attempts to catch him were unsuccessful, as he was in dire need of veterinary care and their trip was coming to an end very soon. They asked the resort managers to let them know if he was ever caught, as they would like to help pay for his treatments and maybe even adopt him.
After about two months of wondering what happened to the sick dog, Colleen heard from the resort manager that the neighbours had caught him and took him to the vet. He was receiving treatment for ehrlichiosis, tick-borne disease (which can cause low blood cell counts), bleeding, bacterial infections, lameness, neurological disorder and kidney disease. After receiving six weeks of antibiotics, multiple doctor visits and blood samples, he was cleared of Ehrlichia.
The person who rescued Pablo already had three other rescue dogs and couldn’t keep another, so Colleen and Chuck decided to adopt him. After many emails, faxes, paperwork, and the help of many dedicated, committed people, Pablo was on his way to Canada.
Colleen and Chuck picked him up at the Vancouver airport in March 2017. He arrived a healthy dog, but a little nervous and timid. It’s now been a year since Pablo’s arrival in Canada and Colleen is happy with his progress getting adjusted to his new life. Today he loves his canine brother and sister, two feline companions and his humans, who treat him to bananas and chips once in a while!
Written by Campbell River Veterinary Hospital
