A Stray Shih Tzu Finds Compassion and Care From Pet Haven’s Rainbow Fund 04/20/2024 By Kerry S The shelter named her Okapoka, which means October in Hawaiian. in At 15 years old, she was found as a stray and brought to a local impound. The staff there noted a pot belly appearance and pink-tinged urine that then turned to thick blood. They put out an urgent plea for rescue placement and a foster home to address her medical needs. She waited for three weeks with no hope of rescue placement. Until we heard her story from one of our fosters, who stepped forward and asked if we could help. Because of our Rainbow Bridge Program, we took her in knowing she had at least one medical concern, but we discovered she had many. Throughout her stay with us, we made a plan to move through each of her medical needs. She underwent ear infection treatment and bladder stone surgery right away, but she also had mammary masses, collapsing trachea, severe dental disease, and arthritis. An ultrasound indicated potential Cushing’s disease as well. Through all this, Okakopa has kept her spirits up, living the high life with jammies, snuggles, and beds made up like royalty! She is able to thrive in her golden years because of generous donations to our Rainbow Fund, which allow us to say YES! As we continued to make plans for tackling Okakopa’s health concerns, she started having recurring bladder stones even with recent surgery and a urinary food diet. Along with this and her many other medical needs, and after consulting with four different vets, we decided the kindest decision was to let this little girl go when she was ready. Okakopa was still in high spirits, on a pain management plan, and enjoying her day-to-day activities. We use a carefully crafted Quality Of Life Scale that helps us determine when it is time to compassionately let pets pass. Once her body started failing, we knew it was time to say goodbye. On February 16th, Okakopa left peacefully in the warmth of a home with the arms of her fosters around her. She felt love and had her foster family with her. We know how important it is to provide a stress-free, loving environment and provide in-home services whenever possible. At Pet Haven, we believe these little lives are family and have value, so we treat them as such. Her fosters say she was spunky, loving, dramatic, cute, and funny. A little girl with a big personality. They took on her medical care without a second thought. In her last months, instead of being a number in a shelter kennel, she was wrapped in the embrace of people who loved her. And in the end, that’s all that really matters. Okakopa will continue to be memorialized within our Rainbow Fund Program, honoring those who have changed our hearts forever. Run free and rest easy, Okakopa girl. If you would like to learn more about our Rainbow Hospice Care Fund and help others like Oka click HERE
