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Laceys Journey

As Lacey nears one year in our care we thought it might be time to re-introduce this beautiful, loving girl with a tenacious spirit and amazing will to live.
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Lacey’s journey with The Pack Project begins when our intake coordinator received a message one afternoon from a vet clinic and fellow rescuer. An approximately 16 week old puppy had been brought into the clinic after being found on the street, possibly after being hit by a car. Preliminary exams indicated that she may have a broken bone which seemed pretty manageable for our still fledgling rescue. A plea went out to foster homes to see if we had anyone available to care for this precious bundle. We received a passionate response from our wonderful foster homes and Lacey was brought into our care on February 27, 2016.

As with all dogs coming into our care, Lacey had her first vet appointment shortly after arrival with the wonderful staff at Albert North Vet Clinic. After a thorough exam the extent of her injuries became more clear; Lacey was suffering from an eye ulcer, ear infection, and not one, but two broken back legs! One break was a relatively straightforward greenstick fracture while the other was a much more complicated displaced knee. It was determined that her best shot at keeping and regaining full use of the leg with the displaced knee was to send her to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon for surgery. This was the first time we needed to use the College and with guidance from a fellow rescuer, arrangements were hastily made and Lacey was rushed up to the College late the night of March 3rd for immediate surgery. This would be the first of many surgeries Lacey would need.

Bed rest was the prescription for after-surgery care as well as multiple splint changes to accommodate a quickly growing puppy! ANVC also let us know that Lacey was a candidate for the Paw It Forward Fund and all costs incurred at the clinic would be covered as long as funds were available. We are incredibly grateful for ANVC and all of the donors to the Paw It Forward Fund for their generosity. Over $1,000 in costs have been covered by this fund.

On March 29th Lacey returned to the Vet College in Saskatoon to have the pins in her knee removed. It was discovered that some of the pins had shifted so rather than compromising the progress made on her ability to use that leg, a few were left in.

Back in Regina, her attentive foster mom noticed that something wasn’t quite right in how Lacey was using her leg. On April 4th, Lacey had her splint removed and it was found that the splint had been rubbing, causing terrible sores. Because that leg was splinted and stable, she was using it to compensate for her other still healing leg. A round of antibiotics later and she’s feeling much better. So much better that she decides to get a bit rambunctious and ends up pulling some muscles. So another round of x-rays to make sure everything is okay and we discover yet another problem. In addition to some torn tendons, the fracture is healing slowly but the bone re-growth isn’t as dense as it should be. This leaves Lacey at a very real risk of re-breaking her leg and possibly losing it if it won’t heal correctly...

With fingers and toes crossed, Lacey is sent back to Saskatoon for another Surgery. On April 11th, Lacey has a plate and 4 pins put in her leg to hold it all together. Our bionic girl is then sent back home with orders for more bed rest. For anyone that’s raised a growing, rambunctious puppy, you can imagine how difficult this can be! But our wonderful foster homes found other ways to entertain Lacey with doggy puzzles and lots of love and attention.

Multiple follow-up x-rays, vet visits and another surgery to remove some of the pins in her healed leg occur over the next few weeks. Finally by July 2nd she is deemed healthy enough to undergo her spay.
In typical Lacey fashion, we are in for another surprise for what should be a routine spay. As the spay begins, the vet staff notice that Lacey has upwards of 50 mini spleens which was likely caused from a spleen rupture when she was hit by the car back in February. The mini spleens are not harmful to her however the main spleen has healed itself and scar tissue has attached itself to Lacey’s uterus. The spleen ruptures as the uterus is removed but quick action by our vet team quickly brings the bleeding under control and everything is stitched up. The rescue team breathes a collective sigh of relief. Another 10 days of bed rest and Lacey’s spirit continues to show through.

Lacey has endured so many hurdles, surgeries and multiple vet appointments without complaint. We would hazard a guess that she’s even made a few friends along the way and become somewhat of a celebrity at ANVC. She has definitely stolen the hearts of everyone at The Pack Project.
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A heartfelt thanks goes out to our dedicated and incredibly loving foster homes, the rescue team, the transport teams, the staff at ANVC and the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, the contributors to ANVC’s Paw It Forward Fund (we are forever indebted) and all the other wonderful supporters. Despite everything, Lacey continues to be a loving, happy, tenacious and energetic spirit. You can’t help but smile at her antics and love her positive energy. If you’d like to adopt this girl that has been through so much during her short life, please submit an application at http://www.thepackproject.ca/adoption-application.html.

Our vet bills and transportation costs not covered by The Paw It Forward Fund exceed $3,000; a little more than the average we spend in one month vetting all of our dogs. We often say that it takes a village and if you’d like to contribute to help pay off Lacey’s vet bills please consider making a donation (paypal, cheque or e-transfer are all accepted), or consider attending one of our future fundraising events. We've received just under $400 in donations to help cover these vet bills and we'd like to thank everyone who has already contributed.
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One last thank you to everyone who has taken this journey with Lacey. We've learned as much from her as she has from us in a very short time. She is truly an incredible girl that we’ve had the pleasure of meeting but we know it's time for her to continue her journey with her forever home. Please share Lacey's story so that we can find the perfect home that's waiting for her somewhere out there.

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Or contact us by email: thepackproject@hotmail.com

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Donations of goods (accepted Sunday's between 2:30-4pm except long weekends:
1526C McAra Street
Regina, Saskatchewan
S4N 6C5
(306)580-PACK (7225)

Charitable Tax Number: ​805139771RR0001