Adopted! Patches the Nearly Frozen Pup Gets Her Happily Ever After

After she was found abandoned and near death on a snowmobile trail last month, Patches the puppy has recovered from her ordeal and has been adopted!

Named Patches by OHS staff, the two-month-old Jack Russell mix had a body temperature so dangerously low when she was found that most animals wouldn’t survive it, said Dr. Tara Betnaza, OHS veterinarian.

“She was found just in time. She likely would have died if she spent any more time out there. Her condition was very serious,” Betnaza said.

The Good Samaritan rushed her to a nearby vet clinic to be stabilized. Vets there covered her with special warming blankets and gave her IV fluids with dextrose to bring up her blood sugar to safe levels. OHS Rescue and Investigation Services agents brought her to the shelter’s critical care unit to continue her treatment.

After getting the care she needed at the OHS, Patches was well enough to go to the Adoption Centre last Saturday. And that very day, she went to her new home!

There are more than 1,500 animals just like Patches that will be rescued by the OHS this year alone. Please help the next animal in need.

On March 21, the City's Community and Protective Services Committee heard public delegations regarding the commercial sourcing of puppies and kittens in Ottawa pet stores. Attendance at committee was outstanding: there were too many people in attendance to fit into the committee room and a total of 32 delegations were heard from. I was there, joining with the majority of speakers who said that the staff recommendations did not address the genuine concerns about where the animals were coming from. I argued against the grandfathering of the three remaining stores selling non-rescue animals, and pointed to serious flaws in the inspection requirements proposed. Read more about the issue here.