Meet Rex. This is his success story. When Rex first came to HSLM in December, he was scarily skinny, weighing a shocking 26 pounds. A healthy weight for Rex would be 55-70 pounds. Upon surrender, there were great concerns about kidney failure and what is known as refeeding syndrome which is when there are potential fatal shifts in the electrolytes when a malnourished animal starts gaining too much weight, causing the body to eventually crash. We had to take immediate, yet careful action.
We knew change would not come so easily. We were ready to dedicate the next couple of months to support him through his weight gain journey, doing whatever we could to give him a life that he deserves.
We began by feeding Rex four, smaller meals a day, allowing him to slowly and safely regain his weight without harming his body. Due to the winter weather along with Rex’s lack of muscle tone and body fat, he was also given a jacket to regulate his body temperatures. We needed to monitor his exercise, making sure he was not exerting too much energy.
Our staff and volunteers worked tirelessly with Rex, closely monitoring him daily to make sure he received proper nutrition, exercise and care. Over time, Rex was not only successfully gaining weight, but we started to see more of his playful, loving demeanour shine through.
We were then able to cut Rex’s meals from four times a day, to three, then eventually to two! He was able to go on longer walks, and finally, on one happy day, not only was he healthy enough to no longer require his jacket, he was also healthy enough to find his forever home. At this point, Rex had gained an outstanding 24 pounds in our care.
Rex was adopted within a week of becoming available. His adopter said it was, “love at first sight”. Rex now lives happily with his new owner and their other dog, Pearl, who has become best friends with Rex.
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