Little Legs Appeal

By BAWCS May 22, 2023

On Saturday night (20 May) one of BAWCS special needs cat Little Legs was rushed into the Emergency vet clinic. After a dental procedure two days earlier, she became ‘flat’ and then stopped eating with her gums very pale and urine quite dark.

It turns out Little Legs had picked up an infection which spread from her blood to her lungs/chest cavity. Over the weekend she was critical and it has been an extremely stressful time with her blood pressure very low and not able to maintain her own temperature. She’s been on oxygen as well, to support her lung capacity. Whilst we don’t have unlimited funding, we will always give of our animals in care the maximum support required to get them well, Little Legs being no exception.

BAWCS made the call this morning (Monday 22 May) at 8am to see if she had made it through the night after intensive care all weekend.

She had! And is now showing signs of the antibiotics she is on have kicked in and less fluid is draining from the two tubes in her chest. The prognosis is guarded and she’ll need to remain at the vet, closely monitored for at least another 4 days.

As you can imagine the vet bill we are going to be receiving will be quite significant, already above $7,000 so we are reaching out to our supporters to see if you would like to

1. Click here to donate direct to the appeal. Please use the reference Little Legs OR

2. Click here to sponsor Little Legs. If you decide to sponsor, you’ll be invited to join our private FB group BAWCS Shelter and Sanctuary sponsors where you’ll be able to see what has been happening with this precious girl and get real time updates.

Please keep Little Legs in your thoughts as we follow closely what we are hoping will be a full recovery to good health.

BAWCS ‘caring with compassion’

Tagged as: BAWCS, little legs, Little Legs Appeal, Special Needs

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LOOKING for a great (and unique) Mother’s Day gift?

By BAWCS May 8, 2023

Why not consider a one off BAWCS Shelter Special Needs Cat sponsorship. For as little as $50 for the entire year, your gift provides a great fridge magnet for the recipient together with background / history on the cat you’ve chosen to sponsor.

Sponsorship helps in keeping our special needs cats happy and healthy. Plus sponsors get to join our PRIVATE FB Group for BAWCS Shelter and Sanctuary sponsors, where you get exclusive updates on the cat/s you’ve sponsored.

Click here to check out who is available to sponsor. We can send the sponsor pack to you to pass on or we can send direct to the gift recipient.

BAWCS ‘caring with compassion’

Tagged as: BAWCS, Special Needs

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Wonderful outcome for beloved dog

By BAWCS May 5, 2023

WHAT a wonderful outcome working in partnership with Bendigo Pet Vets – Mobile Veterinary Clinic and Pet Medical Crisis who referred this case to BAWCS Community Pets Support Program.
A distressed pet owner, struggling financially under the weight of todays ever increasing living costs, was so worried about her beloved dog who needed major dentistry with mulitple extractions, a third eyelid flap to help a corneal ulcer heal and a lump that had a nasty appearance also needed to be removed from his right thoracic wall.

This lovely boy is home now and his relieved mum is reporting

“We have collected Diesel from Bendigo Pet Vets. He still has the effect from the anesthetic, has eaten a little of his dinner and is now
tucked up in bed. We would like to thank your organisation and Bendigo Pet Vets for all the care and concern that you have given to our Mr D (that’s what we call him)”.
BAWCS Community Pets Support Program is so grateful to be able to work with other organisations ie: Pet Medical Crisis Fund who have with the same mission and for such generous and compassion vets like Dr Mandy from Bendigo Pet Vets – Mobile Veterinary Clinic – we could not do what we do without these partnerships.
Pictured: Dr Mandy and her latest success.

BAWCS Community Pets Support Program is supported by the Victorian Government and City of Greater Bendigo.
Like to know more about our Program? Check it out here

BAWCS ‘caring with compassion’

Tagged as: BAWCS, Pet Support Program

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Try training before surrender

By BAWCS May 5, 2023

BAWCS Shelter was recently contacted by a dog owner who wanted to surrender. When we discussed what her dogs issues were, BAWCS offered training support via our Community Pets Support Program with Sahil from Elite Canines Training as an alternative.

A young (and large) dog that under the right management could stay in his home with his first family with time and dedication.
The offer was taken up and one lesson on – “The training that Sahil suggested to us is going well. We just need to keep implementing the training. Thank you we really appreciate this program you have in place for dog owners”.

A second session has been requested and approved to assist with reactivity with other dogs, ie: barking, somersaults, pulling etc. to address all issues originally listed in the application.
Struggling with managing your dog? To see if you qualify for support and how to apply, click here.
This is BAWCS Shelter pro active approach to keeping dogs and their families together.

PLEASE NOTE: This offer is only available to Bendigo and close surrounds dog owners due to BAWCS partnering with Sahil, our dog trainer who residents in Bendigo.
Pictured: Sahil from Elite Canines Training with Shelter dog Harrison (currently available for adoption).

BAWCS Community Pets Support Program is supported by the Victorian Government and City of Greater Bendigo.

BAWCS ‘caring with compassion’

Tagged as: BAWCS, Pet Support Program

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Veterinary care support

By BAWCS Mar 17, 2023

BAWCS Community Pets Support Program offers veterinary care support for disadvantaged pet owners in our community.

A recent referral to a vet ended up with an unwell cat being euthanased due to renal failure. The vet advised that if the cat had presented 2-3 days earlier it most likely would have been saved.

Please don’t delay veterinary care for your pets when they are struggling. There is help available.

RIP precious boy, your suffering has ended now.

Learn more about our Program and how to apply here

BAWCS Community Pets Support Program is funded by The Victorian Government and City of Greater Bendigo.

BAWCS ‘caring with compassion’

Tagged as: BAWCS, Pet Support Program

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Christmas Appeal

By BAWCS Dec 12, 2022

IT’s that time of the year when we launch our annual Christmas Appeal! Donations of $2 and over are Tax Deductible.

Click here for donation options. Please use reference XMAS APPEAL.

BAWCS Shelter and Sanctuary celebrated our 19 year anniversary in September this year.

As many supporters know, we were the first ‘no kill’ Shelter established in Central Victoria back in 2003.

This year we are reflecting on how our Policy has enabled so many lives to be saved, including those that have come back into our care for various reasons.

HARRISON (Harry for short) is our feature of this year’s Christmas Appeal and is a great example of this.

He first came into care as a puppy and was quickly adopted out – everyone loves a puppy! When family circumstances changed, he was returned to us (which is part of the Adoption Agreement) so he would be safe until another new home could be found.

We thought we had found that home 2nd time around but again, family circumstances (allergies) meant Harrison was put outside to live (against the Adoption Agreement terms) and it wasn’t until 3 months later we were contacted to have him come back to us.

The time outside and away from his family had a negative impact on Harrison which was sad to see. Going from a well adjusted and social dog (around other dogs), he had become quite reactive, although maintained his love of humans.

Lucky for him, he was back with us and work started with our dog trainer to get Harry to a management level for being taken for walks and meeting other dogs, important to get this sorted.

It was a slow process but we got Harry to a stage where we would be comfortable putting him up for adoption again.

It has been very important to find the right home for him, in the wrong hands could mean he ends up in a situation where his life could be on the line (if negative reaction to other dogs escalating) and being reported to authorities.

Whilst the right home still hasn’t come along, Harrison continues to enjoy his time in our Shelter, being exposed to lots of other dogs (with a positive outcome) and also spending time with our dog trainer walking around Lake Weeroona to keep him fine tuned.

We have had some negative comments about why hasn’t he been adopted but it is better for him to be safe with us than to be sent out with just anyone who doesn’t have the right experience with handling a reactive dog.

So we do hope you will continue to support our work via our Christmas Appeal this year, we can’t do it without you!

Click here for donation options. Please use reference XMAS APPEAL. Donations of $2 and over are Tax Deductible.

BAWCS ‘caring with compassion’

Tagged as: BAWCS, christmas appeal

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