Dear Fur-iends,
When I came to the Cleveland APL in 2017, I really needed help. I had been hit by a car and then beaten with bricks and sticks by some not very nice people. But the kind people at the Cleveland APL wanted to help me—even with their “not the best” working space.
At the APL I got great care in an area called “Dog Recovery.” It was kennel space near the clinic but was really meant to be a place for dogs to wake up from spay/neuter surgery—not for dogs like me. The clinic team had to sit on the floor in order to give me medical care and change my IVs. But the amazing veterinary team is so wonderful. They worked with what they had and performed miracles every day. Just look at me!
The “not-so-perfect” space also was “home” to cats that needed extra care. They were kept in the same room where the clinic did their spay/neuter surgeries, exams dental surgeries and so much more. And when they ran out of monitoring space for cats in the surgery rooms, they’d add pop-up kennels on the floor next to desks. The space wasn’t perfect but the care sure was!
But that has all changed—for the better! Thanks to the Unleash the Dream Capital Campaign, the veterinary team is now comfortably working in their new clinic space. They even have an easily accessible “ICU” space for animals who need closer monitoring! In the first weeks alone, the ICU was home to five very sick animals. No pop up crates on the clinic floor! The new ICU has real kennels that are right next to the clinic staff.
My special, human friends also now have separate, devoted spaces for the difficult things they do. In December, they were able to care for sick puppies with parvovirus, a highly contagious, sometimes deadly, illness, in a dedicated space. In the last two weeks of 2020, they actually treated 20 dogs with parvo! When I came to the Cleveland APL, this was an illness that was very hard for the team at the APL to care for—not because they didn’t have the skills, but they didn’t have the right, safe space. But now, the possibilities for animals in need are limitless!
Honestly, I’m a little jealous that the animals who will come to the APL for help in the future will have nice kennels closer to the amazing staff at the APL! If I was there now, I would get to see my favorite vet tech, Natalie, all day long—I love her! And I know the clinic team is happy to have their higher need patients close by under their watchful eyes.
As 2021 continues, there will be more exciting changes at the Cleveland APL. I mean, they’re only in phase three of the five phase project. This is the phase that has the new catios and the indoor dog play area. How cool is that?
Sincerely,
Indiana Bones