Pets like Shrinkydink are why we do what we do.

When this friendly little dog arrived at the city shelter, it was clear she’d had a rough journey. A Good Samaritan brought her to safety after finding her tied to a fire hydrant in Germantown on a freezing January day. She was suffering from a rectal prolapse, which is caused by excessive straining to go to the bathroom, and requires prompt medical attention. In Shrinky’s case, she’d clearly been without treatment for some time, and needed immediate surgery if she was to survive.

Ten years ago, Shrinkydink’s story might have ended there, but thanks to a rising save rate at the city shelter that lets us focus on more complicated cases, PAWS was ready to spring into action as soon as ACCT Philly alerted us to the situation. We rescued Shrinky and performed emergency surgery that same day. Within hours, she was awake, exploring our surgery suite, and making friends with our medical team. She wasn’t out of the woods just yet though: we’d need to wait several days to learn whether the surgery had been a success. During that time, she received round-the-clock care to get her through the most critical part of her healing, and charmed us all with her silly, loving, cheerful personality.

Shrinkydink made it through her waiting period without a hitch. Less than 48 hours after we shared her story, she left the shelter with an amazing forever family that was fully committed to her short term medical needs and long term care. Once scared and abandoned, this special girl now looks forward to a life full of love and joy with her new parents Peter and Jessica, dog siblings Gremlin and Stegosaurus, and cat friends Bruce and Monster. We’re incredibly thankful for the Good Samaritan that found her, the medical team that never gave up on her, and the supporters who make our lifesaving work possible. Please consider making a gift to help the next pet whose life hangs in the balance.