UPDATE: As of Wednesday, Noki, Milton and Rainbow are all in foster homes.
BARCS says though they no longer need the supportive medical care that an emergency room provides, the puppies still have a long road to recovery ahead of them.
As they grow bigger and stronger in foster care, BARCS says the puppies will have their stool samples tested regularly until they stop shedding parvovirus. That can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months.
UPDATE ON NOKI, MILTON AND RAINBOW: Fabulous news! We are SO thrilled to announce that, as of yesterday, Noki, Milton...
Posted by BARCS Animal Shelter on Thursday, April 22, 2021
ORIGINAL STORY: Five husky puppies were found living in their own filth inside a broken down car at a Baltimore gas station. BARCS is now asking for donations as three of the puppies remain alive.
BARCS says on Friday night, a customer at the gas station at the foot of Hanover Street Bridge noticed a broken down car.
When they approached to offer help, they found five husky puppies covered in their own filth and barely moving. Also in the car was a man asleep in the driver's seat.
Baltimore City Animal Control was called to the scene. When they arrived, the conditions were even more horrific than they could have imagined. The puppies were only 4-weeks-old; they were actively having bouts of uncontrolled diarrhea and were eating their own excrement and vomit.
They were very thin, lifeless and unable to stand. The owner of the vehicle explained that he had bought the puppies down south and was traveling up the east coast to sell them for profit.
All five puppies were seized and transported to the ER through BARCS’ Franky Fund Program.
The puppies were named Clove, Rainbow, Noki, Milton and Sky. At the hospital, they were diagnosed with parvovirus, a deadly illness that affects unvaccinated puppies and dogs.
The disease moves very quickly, so when the ER called in the middle of the night, the BARCS answered and authorized emergency treatment to begin.
Unfortunately, by Saturday morning, Clove didn’t make it. The remaining four puppies, Rainbow, Noki, Milton and Sky, were on life support.
By Saturday night, despite the ER’s best efforts and round-the-clock care, Sky also passed away.
On Monday, BARCS Director of Community Engagement Bailey Deacon told WMAR 2 News that only one of the puppies appears it will be healthy enough to put in foster care within a few days.
“Unfortunately, the other two are still in very critical condition and one of them is in grave condition. It should be happening right now. Their last ditch effort is some blood transfusions, but we don’t know what’s going to happen right now. It’s really… it’s sad,” said Deacon, “I know that if that person had not called Animal Control and seen those puppies in that moment, we probably wouldn’t even have three of them left right now so I just hope that all three of them pull through.”
The ER team, along with the team of BARCS staff members working on the case say they are defeated and heartbroken.
BARCS officials say if the driver's car had not broken down in Baltimore, it is likely the puppies would have died before reaching their final destination.
A total of $5,000 has already been spent in rescue efforts. It is asking for donations for the care of Noki, Milton and Rainbow, and in loving memory of Clove and Sky.
The BARCS Franky Fund saves the lives of animals with extraordinary medical needs and emergencies. This fund is the lifeline for injured, sick and abused animals in Baltimore City.
BARCS’ Franky Fund cares for nearly 900 animals each year with extraordinary medical needs. The costs to save their lives is outside of our annual budget, and so the Franky Fund relies completely on private donations.
100% of donations given to the Franky Fund goes towards medical care. Any donations made exceeding the cost of the puppies’ medical bills will help the other medical emergency animals this week who need clinical care.
As of Tuesday, Noki is doing the best of the three and is responding well to treatment. BARCS stated that when their Franky Fund Coordinator was on the phone with the doctors, she could even hear Noki doing some husky “singing” in the background.
Noki is stable and feeling well enough to be transported into home care with one of our BARCS foster families. If all goes well, she should be sleeping in a cozy, loving home as early as Tuesday night.
Unfortunately, BARCS said the other two puppies are still in critical and grave condition.
Milton has not shown a decline, but also hasn’t shown improvement, and is still on life support. Rainbow has taken a turn for the worse and will be receiving a blood transfusion as a final effort to save her life.
