Hutch
On February 1, 2015, I was driving home from work along Hutcheson Ferry road when I saw a movement on the edge of the woods. I slowed down and saw a frail, emaciated dog picking scraps off of an old deer that had been hit. Something in me made me pull over and spend the following two hours trying to convince him to get close enough to me so that I could get him in my car.
My intention had not been to keep this dog, I already had one of my own and had no plans on adding another. The idea was to take him to the vet, get what information I could about him, and pass him along to a rescue or foster care. The exam at the vet indicated that he was a very sick boy. Heartworm positive, horrible skin infection, ringworm and roundworm. He was a tiny 20lbs and was severely malnourished. I knew that, being a pitbull mix, even the most welcoming rescues would not take him in when this breed was so abundant. From this point on, Hutch (his new name) was mine. I took a second job, and we got to work on getting him healthy. After months of treatments, he was up to 80lbs, was negative for heartworms (all worms in fact), and his skin clear. He was finally healthy.
Flash forward to January 2017, Hutch began having trouble urinating, we took him to the vet and discovered that he had bladder stones. It didn’t seem too serious and we began treatment with special food and antibiotics. However, a few weeks later, a large stone lodged itself into Hutch’s urethra and blocked his urine flow completely. With no luck loosening it with medication, or pushing it back with catheters, it was decided that he would need surgery to remove all of the stones blocking him. Post surgery, Hutch began to recover well but after about a week, he began having trouble urinating again. It seems that the lodged stone was in his urethra just long enough to cause a lesion, thus resulting in scar tissue that was inhibiting all urine flow. After weeks of draining Hutch’s bladder via syringe, and hoping the anti inflammatories would open the urethra back up enough to heal on his own, it has finally been determined that Hutch will need a second surgery to insert a permanent stent into his urethra to keep it open for good. Hutch has proven himself to be one of the best dogs we weren’t even looking for and we feel so lucky everyday that we are the ones that found him. He is so sick right now but we are looking forward to having that sweet, funny personality back in our home and having his biggest problem being an 80lb ‘’lap dog’’.
Miles
Miles had to be rushed to the vet today. He has been fighting a respiratory infection that turned into pneumonia. He was under treatment and we were hopeful he was out of the woods, however, today we found significant amounts of blood in his pen. Whenever he tried to go to the bathroom he could not pass anything but blood. He was whining and crying and appeared to be in pain. He is currently at the vet. He has tested negative for parvo, but they are still trying to determine the cause of his illness. They are having difficulty because the amount of blood is making it challenging to do some of the tests.
We want to send out a very heartfelt thank you to Stephan Curcio and Christie Moore of St. Nick’s Closet, who heard of Miles’ situation and immediately stepped in to pay for his treatment. Many shelters have limited resources to treat sick or injured animals, and the support and quick response from organizations like this saves so many lives.
Miles is a sweet, lovable boy. When we got his adoption photos, he let us dress him up in ridiculous costumes and never complained. When he shared the Puppy Room with tiny lab puppies Bonnie and Clyde, he watched their antics with amusement. He is a good boy and deserves a family.
Curtis
Huge thanks to Stephan Curcio and St. Nick’s Closet, and to our always generous donor, Libby Carlson! Curtis, a sweet little 9 month old Chihuahua mix was found abandoned on the side of a road. He had been hit by a car and left to die. Shortly after he was brought to Coweta Animal Control, he was sent for x-rays and it was found that he had a badly crushed pelvis! Without surgery, Curtis would have no quality of life! The shelter reached out to us…Newnan Coweta Humane Society…to see if we could possibly help. It seemed like a daunting task…thousands of dollars of surgery was needed and funding in rescue is always hard to come by. We reached out to some generous donors, but were still short. Stephan heard about Curtis’s need for surgery, and offered to help fill the gap! Curtis had his surgery at SAVE (huge shout out to them and Dr. Smith), a surgery that took over 3 hours and required surgery on both hips, and a plate put in to repair the pelvis where he had been caved in, Curtis is now expected to make a full recovery…and is already able to stand. Without St. Nick’s and the Carlsons, Curtis would never have been able to find the life he deserves! This super sweet little boy has a long recovery ahead, but one day he will go on to a loving, forever home, thanks to the generosity of people who have never even met him!
Sophie
Sophie was a stray that happened to wonder into a family’s garage. She was very thin and in overall bad shape.Upon taking her in for an exam at the vet, it was discovered that she had bladder stones as big as your fist.
Without St. Nicks Closet, Sophie may not have survived, but is doing great after surgery and it is all possible because of the donations we receive from YOU!
Kodi
I wanted to give you an idea of the kind of things that St. Nick’s Closet helps out with. This is Kodi. He is a blonde Pit Bull. Kodis’ life did not start out great . He was found on the street, and turned in to a rescue, with a debilitating skin disease. He needed medicine , lots of attention, and love. Kodi was adopted after several rounds of medicine , only to end up being abandoned a year and a half later at the Meriwether County Animal Shelter. Kodis’ skin disease had not been being treated . His skin was purple and he was very sick . After being given treatment, Kodi was rescued by an agency that trains service animals .Kodi finally found his family with a disabled veteran and his family. Kodi was outside several weeks ago , running and playing, as service dogs who are off the clock often do, and tore his ACL . Kodis’ family contacted several agencies to try and help out with medical expenses for his surgery before coming across St. Nick’s Closet. THIS is what St. Nick’s Closet and your donations do! Please help us continue to help and save animals by donating.
Lovey
This senior beagle was left in a crate at the entrance of a local vet clinic. It’s arm is freshly shaved as if it has had a recent vet procedure. The stomach seems to be bloated. The vet clinic did not keep this dog and it is now at the county shelter. If this dog has a medical condition we need to find the owner ASAP! If the dog was abandoned, please know that we will not be able to hold or treat this dog at the shelter. Please help us find the owner, or a rescue or someone to adopt after six days.
UPDATE We have a couple that have stepped up to adopt Lovey!!
UPDATE The little girl is now showing signs of /distress and seems tender in her hind quarters and does not want to get up and walk. We are transporting to the vet thanks to the funds provided to us byStephan Curcio and his charity St. Nick’s Closet! We will try to keep her stable and comfortable but we really need to find her owner or a rescue group to continue her care if needed! (Very sweet, has a red nylon collar, a bit stinky like an older dog, obviously someone’s family dog…)
We have named her “Lovey” after Lovy Myers! 
Pearl
I was able to go and play with Princess Pearl Tuesday afternoon. PP is one of the fortunate fur babies that we, at St Nicks, have been able to help , thanks to our donors generosity ( I love knowing that there are people in the world like you guys).
This baby has no idea her leg is in a cast. She ran around, gave kisses, played, gave kisses, jumped , gave kisses, barked and gave more kisses. What an awesome spirit she is.
We still need funds for her care and if you are able to help out, that would rock!!
Below is her story:
Dr Keenan at Animal Medical Clinic in PTC is taking excellent care of Princess Pearl while she and her owner recover.
Princess Pearl has been at The AMC since August 15th with a displaced fracture of her radius and ulna after jumping out of her owner’s arms. We initially thought it would require surgery to heal properly, but it actually healed very well in a splint.
She’s had to stay in the clinic during recovery to keep her confined. Princess Pearl’s owner has been in the hospital as well due to her own health problems. She is also retired military.
Keenan
UPDATE ON “Keenan”: (named in honor of Dr. Keenan who seems to be getting most of our cases lately! And takes our severe cases home with him on the weekends!!) The little guy is doing great! His leg was amputated because the foot had died from the old fracture and the old bandaging! It was a horrible mess and who knows how long he suffered with it like that?!? We are still seeking any information on an owner. Fayette Humane Society will take over his care once little Keenan has been cleared from Animal Medical Clinic of Peachtree City. St. Nick’s Closet funded Keenan’s surgery and treatment.