'Bubble puppy' was going to be put down but was determined to live her best life
When Sally first arrived in the care of Kathryn, a vet tech, she had a terrible case of pneumonia.
The dog had come from a breeder who couldn’t take care of the ill dog.
“She’s probably aspirated while nursing on mom and she was blue. She was like gasping for air,” Kathryn told The Dodo.
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Thankfully about 77 to 94 percent of dogs with pneumonia survive, according to PetMD. The vet recommended that Sally be placed in an oxygen chamber to help her breathe and strengthen her lungs.
Within 30 minutes, Sally returned to her pink coloring.
She was still struggling to take in enough oxygen. So, she had to stay in the chamber until her breathing improved. There were some touch and go moments where it was unknown if Sally would make it or if she had to be put down.
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It was originally believed that Sally would only require a week’s worth of treatment in the oxygen chamber, but that wasn’t the case.
“She was completely oxygen dependant. We couldn’t take her out of the oxygen chamber at all,” Kathryn said.
Even though Sally was still struggling, her spirits started to perk up. She wagging her tail and was even licking the windows of the little oxygen tent.
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It broke Kathryn’s heart that no one was able to love on Sally and provide her with affection.
The tent couldn’t only be opened for short bursts of time since it would cause the oxygen to flow out.
So, Kathryn made sure that Sally’s space was extra cozy with comfy blankets and lots of stuffed animals.
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As Sally grew, she began to get more playful and would gnaw on her oxygen tubes. She was also very curious about what was going on outside of her little oxygen bubble and would peer outside all the time.
The day came when she finally was ready to see what out there for herself.
So, she began to paw at the chamber walls to be let out. Kathryn opened the door and she just walked right out.
But Sally could only be outside of her chamber for a few seconds at a time before she would start struggling to breathe again.
Every day Sally would try to stay outside of her chamber without oxygen for a few seconds longer.
It wasn’t long before she was growing too big for the tiny tent she was in. So, Kathryn had a larger chamber built for Sally made from a plexiglass kennel that was able to have an adequate amount of oxygen pumped into it.
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Not only did it allow Sally to run around and exercise her lungs in oxygen, but it also allowed the vet techs to come in and snuggle her.
Eventually, Sally was able to be out of her chamber for up to 5 minutes, so they decided to take her outside.
She didn’t do well the first time but loved running around in the grass. The day finally arrived when Sally came out of her chamber for 30 minutes and outright refused to go back in.
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And she was doing fine with her breathing. That meant that she was ready to find a forever home. Kathryn’s fellow vet tech Bonnie decided to adopt Sally.
She took her home to meet the rest of her dogs and her children who instantly fell in love with Sally.
Once Sally grew stronger and no longer needed her oxygen, Bonnie started to slowly introduce her to the things she had been missing out on.
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Like trips to the dog park or the store to pick out some toys. Bonnie even planned on taking Sally camping.
Sally made a complete turnaround and is extremely happy living her new healthy life. Check out the video below to see all of Sally’s “firsts” now that she has the freedom to roam.
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