2007.04.27 Fri

“Hi, there! It’s me, Atomi again! Actually, I hovered between life and death a little while ago, but I’m completely recovered now, so don’t worry…”

Okay, I’ll tell you what happened on Atomi’s behalf.



One morning, Atomi got severe diarrhea, vomiting and melena several times. We were all surprised because she had been her usual self the day before. We rushed to take her to the vet, and she was hospitalized right away. A series of tests was done, but no definite cause was identified - the treatment simply continued. Fubord, who was rehomed the other day, even donated his blood again.

The vet told us to be prepared for the worst. We just hoped and prayed for Atomi. After several days of hospitalization, she somehow survived and started to get better. Looking at the test results and her usual behavior, zinc poisoning was strongly suspected. After complete detoxification, her liver went back to normal and she is now full of energy.



Yes, but how did Atomi get zinc poisoning!? In fact, it may have been because of one of her habits – licking the fence of her kennel. This abnormal behavior may be due to stress. The fence is painted and the paint obviously included some substance causing zinc poisoning. At a certain part of the fence, the paint had come off, and we noticed afterwards that this was the part Atomi always licked.

We had no idea that fence licking could cause zinc poisoning. Even so, we are really sorry that we didn’t notice the problem before it made Atomi so ill and caused her such a lot of pain. One could argue that it was our mismanagement. In any case, we are eternally grateful that Atomi recovered and we have committed ourselves to being more careful about anticipating any hazards and paying close attention to each dog and cat.



Now, the fence is covered with an acrylic board so that she can’t lick it, but this is just an emergency measure, not a real solution. Atomi is still a bit stressed.



As long as she lives at ARK, she will experience some stress. We really want to find her a good home where she can settle down. All she needs is an owner she can respect and rely on. How long will poor Atomi have to wait to have a family in her life?

“Please! Be my family!!”




☆☆☆Golden Week Adoption Fair Announcement☆☆☆
Tokyo
Date: 4/29, 4/30, 5/4, 5/5
Location: GEORGE, Komazawa Store
Details

Kobe
Date: 5/3
Location: Green Dog Square
Details

And of course, we look forward to seeing potential adopters every day at ARK!