Puppy love
Veterinarian Art OtTo, left, and vet tech Lauren Cowden tube-feed one of four puppies that were brought to the Animal Clinic in Kalispell after being found in a trash bin behind Tidyman’s. The puppies had been left for dead in a sack. Chris Jordan/Daily Inter Lake
By LYNNETTE HINTZE
Newborns rescued from trash bin behind grocery store in Kalispell
The Daily Inter Lake
Four newborn puppies rescued from a Kalispell trash bin are getting a new lease on life at The Animal Clinic.
Veterinarian Art Otto and his staff have been tube-feeding the pups three times a day since Thursday. Kalispell police officer Nathan Vannoy brought the dogs to the clinic after the police department was alerted they had been left in a bag in a downtown trash container.
By Monday, the tiny puppies were doing well and "growing like weeds," Otto said. It will be another couple of weeks, though, before he will know whether the newborns received the crucial colostrum from their mother that provides disease-fighting antibodies during the first six weeks of life.
"If they nursed, we'll save all four," Otto said.
He and his staff will rotate feeding duties on the weekends for the next four to five weeks. At first, each puppy was given just two teaspoons of milk replacer with a syringe at each feeding. The amount of formula has gradually increased.
"It quickly became a team project," Otto said. "Once we warmed them up and got some artificial puppy milk in their bellies, they snuggled right in."
They'll find homes for the dogs in seven to eight weeks. The puppies will remain at the clinic until they've been weaned and have had their vaccinations.
"They'll be big mixed-breed dogs, maybe 70 to 80 pounds," Otto speculated. "They should turn out to be wonderful pets because they'll be socialized to the max."
Otto was angered by the manner in which the puppies were left to die.
"Imagine being put in a bag on a 95-degree day and left to suffocate," he said. "I can't think of a worse way to die."
There are better options for dealing with unwanted pets, Otto said. Unwanted litters can be brought to the county animal shelter or a veterinarian to be humanely euthanized.
"I would not kill them," Otto said. "I'd find someone to tube-feed them. It's very easy to do."
MARVIN'S FUND of Montana, a nonprofit offshoot of the Flathead Spay and Neuter Task Force, was recently organized to advocate for compassionate treatment of animals through education.
Every year unwanted kittens and puppies are dumped at the county green-box sanitation sites, noted Marvin's Fund organizers Barbara Palmer and Myni Ferguson. A few are rescued, but most die painfully from hunger, heat or cold, they said.
Marvin's Fund supporters erected signs at county green-box sites advising people about humane options for unwanted animals. The signs also say it's against the law to abandon animals. The penalty is a $500 fine per animal and/or six months in jail.
The organization is named after Marvin, an abandoned cat who lived on the streets of Whitefish for many years before being adopted by a family. Marvin was about 21 years old when he died.
More information about the organization is available online at www.marvinsfundofmontana.org
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com