COVID-19 Pandemic
Like so many others around the world, we are closely monitoring the status of the COVID-19 pandemic.
**Our main concern is keeping our staff as healthy as possible so that we may continue to care for the 90 dogs currently at Mackenzie’s.**
We are taking extra precautions and following expert guidelines from the *Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the *World Health Organization (WHO) and the *American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).
Mackenzie’s Animal Sanctuary has implemented a variety of measures to do our part to minimize the spread of COVID-19 within our community.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a ‘stay home, stay safe’ executive order on Monday morning for all Michigan residents starting at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24 until April 13 at 11:59 p.m.
It is our civic duty to follow this order and the advice of experts familiar with infectious disease.
ADOPTIONS – We have many dogs available for adoption and in our care. At this time, we are implementing the essential precautions described above in place for our adoption program to promote the health and safety of our staff and community. Mackenzie’s has put ADOPTIONS on hold until further notice. Adoption staff will communicate via email or phone with prospective adopters regarding their applications and process as the situation develops.
VOLUNTEERS – We have closed the volunteer program effective 3/23/2020 until further notice.
INTAKES – Will be on hold until further notice.
After the required three-week period, Mackenzie’s will take direction from Gov. Whitmer on when we will open our programs back up.
We thank you for your understanding and unwavering support and want to assure you that our dogs are receiving excellent care as we endeavor through this particularly challenging time.
Stay Safe!
Mackenzie’s Animal Sanctuary Staff
Giving Tuesday
~The Gift of Health~
We believe all dogs should have a healthy second (or third…or fourth!) chance at finding a forever home! Your support is vital! Not only are you helping our dogs get the medical care they deserve, you are also giving them a second chance at finding a ‘Forever Home & Family’. Many Thanks!
Most of us know firsthand that caring for just one dog can get pricey. Between annual wellness exams, vaccines, monthly preventatives, food, supplements, and prescription drugs, it all adds up! Many of the dogs that come to Mackenzie’s have had little to no medical care. So, we start from the beginning with every dog that calls Mackenzie’s their ‘home along the way’. Here at Mackenzie’s Animal Sanctuary we care for 90-100 dogs at any given time, we care for everything from newborn to hospice, healthy to battling cancer; we see it all and do everything we can to provide our dogs with the “Gift of Health”! 100% (no fees) of your donation through our facebook fundraiser goes directly to the dogs at Mackenzie’s Animal Sanctuary. You can also donate through this page by clicking here.
On average, we spend $280,000 annually on medical costs alone! Because of YOU and your continued support, our on-site veterinary clinic allows us to offer high quality veterinary care to every dog that calls Mackenzie’s their “home along the way”. When dogs come to Mackenzie’s everyone is treated as an individual. We formulate a specific plan for every dog from the very basics (such as annual bloodwork and vaccine boosters), to the very in depth (such as amputation of a leg that is affected by bone cancer, chemotherapy, and monthly exams to ensure their cancer hasn’t spread). The skilled and dedicated veterinary staff at Mackenzie’s do everything from spays and neuters to mass removals, routine dental cleanings to dental cleanings with multiple extractions, routine annual blood work to specialized blood testing/disease monitoring. With your help and support, we can continue to provide these deserving dogs with top notch veterinary care and give them the Gift of Health. Thank you from all the staff, dogs, and volunteers at Mackenzie’s Animal Sanctuary for your support not only this “Giving Tuesday”, but every day.
Nugget needs your HELP!
9/4/2019: Nuggets surgery went better than expected yesterday! The abscessed portion of the left lung was removed. A portion of his left lung and all of his right lung were able to be saved! This is great news!
Nugget is breathing moderately well (but not normal) in an oxygen cage and will be closely monitored to ensure his breathing continues to improve. The next 48 hours are a critical time for him, so let’s hope he can continue to heal now that this abscess is gone. As his status can change at any time, I will make sure to keep you updated as I hear from Blue Pearl.
Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers & support.
9/3/2019: Nugget handled the chest tube procedure last night. A radiologist interpreted chest x-rays taken and there is a “mass-like consolidation” visible in a region of his lungs. This is very likely the cause of the pus accumulating in his chest.
Therefore, the next best step is to proceed with chest surgery to remove this mass-like lesion.
• If it is an abscess, then removal should fix his current problem. If it is an abscess, then after a couple more days in the hospital he should be well enough to come home.
• If it is cancerous, then removal should fix his current problem and we can explore follow-up cancer treatment options once we know the specifics of which type of cancer…
If it is an abscess, we often don’t know why the abscess developed in the first place. Options include consolidating infection in the lung (pneumonia, complications of heartworm disease) or an inhaled irritant (foreign body) that was the starting cause of the infection. Given Nugget’s young age, we are hopeful that this is a freak abscess (not cancer).
Nugget will proceed with surgery later this morning or early afternoon (as soon as his blood pressure is a little better). Surgery is a big stressor for his body, so there are inherent risks with it, but without removing the abscess/mass he will not improve.
9/2/2019: Nugget is a 4.5-year-old mixed breed that was an otherwise normal and healthy dog. He took a very unexpected and rapid decline in his health yesterday.
We rushed him to Blue Pearl, they called our Veterinarian and informed us that Nugget was continuing to decline. Nugget was diagnosed with pus in his chest. There were high bacterial counts in this pus. The large amount of pus and bacteria are causing his lungs to not be able to expand normally. His blood work is consistent with sepsis. Sepsis (severe full body infection) was making it impossible to maintain his blood pressure and blood sugar values even with supportive care.
Therefore, he had to be rushed into emergency chest tube placement surgery to better lavage his chest of any remaining pus that is around the lungs (a large amount of pus was drained earlier today).
Due to his very poor condition, this procedure is risky as his body is in such a fragile state. I wanted to keep everyone updated as this is a major hurdle for Nugget. Without this procedure he will not make it. Let’s hope his body can stay strong during this procedure tonight.
❤️Please keep him in your thoughts today and we will update you as we know more.❤️
Your support in our efforts to give sweet Nugget a fighting chance are greatly appreciated. His emergency care and surgeries are estimated to cost $7,500 – $11,500. Thank you!
