Southwest Oasis Labrador Rescue Serves as a Hub of Hope

Anyone involved with animal rescues knows that networking is absolutely crucial to getting the animals what they need, where and when they need it. These networks, like many-spoked wheels, need a central hub to keep them connected and spinning in harmony. Southwest Oasis Labrador Rescue (SOLR) is just that for shelters, groups and individuals working to save Labs and Lab mixes throughout Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and Mexico.

Three years ago, SOLR president Susan Krase, along with a few friends, split off from another rescue in order to focus on a broader range of dogs, both geographically and breed-wise. They would work with predominantly Labrador retrievers, but would not be completely exclusive, and certainly would help any Lab mix in need. Through social media, their network quickly began to grow.

Shelters, so overcrowded that euthanasia of healthy dogs was inevitable, began to reach out. A small grassroots rescue in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico contacted SOLR and they began bringing dogs up from there. Concerned neighbors contacted them about abused or neglected dogs. Before they knew it, SOLR had rescued more than 600 dogs and placed 566 of them in permanent homes.

Athena had come from a farm in Mexico where her leg was caught in a bear trap and had to be amputated. Through SOLR’s online network, Athena was able to be transported to Tucson and into foster care with a SOLR board member and later adopted by a disabled veteran and his wife, making headlines as she joined them in their work with other disabled vets.

Athena may be the most famous SOLR success story to date, but she is certainly not the only one who defied the odds with the help of this group. Miraculous dogs currently under the care of SOLR fosters include Mateo, for one. A 4-year-old yellow Lab from Hermosillo Mexico, Mateo was not being cared for by his owner. A concerned neighbor was able to snap a picture and sent it to SOLR. Poor Mateo was down to only 20 pounds, extremely malnourished and positive for tick fever, valley fever and Transmissible Venereal Tumor (TBT) cancer. TBT is a sexually transmitted form of cancer that is very treatable, but also detrimental if left untreated. While this is a devastating diagnosis, Mateo is working toward recovery. He is boarded at an animal hospital undergoing treatment and has put on seven pounds.

In mid-March, another desperate case joined SOLR from Pinal County Animal Control (PCAC). This one was a 7-year-old Lab mix who came to be known as Army. He had been unable to move, even to lift his head, for a week. Initial efforts to diagnose Army’s condition resulted in nothing but more questions. Although he was covered in ticks, after their removal, tick-borne illness was not found to be responsible for the paralysis. Finally, Army was able to get in to see a neurologist in Phoenix, where an MRI and spinal tap revealed the presence of a large blood clot in his neck, likely the result of blunt force trauma. He was quickly put on a regimen of medications and rehabilitation, and the clot is expected to dissolve on its own. In order to get him up and running again, foster parents Nicole and Steve Taylor provide around-the-clock love and care, he is visited by a physical therapist twice per week and regularly enjoys hydrotherapy as well. After just two weeks of this, he was already able to lift his head, then roll over and then sit up.

This level of care would be impossible without the gift of volunteers and funding. For more information, visit solraz.org. QCBN

By Bonnie Craig