It was what all of us who love our pets fear. Fire tore through Cotton’s home on Saturday when she was home alone. Wilmington firefighters responded at 12:10pm and found her unresponsive during their search of the home. New Castle County Paramedics and Saint Francis EMS personnel used an oxygen mask specially designed for pets to successfully resuscitate her.
Our friends at the Delaware Office of Animal Welfare rushed Cotton to an emergency clinic and got in touch with us. We’re managing Cotton’s care with our friends at VCA Animal Hospitals.
Cotton spent Saturday and Sunday in an oxygen tank being treated for smoke inhalation. The 11-year-old dog struggled to breathe, and the medical team described her condition as “touch and go.” Monday her condition improved to where she could be removed from the oxygen cage and receive oxygen through nasal canulas. She’s also being treated for aspiration pneumonia and eye abrasions. Cotton isn’t out of the woods, as the medical team put it, but she’s improving.
Meanwhile, Cotton’s owner thought he would have to surrender Cotton to the shelter due to the treatment costs, which he couldn’t afford on top of the devastating impact of the fire. We’re not going to let that happen.
Should we be fortunate enough to receive enough donations to cover her cost, any surplus will be applied to Reggie’s Fund. This fund was seeded by a generous donor in memory of her beloved Reggie to help families who might not otherwise be able to afford unexpected medical costs keep the pets they love rather than have to surrender them to the shelter for financial reasons.
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