UPDATE #3: Fabulous news! We are SO thrilled to announce that, as of yesterday, Noki, Milton and Rainbow are all in foster homes. Though they no longer need the supportive medical care that an emergency room provides, these sweet babies still have a long road to recovery ahead of them. As they grow bigger and stronger in foster care, the puppies will have their stool samples tested regularly until they stop shedding parvovirus. That can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months.
We couldn’t have done this without your help. Sometimes it seems like we say that a lot, but it’s true and worth repeating: you made this happy ending possible. Your outpouring of love was so great that the BARCS Franky Fund will be able to help more neglected, injured and sick animals in need of specialized and emergency care in recent weeks.
Every life is important. Together, we’ve shown Noki, Milton and Rainbow that they are no exception. They are worthy of good health, safety and, most importantly, love.
Thank you for your support of BARCS and the animals we serve.
If you would like to be a hero to help more animals like Noki, Milton and Rainbow, take the pledge to be a Constant Companion of BARCS. By giving a small monthly donation, you give BARCS the ability each day to say ‘yes’ with confidence to animals like them. Will you join this special group of people to ensure that we can meet the needs of the animals in our shelter? We are asking you to commit just $10/month to BARCS to be a part of our special Constant Companion lifeline group.
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UPDATE #2 ON NOKI, MILTON & RAINBOW: Here’s some good news for your Friday morning: Milton and Rainbow are finally starting to feel better, though they are not ready to leave the hospital just yet. Rainbow did not need a second blood transfusion, and while she could still develop complications, she is showing big differences. Milton is more alert and being weaned off of his IVs. And last, but not least, little Noki is doing well in his foster home.
Though these puppies are definitely showing signs of improvement, they still have a long road to recovery ahead of them. We are feeling hopeful for their futures.
For those who were touched by this story and moved to foster, we greatly welcome your help and ask that you fill out an application on our website. Noki, Milton and Rainbow are just three of the hundreds of medical cases that will need the support of foster homes this summer. For those who have expressed interest in adoption, at this time we are solely focused on the survival of the puppies and are not processing applications.
Again, we are incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped us financially, with words of love and support, and by offering to foster or adopt. We hope that Noki, Milton, Rainbow, Clove and Sky’s story initiates important conversations in our homes, among family and friends and in our greater community. As animal advocates, it is all of our responsibility to adopt pets from reputable organizations, and spread awareness about the all-too-frequent, neglectful, unethical and inhumane practices of selling animals without proof of licensed and responsible origins.
If you would like to support BARCS’ Franky Fund in honor of Noki, Milton and Rainbow, and in loving memory of Clove and Sky, please give on this post or at www.barcs.org/urgent-care/.
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UPDATE ON NOKI, MILTON & RAINBOW: Yesterday, we received an outpouring of love and support for Noki, Milton and Rainbow, the remaining three puppies from a litter with progressed parvovirus. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
We received an update this afternoon from the hospital that we wanted to share:
Noki (pictured) is doing the best of the three and is responding well to treatment. When our Franky Fund Coordinator was on the phone with the doctors, she could even hear little Noki doing some husky “singing” in the background. Noki is stable and feeling well enough to be transported into home care with one of our BARCS foster families. If all goes well, she should be sleeping in a cozy, loving home as early as tonight.
Unfortunately, the other two puppies are still in critical and grave condition. Milton has not shown a decline, but also hasn’t shown improvement, and is still on life support. Rainbow has taken a turn for the worse and will be receiving a blood transfusion today as a final effort to save her life. We are asking that everyone please keep these two little bugs in your thoughts today as they continue to fight.
For those who were touched by this story and moved to foster, we greatly welcome your help and ask that you fill out an application on our website. Noki, Milton and Rainbow are just three of the hundreds of medical cases that will need the support of foster homes this summer.
For those who have expressed interest in adoption, at this time we are solely focused on the survival of the puppies, and are not processing applications.
Again, we are incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped us financially, with words of love and support, and by offering to foster or adopt. We hope that Noki, Milton, Rainbow, Clove and Sky’s story initiates important conversations in our homes, among family and friends and in our greater community. As animal advocates, it is all of our responsibility to adopt pets from reputable organizations, and spread awareness about the all-too-frequent, neglectful, unethical and inhumane practices of selling animals without proof of licensed and responsible origins.
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FRANKY FUND: On Friday night, a customer at the gas station at the foot of Hanover Street Bridge noticed a broken down car. When they approached to offer help, they noticed that something was very wrong—inside were five husky puppies covered in their own filth and barely moving. Also in the car was a man asleep in the driver's seat.
Baltimore City Animal Control was called to the scene. When they arrived, the conditions were even more horrific than they could have imagined. The puppies were only 4-weeks-old; they were actively having bouts of uncontrolled diarrhea and were eating their own excrement and vomit. They were very thin, lifeless and unable to stand. The owner of the vehicle explained that he had bought the puppies down south and was traveling up the east coast to sell them for profit. All five puppies were seized and transported to the ER through BARCS’ Franky Fund Program.
We named these babies Clove, Rainbow, Noki, Milton and Sky. At the hospital, they were diagnosed with parvovirus, a deadly illness that affects unvaccinated puppies and dogs. This terrifying disease moves very quickly, so when the ER called in the middle of the night, our team at BARCS answered and authorized emergency treatment to begin.
Unfortunately, by Saturday morning, little Clove didn’t make it. The remaining four puppies, Rainbow, Noki, Milton and Sky, were on life support. By Saturday night, despite the ER’s best efforts and round-the-clock care, Sky also passed away.
It’s now Monday morning. Noki and Milton are in critical condition but are making some progress. Rainbow is not faring as well as her brothers; still, the emergency team is doing everything they can to try to save her life.
To say that this is an emotionally taxing case is an understatement. The ER team, along with the team of BARCS staff members working on this painful situation, are defeated and heartbroken.
Our shelter has already invested over $5,000 to save these puppies who, if given proper care from the breeder, wouldn’t be facing this horrible disease in the first place. Had the driver’s vehicle not broken down in Baltimore, these poor puppies would have continued to suffer without medical intervention—and most assuredly would have all passed before the driver reached his destination.
Noki, Milton and Rainbow must stay at the hospital until they are stable. It is very difficult to say how many more days or even weeks that could be, given how critical their condition still is. At BARCS, we believe that if an animal can be saved and live a pain-free, healthy and happy life, it is our mission to do everything within our means to give that to them.
This case is financially out of our means right now. If you are able to make a donation for the care of Noki, Milton and Rainbow, and in loving memory of Clove and Sky, please give today.
The BARCS Franky Fund saves the lives of animals with extraordinary medical needs and emergencies. This fund is the lifeline for injured, sick and abused animals in Baltimore City. BARCS’ Franky Fund cares for nearly 900 animals each year with extraordinary medical needs. The costs to save their lives is outside of our annual budget, and so the Franky Fund relies completely on private donations.
**When you donate to the Franky Fund, 100% of your donation goes towards medical care. Any donations made exceeding the cost of the puppies’ medical bills will help the other medical emergency animals this week who need clinical care. Thank you.
