04/02/2026
Last night we received a desperate call from Good Samaritans in Westfield who had taken in a stray dog on Sunday. The poor dog had wounds all over her. It was clear she had been through something terrible. They cleaned and doctored her wounds the best they could and gave her a warm comfortable spot in their house to recover. The couple took turns staying up with her overnight to ensure she had around the clock supervision.
Yesterday, when it was clear she was not improving, they reached out for help. She would walk to use the bathroom and would drink water, but would not eat, was very subdued and did not have very much energy. Our board convened and agreed we should help her.
Casper, named lovingly by her finders, was picked up by volunteer Lee and kept overnight by volunteer Dena. Casper had a temperature within normal range and accepted honey on her gums. She was given a little bit of pain medication and rested through the night.
Dena took her to one of our vets first thing this morning and the news was unfortunately not good.
Little Casper had wounds on her body that seemed to be at least five days old. The wounds were becoming necrotic and, even worse, her kidneys were in end stage failure. The vet confirmed that there was no action we could take to help make her better. She was too far gone. He said it was very likely that her kidney problems had existed well before her wounds. Sadly, the best thing we could do for Casper was to help her pass peacefully. And so that is what we did.
We are making this post for two main reasons. The first is to let everybody know that this little girl‘s life mattered and we are so thankful that she wandered up to the house of such kind and loving people.
The second is to let her owners know, wherever they are, that while she unfortunately did not survive, she did pass peacefully and is no longer in pain or discomfort. And, if there is a better place, she is certainly there now.
Fly high, sweet Casper. We are so sorry that help came too late. 
