CONTENT WARNING: This article contains pictures that some viewers may find disturbing.
UPDATE 8:49 a.m. (5/23/22): Hours after undergoing surgery to remove metal and other items from her intestines, Angels of Assisi says that ‘Olive’ — the underweight dog discovered at a Craig County construction site — passed away.
Just before 8:15 a.m. on Saturday, May 21, the shelter announced that Olive’s little body was too weak to keep fighting, saying that she died during the night following a cardiac arrest.
“She was so loved the last few days of her life, and we are heartbroken that her life was cut so short,” Angels of Assisi wrote on Facebook. “We are devastated that we couldn’t save her, and we will fight even harder to make sure no other animals have to go through the suffering she endured.”
The facility posted the following pictures on social media shortly after 5:45 p.m. on Friday, May 20, along with an announcement that Olive’s body temperature was slowly rising as the anesthesia wore off.
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ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) — After being discovered by a good Samaritan at a Craig County construction site, a malnourished dog underwent surgery to remove metal and other items from her intestines, according to Angels of Assisi.
Angels of Assisi tells WFXR News that the dog, ‘Olive,’ arrived at the shelter on Thursday, May 19 after a man found her living outside of New Castle at the construction site where he works.
According to the shelter, seeing that pooch in her current condition “broke our hearts…When they arrived at our door, we knew Olive needed us.”
The facility says Olive was vomiting and had diarrhea, so the medical team tested her for parvo, which came back negative. The medical team also ran a full blood panel and started her on fluids.
In addition, Olive was extremely dehydrated and malnourished, weighing only 10 pounds — which is about half the size a puppy her age should be, according to Angels of Assisi.
The shelter says Olive also received an anti-nausea medication, but when she kept vomiting afterward, that made the medical team suspicious, so they performed radiographs and discovered metal in her intestines.
“We are concerned she ate an item from the construction site,” Angels of Assisi posted on Facebook Thursday evening. “Radiographs will be repeated in the morning, and from there, our medical team will determine the next steps. She will stay hospitalized overnight. She is in very rough shape, but we hope this sweet girl pulls through and we are going to do all that we can for her.”
Then, at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, May 20, the shelter reported that an early morning ultrasound performed on Olive showed that the metal in her intestines was not moving. As a result, the facility’s medical team got ready for surgery in hopes of removing the foreign body.
“Unfortunately, without having any history on Olive we don’t know how long she might have had this item in her intestines and are not sure exactly what we will find opening her up,” Angels of Assisi said. “While Olive is not an ideal surgical candidate because of her current health status, this is her best chance at survival. Please send positive thoughts for sweet Olive, and hope she pulls through!”
Shortly after 11:45 a.m. on Friday, Angels of Assisi announced that Olive was still in surgery, saying that her intestines were full of grass and cloth material. Not only did this obstruction result in a portion of the dog’s intestines being removed, but the surgeon still needs to remove more metal material.
“She is still hanging on and is a fighter,” the shelter wrote. “Keep sending positive thoughts for our sweet girl!”
Nearly three hours later, the facility shared some good news: Olive is out of surgery and being monitored on the recovery mat while she wakes up from the anesthesia.
In the words of Angels of Assisi, while Olive’s body temperature is a little low and “she certainly isn’t out of the woods,” the dog is heading to Emergency Veterinary and Specialty Services of Roanoke Friday night so she can be under 24-hour care and monitoring.
“Any contributions to her care are greatly appreciated as round-the-clock emergency veterinary care can be very costly,” the shelter said.
When you count up the donation totals from Angels of Assisi’s four Facebook posts about Olive’s condition, it shows that more than 200 people have raised $7,626 to support the pooch’s care as of 2:51 p.m. If you would like to help support Olive’s treatment costs, follow this link.
