There are often several puppies euthanized at overcrowded shelters each day across the country. A puppy named Rudolph is among those.
Rudolph was seven months old when he was taken to a shelter in Oklahoma.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t adopted by anyone, so he was placed on the list of dogs to be put to sleep.
Rochelle Dougall is the assistant director at King’s Harvest Pet Rescue. This is a no-kill shelter located in Davenport.
When Rochelle heard about Rudolph, she knew that she had to do something to save him. However, it might have been too late.
When Rudolph was taken to the room where euthanizations were performed, the veterinarian gave him an injection like all of the other dogs received.
It was an overdose of a strong anesthetic that would make Rudolph’s passing pain-free.
This injection was supposed to put the puppy to sleep in a short time. The vet left the room and returned to a sight that he didn’t expect to see.
Rudolph wasn’t dead. He was still alive and moving around. The vet knew that he couldn’t inject Rudolph with another round of the medication.
One reason why the medication might not have worked is that the vet didn’t inject it into a vein. The medication might not have been strong enough to have an impact on the dog.
This isn’t a situation that happens too often, but it’s one that does occur when a dog has a strong will to live.
Rochelle got in touch with the shelter and let the vet know that she wanted to give Rudolph a home.
As soon as she took the dog to the shelter in Davenport, he was put up for adoption. It only took two days for someone to give him a loving home.
Joyce Valentine is a 50-year-old woman who wanted to take Rudolph into her home so that he could be loved and so that she could have a companion.
He’s a strong dog and enjoys playing each day, something that he might not be able to do if the medications would have worked in the shelter.