Before, she could only last for a couple of seconds outside her bubble.
Kathryn, a vet technician, first met baby Sally in a very critical condition. The pup was surrendered to her by a breeder who was no longer capable of taking care of her. Sally had pneumonia and was gasping for oxygen, she was “blue” as described by the vet technician. Luckily, Kathryn had an oxygen chamber ready or what she called a “bubble” where Sally could have all the oxygen that she needed. As soon as she put the pup inside the bubble, she immediately knew that Sally was oxygen dependent and that she needed to be in there for quite some time.
Needless to say, the poor baby dog was suffering from some kind of respiratory problems, and her lungs needed some strengthening.
For the following days to weeks, Kathryn took care of Sally inside and out of her oxygen chamber. Unfortunately, the fighting pup couldn’t afford to be out of her bubble because she would immediately gasp for air after just a couple of seconds. Despite her condition, Sally still showed signs that she wanted to be an ordinary pup. She would usually give her carers gestures like licking the wall of her bubble and looking outside. The pup wanted to play and live her life like normal, but sadly, her body wouldn’t cooperate.
Kathryn didn’t give up on the high-spirited puppy.
During the pup’s healing and strengthening process, they would usually bring Sally and her bubble with them so she’d still see new things other than the four corners of her oxygen chamber. It was usually like that until one day, the pup started pawing the bubble – she really wanted to come out. However, she only lasted about 15 seconds outside of her bubble. Sally’s respiratory problem didn’t stop her from wanting to come out of her bubble and discover things in the real world. Kathryn decided to make the persistent pup’s quick outside of the bubble trips a routine, it’s also one way to exercise the dog’s lungs.
So, the following days, they’d give Sally quick walks outside her bubble.
For weeks, Kathryn would extend the intervals of the absence of Sally’s oxygen support. From 15 seconds to 3 minutes without oxygen support. That was the improvement that they had because of that everyday exercise. It really improved Sally’s breathing. As she was growing, her bubble also needed to be adjusted, so Kathryn came up with a creative idea of making her bubble much larger so that she could also walk around and not just lay down. One day, they decided to bring Sally outside.
There, she was kissed by the sun and played on the grass – she was literally OUT.
Sadly, her lungs weren’t that strong to be out for that long so they put her back in her bubble again. They even let Sally come in and out of her bubble freely since she’s improved so much since day 1 of being quarantined inside her tiny world. Then another day came and Sally no longer wanted to be inside her bubble. 30 minutes went by and the thriving pup was still not having a hard time breathing. Sally was doing perfectly fine but for precautionary measures, Kathryn still decided to put her back inside the bubble.
However, before she was even able to close the oxygen chamber’s door, Sally managed to quickly sneak out of it.
That day, she made it clear that she no longer wanted to be there. When the pup was already given the green bill of health, one of Kathryn’s co-workers stepped in to adopt her, Bonnie, who was also there all throughout Sally’s healing process. Pretty soon, she was welcomed by her new family and new dog siblings. Sally had her first walk in the park, pool experience, picked her first ever toy, and a whole bunch more. She’s no longer that sickly little dog and she’s now enjoying every second of her life outside in the real world.
Watch the video below to know more about this inspiring story.
