Sick SLO pup rescued after her 99-year-old owner died. Now she’s healthy and needs a home
A 10-pound canine charmer is on her way to recovery, thanks to Cambria’s unofficial dog whisperer, donations from the community and a caring veterinarian who cut the pup’s treatment costs in half.
Gigi, a 13-year-old Yorkshire terrier-dachshund mix was near death after her 99-year-old human mom died in early February, according to rescuer Liz Bannon of Cambria. The landscaper found them both two days later in the garden of their San Luis Obispo home.
The elderly owner, who had lived alone with no caregiver, hadn’t had the ability to provide proper care for the dog for some time, Bannon guessed.
She saw Gigi’s story on social media. When nobody else responded to a plea to care for the dog, Bannon volunteered, as she has often done in previous rescues.
“No one else was willing to step up and give Gigi a soft place to land and sort out her next home,” Bannon posted on social media site Nextdoor soon thereafter, along with photos of the pathetically scruffy, filthy pup. Gigi’s nails were so long that they curled under and into the pads of her paws.
At first, given the dog’s many medical issues, Bannon and veterinarian Casey Erickson of Cambria Veterinary Clinic thought perhaps the kindest option was euthanasia.
But sensing the little pooch’s spunky spirit, they agreed to try to save Gigi, giving her a few days to see how she’d respond to extensive, expensive treatment.
Veterinarian treats sick SLO dog whose owner died
Erickson, who goes by Dr. Casey, treated Gigi for various infections as well as kidney issues, digestive ailments and dental decay so severe that all 39 of her remaining teeth had to be removed.
“Hers was the worst mouth the vet had ever seen,” Bannon said.
Bannon and Erickson even gave the bedraggled dog a spa treatment.
“’We rescued her after years of neglect,” Bannon said. “If nobody had done anything with her, she’d have keeled over within a few days. Now she’s this spunky little live wire.”
Cambria woman wants to help local seniors, pets
Once Gigi is fully recovered and in her new forever home, Bannon will focus on a service she now considers to be vital — taking the pets of housebound seniors and others to the vet.
Pets such as dogs and cats can provide life-enhancing companionship for and unconditional love to seniors, especially those who live alone.
“But I’d hate to see another dog in the same shape Gigi was in when I first saw her,” Bannon said. “There has to be a way to prevent that.”
The service will probably start small, in Cambria, but could easily expand accross San Luis Obispo County, depending on the response Bannon gets.
You can help Gigi, too
So far, about 20 Cambrians have donated a total of $1,500 toward Gigi’s ever-increasing medical bill, costs that Casey Erickson and her husband and fellow veterinarian Alex Erickson have already slashed in half to about $2,000.
The recovering Gigi is “quiet as a church mouse, housebroken, sleeps in her bed, and does not bark,” Bannon said, but a fenced yard is necessary to keep the senior dog safe.
Donations can go directly to Cambria Veterinary Clinic, 1500 Main St., Cambria CA 93428. For details about adopting Gigi, call Bannon at 805-235-1818.
This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 10:19 AM.
