About Me
Sweet Pitaya has quite the RESCUE STORY to share!
Brought to us with several of her littermates who were twice her size, she was nothing short of a skeleton that couldn’t hold even a teaspoon of food down. Every bone protruded and her skull painstakingly prominent. Immediately we knew there was something significantly wrong and suspected she had a congenital birth defect called a vascular ring anomaly. Such a defect occurs when a embryological heart vessel wraps around the esophagus and prevents food from passing easily through its opening. As a result, the pet regurgitates when transitioned from its mother’s milk to regular dog food and cannot maintain body weight. What goes down immediately comes up! In essence the pet is starving in its own body.
The good news is that surgical intervention often will fix the underlying problem. So an amazing team of veterinarians and veterinary technicians came together to perform open-heart surgery and relieve the vessel that was constricting her esophagus. Huge applause to Dr. Esterline for leading the team and to Tami, her incredible foster mom, that has spent hours and months getting her where she is today.
Following surgery, Pitaya started eating a slurry of food from an elevated position and gravity helped to pull it down. Little by little she was able to increase that slurry to dry kibble and has quadrupled her body weight in just over two months.
You wouldn’t even know anything was ever awry by the way this firecracker behaves. She has personality abound, loves playing with the bigger foster dogs, enjoys “dominating” the smaller foster dogs, sleeps in her dog bed without incident through the night, and is perfectly house and leash trained. She loves watching the fish tank and all the new sea turtles and fun little water creatures float by. She can often be found drifting to sleep by the glow of its purple light. We expect Pitaya to remain in the small to medium size as she’s only 13 pounds now and shouldn’t exceed more than the lower 20s.
Being a border collie mix, she would benefit from someone that was active or enjoyed going on walks and outings and even maybe a weekly puppycino (bougie dogs love field trips to coffee shops:) And we’re considering her somewhat bougie since she’s already been through so much in her short few months.
She shouldn’t require any further medical care and currently eats dry kibble from a slow feeder. She does amazingly well and we are tickled pink with her recovery.
If you feel you are the right home for this special and beloved girl, please complete an adoption application.
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Have you met Luna yet? 👀 This girl already knows how to sit and has her leash manners down! She is incredibly well behaved and would fit in great at any home. Apply to meet her at www.SNIPSA.org/Luna 🌙
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They see me rollliiinnn’…. They haaatttiiinnn’! Our little Scooter is the low-rider of your dreams. 🛵⭐️ This sweet pup is a quiet boy who loves to lounge and watch TV. He has a gentle demeanor and seems very friendly towards other dogs. Scooter had excellent manners in our office and we think he will transition easily into a loving home. He has a few years of being a dog under his belt already, so you won’t have to worry about the craziness of raising a puppy. Open your heart to this old soul and start the friendship of a lifetime. 💙
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Max is all gussied up to meet his new family today!!! Special thanks to wash•shake•wag in San Antonio for his transformation. ✂️🛁✨ #SNIPSA #rescuedogs #sanantonio #satx #texas #animalrescue #dogmakeover #adoptdontshop #secondchance #pomeranian
We had a fantastic event at @villages_sanantonio today! ✨ 6 pups found their forever homes and we made tons of new friends. To the staff and management at this super cool store, THANK YOU for having us! We hope you had as much fun as we did. 😋🐾
#thehistoricpearl #historicpearl #tenthousandvillages #sanantonio #satx #texas #dogsforadoption #catsforadoption #adoptabledogs #adoptablecats #animalrescue #nonprofit #SNIPSA #muttlove #cutenessoverload #newleashonlife
Rescues, rescues, come get your rescues! 😍 We have some sweet faces coming to a store near you… join us at @villages_sanantonio tomorrow at the Historic Pearl and take somebody home with you. Adopt, shop and save a life this weekend! 🛍🐈🐕🦺
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Ahoy mateys… This pirate is looking SO handsome in recovery! Jack Sparrow is a fun-loving Labrador who - you guessed it - had his eye removed last week! 😱 Jack came over to us from the Lockhart animal shelter in Texas. When he was rescued, the staff at Lockhart discovered that he had existing trauma to the left eye. The mysterious injury left behind irrepairable damage, so our SNIPSA medical team went ahead and removed the eye to make Jack more comfortable. Now, all he needs is an eyepatch to complete the look. 🏴☠️❤️ Check out the second image to see Jack’s eye before surgery, and please consider donating towards his medical care. Additionally, this playful pup is available for adoption/fostering. Just click the link in our bio to donate or learn more about Jack! 🐶
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Third time’s a charm… Sweet Eleven has finally found her forever home. 😫❤️🏡 After being returned twice, this adorable pup received an application all the way from Spokane, WA! One of our SNIPSA gals quickly stepped up to accompany Eleven on the journey, and they spent this morning flying the friendly skies. ✈️ Finally, they touched down and Eleven was united with her new mom and canine sibling - another SNIPSA rescue! Per her adopter, she’s just amazing; already doing tricks and looking for more to learn. 🐶 It truly takes a team to help our animals find their people. From vetting, to advertising, to approving applications, to managing events, to transporting our rescues and more… we do all we can to help them find their happy ending. Three cheers to RESCUE and ELEVEN! 🥂
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We need FOSTERS… 🐶 If you’re in the San Antonio area, consider signing up and make a difference in the lives of our rescues. Link in bio! 💗 #sanantonio #satx #texas #adoptdontshop #fosteringsaveslives #scruffies #rescuedogs #SNIPSA
This Shepherd mix is simply b-e-a-UTIFUL! 💗👁 Meet Iris, a saucy southern gal from Central Texas. Unfortunately, Iris’ family was no longer able to care for her and she was left behind in the parking lot of Animal Care Services. While we don’t condone this kind of behavior towards a pet, we are glad that we were there to scoop her up. 🚐 Since coming into our program, Iris has settled in great at her foster home. She plays well with the 3 other dogs in the house and thoroughly enjoys their company. She is also very trusting and loving towards people of all sizes. 👨👩👧👦 Iris will sit beside her foster dad all day and roll over for belly rubs when given the chance. She is fully potty trained, too, and will even go out through the doggy door. Iris still has that puppy energy so she would love a canine companion in her new home or an owner with an active lifestyle. If Iris seems like your perfect match, apply to meet her! 😋
#adoptabledog #dogforadoption #SNIPSA #nonprofit #animalrescue #texas #tx #satx #sanantonio #shepherdmix #shepherdpuppy #fureverfriend #adoptme #texasrescue #rescuedogs
Introducing Paloma and our eight new “littles!” Tag a dog lover in the comments 😍✨ #SNIPSA #rescuepuppies #sanantonio #satx #doglovers #puppydogeyes #funsized #adoptdontshop
And the winner is… MILO! 😻✨ Congratulations to our feline friend for winning the 2022 title of Face of the Race. 🐈 This special kitty raised $2,420 alone, and collectively our contestants raised over twelve thousand dollars to further SNIPSA’s mission of saving lives. Thank you to everyone who entered their pets this year. Your support means the world to us, and we hope to see you on RACE DAY! 🏃♀️
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DJ is such a SWEETIE PIE! 🥧 Sometimes, kitties in our program take a little longer to get adopted, and that’s okay as long as they end up in the right home. 🐱 This boy is the last one left from his litter of three. He is affectionate, doesn’t mind being held and has squeakiest little meow. He is a curious cat who will thrive in a home with lots of areas to explore! Head on down to meet him at Whole Foods in San Antonio or apply through the link in our bio. 💓
#adoptablekitten #kittenforadoption #rescuekitten #SNIPSA #animalrescue #texas #tx #adoptdontshop #adoptme #rescuesaveslives