Draco, BAARX Mascot, Needs Our Help!

Draco hales from Northern Arizona and was born into this world around the end of July 2023, along with his seven brothers and one sister. Draco’s mom was a young 10-month-old Belgian Malinois whose owners didn’t realize that “she could get pregnant at such a young age.” Draco’s dad was the working Metro Police German Shepherd Dog that lived next door and simply could not resist climbing the fence to have a quick tryst with the beauty next door!

Puppies are a handful, and nine puppies of this particular mix and lineage was an even bigger handful, so the mama dog’s owner’s husband decided that the puppies HAD TO GO at a mere 6ish weeks of age. The owner reached out to a local Malinois and GSD breeder to see if she could take in these puppies, but unfortunately the breeder (NOT THE BREEDER OF THESE PUPPIES OR THEIR PARENTS!!), we’ll call her L, was unable to take these puppies in at that time, as she was currently at her legal limit of dogs that her kennel permit allowed her to have. Despite having told this lady that she could not take the puppies, L came home one day to find all nine puppies dumped off in a box on her front porch!! L didn’t want to then take the puppies to the animal control facility because they would have euthanized them, so she decided to try to find them homes. L was successful in finding 5 of the 9 puppy’s homes, but still had 4 left, and with her kennel inspection coming up, she desperately needed to find a place for these pups to go to, so she reached out to her friend T in Ely to see if she could help. T then reached out to Montie at BAARX to see if BAARX could help, and that following Thursday the 4 remaining pups were on their way to Ely!

Upon arriving in Ely, the pups went into foster with Norm & Montie Lyn Liebsack of BAARX until they could find homes or another rescue to go to that would be more suited for their breed. As adorable as these puppies were, Montie NEVER intended to adopt any of these pups herself, despite her love for both the German Shepherd Dog and the Belgian Malinois breeds…. she knew that they would likely be of a higher energy than what she wanted to deal with! As time went on, Montie noticed that two of the pups were considerably mellower and more laid back than the other two, and those two quickly became her favorites, but she was still not planning on keeping either of them! A little more time went on and Montie’s second favorite of the two (known as Thor at that time) started spending more time away from the other puppies and sleeping on Montie’s feet in the mornings while she was working at her computer and having her coffee. Montie still was NOT keeping a puppy!! “Thor” then started coming to Montie and sitting directly in front of her and looking up at her with his beautiful brown eyes, and that was the clincher…. Montie WAS keeping THIS puppy!!

Montie’s husband, Norm, wanted to rename their new puppy something that had to do with the stars in the sky, so they settled on the name Draco (meaning dragon in Latin), after the constellation Draco. Draco would go on to become Montie and Norm’s co-pilot whenever they went on transports for BAARX, and always accompanied Montie on these transports whenever she had to go on them alone because Norm had to work. Draco did his first transport at 12 weeks of age when they transported his three brothers to Wendover, NV. in order for them to catch their ride to another rescue in Tennessee.

Draco proved to be an exceptional puppy ~ smart, eager to learn & please, well-mannered, friendly with people and quite mellow for a puppy, especially a Malinois/GSD puppy!! He never chewed on inappropriate objects and was always on his best behavior…. You could leave him alone in the cab of the truck with groceries, including a prime rib roast, sitting right next to him, and he would not touch them at all! He would just sit, watch and wait patiently for his people to come back.

Beings how Draco was a BAARX rescue puppy himself, plays host to several BAARX foster dogs that come through his home, and also co-pilots on almost all of the BAARX transports for other animals to no-kill shelters, he was designated the official mascot of BAARX!

On Sunday, February 4, 2024, Montie noticed that Draco seemed “off”, and upon closer inspection noticed that his gums were ash white! She knew that this was NOT good and could be a sign of something life-threatening, so she contacted the emergency vet clinic, Steptoe Veterinary, and they got her in right away. After doing bloodwork, an ultrasound and radiographs, Dr. Clinton Henriod diagnosed Draco with IMHA ~ Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia ~ a life-threatening condition where the body’s immune system attacks and kills its own red blood cells. Draco is a mere 7 months old, a baby!! His packed cell volume (PCV) was down to 10, anything below 15 is considered blood transfusion territory, something Dr. Henriod does not do, so after making some phone calls and arrangements on Monday, Montie, Norm and Draco were on their way to Elko so Draco could receive a blood transfusion. After the transfusion his PCV count was up to 20, and he would continue with the steroid treatment to help suppress his immune system while his body (hopefully) worked to build his red blood cells back up. Draco went into Dr. Henriod on Saturday February 10, 2024, for follow-up bloodwork, and unfortunately his PCV count was back down to 10 and back into transfusion territory. Arrangements were then made for Draco to return to Elko that same afternoon for a second much-needed blood transfusion.

Upon arriving at Elko Veterinary, Draco was seen by Dr. Warner and immediately taken back to get the blood transfusion process started. Draco would need to be kept overnight for the procedure this time, but it was hopeful that he would be released the following day, so Montie and her closest friend, Brenda, stayed the night in Elko. Following the blood transfusion that night, Draco’s PCV count was up to 18, and it was up to 20 the following morning! Hopeful results! Upon consulting with Dr. Warner upon picking Draco up on Sunday February 11, 2024, he informed me that he and Dr. Clinton Henriod had spoken via phone earlier, and they were both pretty much on the same page concerning Draco…. They believe he has an iron deficiency anemia, but so far, they have not been able to determine WHY this is happening/WHAT the underlying cause of this is. Both doctors agree that a further variety of testing, and possibly more blood transfusions, are needed in order to start ruling various causes in order to better determine what exactly is going on with Draco…. Dr. Warner is no longer fully convinced that Draco truly has IMHA. While in Elko the second time, Dr. Warner did the routine testing, some additional testing to start down the “process of elimination” road and gave Draco an iron shot to help give his red blood cells what they need in order to try to help his red blood cells regenerate. Upon discharge, Draco was given a guardedly-hopeful-upon-further-testing prognosis and was closer to being his usual happy self than he had been since February 4, 2024. Draco will be doing a follow-up PCV test, and possibly some additional testing, with Dr. Henriod of Steptoe Veterinary on February 13, 2024.

From February 4, 2024, to February 11, 2024, the total cost of Draco’s veterinary visits, treatments and medications are $4,793.33. The BAARX Board of Directors voted to dedicate the money raised from the Gift Basket towards the medical costs of our mascot, Draco, but more help is needed! Draco’s recovery is likely to be a long expensive road, but he is such a young dog and such a GOOD dog, it is felt by everyone at BAARX that he deserves to be given every chance possible at having a quality, healthy, happy life. With the community’s help, BAARX has done so much for animals in need in White Pine County, and Norm & Montie Lyn have been one of the main driving and supporting forces behind all that BAARX has done. Now BAARX and Norm & Montie Lyn are asking the community for the help needed to save one of their own. We know that times are hard for everyone right now, so if you can’t afford to give, we fully understand, but please share instead ~ THANK YOU! If you are able to give, THANK YOU! No amount is too small!!