Dragon Claw came into foster at just 6 days old. He was the best eater of his litter and a heckin' chonker even after losing his cat mom. He struggled a lot throughout kittenhood with breathing difficulty. We consultant with many veterinarians and tried many courses of treatment with various levels of success. Unfortunately his symptoms would always return within a few days of finishing each recommended treatment. Things came to a head when he was 11 months old. As show in the video he was really struggling to get enough oxygen. After a visit to our friends at Veterinary Emergency Group in Boulder, Colorado it was determined that what we were dealing with was a pyothorax. Basically Dragon Claw's chest cavity had filled with a bacterial fluid. That fluid did not leave enough room for his lungs to work they way they should. The team at VEG drained 200 ML of fluid that first night but were clear that the fluid would continue to accumulate unless the root of the problem was treated. He would need to have drainage tubes placed, and possibly surgery. At that point we elected to follow their recommendation and transfer him to Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital for treatment. After a CT Scan it was determined that there were several lobes in his lungs affected. One of those was determined to not be salvageable. The WRAH team performed a Thoracotomy to remove that portion of his lungs. From there he was administered a course of antibiotics and monitored closely until he was cleared to go home. He did a few more months of oral antibiotics but was finally determined to be healthy enough to find his forever person just before he was a year and a half old. Dragon Claw is doing great and enjoying his happy, healthy, carefree life with his forever mama in Superior, Colorado.

This strong and resilient boy is a perfect example of the commitment that Front Range Freedom Rescue makes to the animals in our care. From the time an animal comes into our care until even after they are adopted we believe that they deserve the chance to live a full and wonderful life. Some animals need more support to get there than others and our ability to provide that care is possible because of our incredible community of donors, volunteers and adopters. Proceeds from our FRFR Icons T-Shirt Campaign support medical care for future foster animals who, like Dragon Claw, need extra support to get to their happily ever after.