Kathryn, a veterinary technician, first met baby Sally in a very critical condition. The puppy was given to her by a breeder who was no longer able to take care of her. Sally has pneumonia and is panting, she is “pale” as described by the veterinary technician.
Luckily, Kathryn has an oxygen chamber or what she calls a “bubble” ready, where Sally can get all the oxygen she needs.
As soon as she placed the puppy inside the bubble, she immediately knew that Sally was dependent on oxygen and she needed to stay in it for a while. Needless to say, the poor puppy is suffering from some breathing problems and his lungs need a boost. In the days and weeks that followed, Kathryn looked after Sally inside and out of her oxygen chamber. Unfortunately, the fighting dog couldn’t get out of his bubble as he would immediately gasp for air after just a few seconds.
Despite her condition, Sally still shows signs of wanting to be a normal puppy. She often gives her caregivers gestures like licking bubbles and looking out. The puppy wants to play and live life as usual, but sadly, his body refuses to cooperate.
Kathryn didn’t give up the high-spirited puppy. During the healing and strengthening of the puppy, they often bring Sally and her balloons so she can still see new things beyond the four corners of her oxygen chamber. Things usually go like this until one day the dog starts to grab the balloon he really wants to get out.
However, she only lasts about 15 seconds outside of her bubble. Sally’s breathing problems don’t stop her from wanting to get out of her bubble and explore things in the real world. Kathryn decided to make the puppy persevere quickly outside of the bubble rides as a habit, which is also a way to train the dog’s lungs. So the next few days, they would give Sally a quick walk outside her bubble.
For weeks, Kathryn will prolong Sally’s time without oxygen support. From 15 seconds to 3 minutes without oxygen support.
That’s the improvement they get from that daily exercise. It really improves Sally’s breathing. As she grew, her bubble needed to be adjusted too, so Kathryn came up with a creative idea to make her bubble much larger so she could walk too, not just lie.
One day, they decided to take Sally out. There she was kissed by the sun and played on the grass she was literally OUT. Sadly, her lungs weren’t strong enough to work for that long so they put her back into their bubble again. They even let Sally go in and out of her bubble freely because she has improved so much since the first day of quarantine in her little world.
Then another day came and Sally didn’t want to be in her bubble anymore. 30 minutes passed and the healthy puppy still did not feel breathless. Sally is perfectly fine but just in case, Kathryn decides to put her back inside the bubble anyway. However, before she could close the door of the oxygen chamber, Sally quickly snuck out of it. That day, she made it clear that she no longer wanted to be there.
Once the puppy was given a green health certificate, one of Kathryn’s colleagues adopted it, Bonnie, who was also there during Sally’s healing. Not long after, she was welcomed by her new family and new sibling dogs.
Sally had her first walk in the park, experienced the pool, picked her first toy, and more. She is no longer that sick little dog and now she is enjoying every moment of her life outside of the real world.