Anyone who has visited the NS SPCA can attest to the love and kindness that shelter staff show to the animals they care for. Believing in the SPCA’s mission, staff work tirelessly to mend broken bodies and spirits. And sometimes, they take their work home with them. So it was with Bree and a sweet dog named Cruze.
Seven-year-old Cruze was surrendered to the Colchester Shelter in June 2021. The poor boy was in terrible shape and had numerous medical issues, the biggest one being heartworm. The veterinary team decided that the initial focus had to be on Cruze’s heartworm and felt that the longer, more complex method of heartworm treatment – one whole year – was Cruze’s best chance to be cured.
Cruze was supposed to stay relatively calm throughout the treatment because too much activity causes the worms to do more damage to the heart. But staying calm would be a challenge for Cruze as he suffered from separation anxiety. The sweet boy also had chronic dry eye and allergies.
Cruze was definitely in need of more care than could be provided at the shelter. He needed someone with knowledge, experience and patience to help him. Enter Bree, a dedicated staff member at the Colchester Shelter who agreed to become Cruze’s foster mom that same day. Bree had gained lots of hands-on experience working at the shelter and through fostering.
Bree said “I adore helping senior or medically challenging animals and Cruze definitely fit the bill. I figure there are enough people in the world to take on the young and spry animals, so they don’t need me for that. I thought that if I and my partner Michael could give Cruze a peaceful, loving home while he underwent treatment, it would bring him more comfort in his life.” 
“The 365-day heartworm plan involved multiple medications, frequent bloodwork, various injections and close monitoring,” explained Bree. “Staying calm wasn’t in the cards for Cruze but luckily, he was fully cured of heartworm and a total trooper through the treatment plan!”
Bree definitely went the extra mile when it came to helping Cruze with his separation anxiety. “Cruze’s separation anxiety was fairly quick to discover. He needed to be kennelled when I wasn’t home,” she shared. “But despite trying various methods to kennel-train him so he’d be comfortable alone, nothing worked. He actually destroyed 4 kennels during his treatment. But once he was out, he never did a thing in the house so eventually, we opted to let him roam the house. All his anxiety had gone towards escaping the kennel. We also finally found an anxiety medication that worked well and helped him a lot when he was home alone. To this day, we have to follow a specific pattern to ensure he is okay when we leave the house. He needs to be eating for us to leave. We play music for him and set up a camera to check in on him while we’re out. Although it may be an odd regimen, I don’t mind keeping up with this routine to keep him happy!”
Cruze’s allergies have definitely been a work in progress. Bree said “He has both food and environmental allergies. We tried 3 different diets until we landed on Royal Canin HP diet; it’s made a huge difference for him. He was prescribed Apoquel long-term for itching and medicated baths for a while. I keep up with the medicated baths usually every 1-2 weeks. Cruze had chronic ear infections which landed him on ear medication twice a week for life, as well as weekly ear cleans. He had itchy eyes to the point of causing an ulcer in his right eye, which is when the vet determined he had chronic dry eye and prescribed daily eye medication for life. Unfortunately, after Cruze’s 3rd ulcer in the same eye, the treatment plan did not work any longer, and his eye had to be removed as it was causing him a lot of issues. Having only one eye has not slowed him down, though!”
Cruze had no trouble adapting to his foster home. Bree shared “He’s a happy dog and loves to be around people. I was fortunate he had lived with cats before as I had two kitties at the time. I kept the cats and Cruze separated for a while to ensure everyone would adjust well to each other. Cruze loved to follow my senior cat Butterscotch around and pester him some, but my cat Brandy would pull WWE moves on Cruze if he bugged her too much, and Cruze would listen! They all co-existed just fine together. Sadly, both of my cats passed away while I’ve had Cruze. I adopted Baby, another cat I was fostering last summer. She absolutely loves Cruze despite never living with a dog before.” 
Because of Bree’s love and amazing care, Cruze was able to be put up for adoption in November 2022. At this point, he was on 4 life-long medications, a special diet, and had very specific separation anxiety. Bree humbly said “That’s a lot for anyone to take on but it was something I had already been doing for a while and felt it was manageable with our lifestyle. A few people expressed interest in Cruze but as time kept passing, we realized we were very attached to him and we weren’t sure we’d be able to see him go. So on March 13, 2023, we ended up adopting him and making it official!”
Cruze definitely blossomed under Bree’s care and is living his best life. “Cruze loves to fall asleep lying across Bree’s legs, going for walks and car rides,” said Michael. “He also loves a specific Kong bear and although he destroys it (like he does with every toy), he loves to keep little shredded pieces for weeks!”
Cruze fills the couple’s house with smiles and laughter every day. Bree chuckled “Despite being 60-pounds and broad shouldered, I came home one day to find out that Cruze must have somehow squeezed through the cat door. How a dog his size could come out of a hole that small was truly a wonder! The jig was up the following day, when I came home and found the rim of the cat door stuck around his chest!”
Cruze has also taught the couple a lot about patience and understanding. “It’s been a lot to experience with him, but we wouldn’t trade him for the world. He’s become a beloved family member and we love him dearly!”
Bree is now at the SPCA’s North Nova shelter sharing her love with the animals there. She encourages everyone to consider becoming a foster parent. “It’s very rewarding and you may just meet your new family member like we did!” And when it comes to adopting a pet who has been a long-term SPCA resident, Bree said “Please give them a chance and be patient. They may require some extra care, but they deserve a loving family like any other animal. If they can give their whole life
to us, why not give a little bit of our lives to them?”
Animals like Cruze often need extensive and expensive medical care on their journey to happily-ever-after. But the SPCA never gives up on them. Neither do the SPCA’s staff. And donations from animal lovers like you are what make these happily-ever-afters possible.
