Chantal & Candy

Among all the difficult things Chantelle has experienced in her lifetime, perhaps the most heartbreaking is the judgement passed by others, over the condition of her best friend Candy. When Candy was 12 her owner passed away and she was taken in by Chantelle; it was love at fist sight. Since then, the two have been inseparable. Chantelle has always provided for Candy’s every need, but recently was injured on the job and fell on hard times. Unfortunately, this has meant that she has been unable to keep up Candy’s care.

Candy, now 16, is not a fan of being groomed due to past experiences. With no opportunity to have this fluffy little girl’s coat cared for, it had become severely matted. Thankfully, a kind passerby took note and brought them to FurBar on King Street, offering to pay for Candy to get groomed. The groomer provided the groom for free, but was only able to do her body, and not her legs, because they were so badly matted.

The groomer then reached out to the Community Veterinary Outreach team in Toronto who took it from there. The CVO Toronto team – Dr. Mark, Vanessa, and our other wonderful volunteers – stepped in and took action! They brought Candy into their clinic and ended up having to anesthetize her to finish the groom, because of how badly matted Candy’s legs were. They also ended up extracting 3 badly infected and painful teeth at the same time. Candy went home later that day and has been recovering comfortably with her mom, Chantelle, since. This has been an immense comfort to both Candy and Chantelle. Chantelle described her relationship with Candy by saying “She saved my life [crying]...I only have my girlfriend and Candy.”

Client stories have been shared with permission.