Ralphie Update 12/4/2025
Ralphie’s survival is nothing short of miraculous. He unknowingly ingested rat poison while outside scavenging for food at only four months old. When he arrived at KHS, he was actively dying and had to be resuscitated with CPR while our team actively pushed an emergency blood transfusion. Against all odds, Ralphie is alive today. But his journey to recovery is far from over.
The rat poison that Ralphie ingested is especially dangerous because it attacked the Vitamin K supply in his little body. Vitamin K is absolutely essential and plays a crucial role in blood clotting. Without it, blood was pooling in Ralphie’s chest and bladder, and he would have quickly bled out without medical intervention. In fact, he was mere minutes away from losing his life forever.
Ralphie is now stable but weak. His body needs help creating Vitamin K as it continues clearing the poison out, so we are providing him with supplements. We’re hopeful this will allow his body to rest and heal properly, while the Vitamin K supplements do the heavy lifting when it comes to recouping Ralphie’s blood supply. He will need these supplements for at least a month, if not longer, to ensure he doesn’t sustain any lasting effects and lives a long, healthy life.
Above all else, we’re grateful that Ralphie is still here. He may not know it, but he’s left a mark on our hearts that will last a lifetime.
Please continue supporting Ralphie’s recovery by donating in his honor at kyhumane.org/donate. Longtime supporter, Janice Cooper, has generously extended her matching gift during our Give Hope campaign, so ALL DONATIONS will be MATCHED up to $50,000 through 12/31. That means you can impact TWICE as many animals like Ralphie. Thank you for standing behind this sweet boy and the staff who have worked tirelessly to save him!
A Miracle on Steedly Drive 12/2/2025
To be quite honest, when Ralphie first arrived at the Kentucky Humane Society over the weekend, we weren’t sure we’d be able to save him. He’d been scavenging through a dumpster for food, and by the time humans were able to get ahold of him, he wouldn’t eat, drink or even walk. When Ralphie got to our Sam Swope Pet Treatment and Lifesaving Center, his breathing was labored, his feces was sand-like and his urine was riddled with blood, letting us know time was of the essence.
X-rays revealed that Ralphie’s entire chest was full of blood, and he had tiny, intact bones in his stomach. We believe that when he was nosing through the trash, he likely ate a small animal that had ingested poison, leading Ralphie to also ingest the toxins. He was quickly declining, and we knew that an emergency blood transfusion gave us the best chance at saving this poor puppy’s life. As we prepared the syringes, Ralphie stopped breathing.
Ralphie died.
We refused to give up on Ralphie, so we immediately began chest compressions. While one team member was performing CPR, two others began an emergency blood transfusion from a brave shelter pup named EZ. As we drew blood from EZ, he patiently laid by our team’s side, almost as if he knew what was at stake. EZ was a hero…to Ralphie and to all of us.
We gave Ralphie the blood transfusion that would save his life, later removing the blood pooling in his chest that threatening to take it. Miraculously, after a few, very long minutes, Ralphie began to breathe again. A collective sigh of relief from our team was quickly followed by continued measures to save his life.
Finally, Ralphie was stable.
Today, Ralphie’s prognosis remains guarded. He’s got a long road to recovery ahead, and his little four-month-old body will have to fight hard to flush the toxins from his system. We will closely monitor Ralphie’s condition to ensure he avoids setbacks, and will update you on his condition as he progresses.
Please consider a donation in Ralphie’s honor at kyhumane.org/donate. Today is Giving Tuesday – a global day of giving – and our friends at MetLife Pet Insurance are even matching all gifts made to KHS today up to $10,000. That means your gift will support twice as many vulnerable animals like Ralphie in their times of need. Thank you!
