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Wednesday, May 18th 11:30—1:30pm
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2022 Living Legends Celebration

Fourteenth Annual Schwarzman Animal Medical Center Living Legends Luncheon: Wednesday, May 18, 2022, 11:30am

2022 Living Legends Celebration

Schwarzman AMC’s annual Living Legends event gathers animal lovers together with our veterinarians and senior staff to highlight some of the incredible work that goes on at our hospital every day while celebrating the unbreakable bond that exists between people and their pets. Each year we honor and present the cases of companion animals who survived seemingly insurmountable health challenges because of their owners’ love and dedication, along with the exceptional care and innovative treatment they received from our specialty veterinarians.

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2022 Living Legends Honorees

Scout | Presented by Dr. Leilani Alvarez
Recipient of the Jackie Santi Flaherty Award for Courage

The Jackie Santi Flaherty Award for Courage, established by AMC Trustee Tina Santi Flaherty in memory of her beloved dog Jackie, is given annually to a pet who has shown remarkable courage throughout treatment at AMC.

Scout, a nine-year-old Shih Tzu mix, struggled with collapsed joints in his wrists and ankles as well as lethargy for several years. Initially, Scout was treated elsewhere, but he did not receive an official diagnosis until November 2021, when he was referred to Schwarzman AMC. Scout presented to the Tina Santi Flaherty Rehabilitation & Fitness Service, where Senior Veterinarian & Service Head Dr. Leilani Alvarez felt it was essential to diagnose the cause of the problem to treat it properly. Testing revealed that Scout had an immune- mediated disease called erosive polyarthropathy, similar to rheumatoid arthritis in humans, in which the immune system attacks cells in the joints, causing them to collapse. Scout was fitted for orthotics and prescribed an immunosuppressant drug to keep his body’s immune system in check. Scout also needed to be treated, both at AMC and by his loving family, to heal severe ulcers that had developed on his legs where he had been misplacing his weight. With his wounds healed and orthotics to support his wrists and ankles, Scout is able to walk and run again.


Pronto | Presented by Dr. Theresa “T.J.” Langlois

Pronto is an adult domestic shorthair cat, who was found abandoned in a bodega by a good samaritan in March of 2020. The good samaritan immediately notified Little Wanderers, a rescue group, whose volunteers rushed him to the closest emergency room. He was found to be extremely anemic, so he was immediately referred to the Emilia Saint-Amand Krimendahl Institute for Trauma Care at Schwarzman AMC, where he would have access to the emergency blood transfusion he needed. On presentation, Pronto was weak, pale, and cold, with a dangerously low heart rate and blood pressure. Diagnostics conducted by the Emergency & Critical Care team determined that Pronto was extremely anemic and his blood was not clotting, a common sign of rat poison ingestion. Pronto received three blood transfusions to replace lost blood and four plasma transfusions to replace clotting factors. He very nearly bled to death, but thanks to the lifesaving care of Dr. T.J. Langlois, now a first-year Veterinary Resident in the Emergency & Critical Care service, the ECC team, and the devotion of his foster family (who quickly became his forever family), Pronto has fully recovered and has an excellent prognosis for a long, healthy life.


Charli | Presented by Dr. Nahvid Etedali

Charli, a Goldendoodle puppy, ate something he should not have on one of his first outings to the park. When he stopped eating and drinking, the local vet found that not only did Charli have an intestinal blockage, but he also was in kidney failure due to leptospirosis—a deadly bacterial infection. He needed dialysis and surgery, but he was at high risk for numerous complications. Refusing to accept the recommendation of euthanasia, the family rushed Charli to Schwarzman AMC, where Dr. Nahvid Etedali, Service Head of Hemodialysis & Extracorporeal Therapies, and a team of specialists went to work. Charli’s surgery required a delicate balancing act. He would need blood products as well as fluids and medications, but those vital therapies could lead to overhydration due to kidney failure caused by the infection. Dr. Etedali’s team placed a catheter during surgery so dialysis could begin the next day to remove the excess fluid and toxins and allow medical management while Charli’s body healed. Without dialysis, Charli would not have survived the surgery. Charli spent two weeks in the hospital receiving exceptional care from the AMC team, and then returned home to his grateful and loving family.


Benefit Co-Chairs

Donna Acquavella, Tina Pendergrast Santi Flaherty, Laura Garner, Michael Heaner, Nancy Kissinger, Sharon Amsterdam Koplin, Emilia S. Krimendahl, Elaine Langone, Robert Liberman, Ellen Marcus, Elizabeth Monaco McCarthy, Marianne Mebane, Elizabeth Moore, Kane Nussbaum, Katharine Rayner, Elizabeth Gore Ross, Lisa Schiff, Nicole Seligman, Ann Tisch, Janet York