KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Appalachian Bear Rescue announced it made the difficult decision to put down an injured cub on Thursday.
Tots was brought to ABR on April 18 after being found alone on a trail in Big South Fork. She had a broken left humerus bone, a broken jaw and broken teeth.
ABR said since Tots was first brought in, she faced many health obstacles and never reached optimal health while in their care.
Tots began healing slowly and was introduced to another injured cub. The two became inseparable and Tots was released into a wild enclosure two weeks ago.
Two days ago, Tots was limping and it was discovered that she had re-fractured her humerus bone, her calcium levels were low and she had an infection in the bone marrow of her leg.
For the last 48 hours, Tots refused to eat any foods that contained medicine.
"Curators tried anything and everything to encourage Tots to take her antibiotics, but to no avail. Tots bear wasn't being her lively self and refused to move from her spot on a dog bed in the Hartley House," ABR said in a Facebook post. "So much so, that curators could no longer entice her to shift rooms in between feedings, and therefore had to enter the room with her to replace her food and untouched antibiotics."
After talking with University of Tennessee vets, the decision was made to relieve Tots of her suffering.
"She passed peacefully yesterday evening, surrounded by her compassionate team of veterinarians from [UTVMC] and our dedicated curators. We are so sorry," ABR said.
