UNBELIEVABLE NEGLECT! POOR PUP!

[rebecca100]

Demodectic mange can usually be treated easily with ivermectrin. That's what we treated our two puppies with and within a week their hair was coming back beautifully. Maybe the former owners didn't know what to do to treat it and couldn't afford to take it to the vet.

 

[mainchick]

Once the mange gets to the point that she is at, it takes months to recover! many people have said it before, and its true, the pup will probably battle this issue for life. Sometimes with months of treatment and excellent diet, low stress and lots of TLC, the mange can go into remission for a long time. We have had a few dogs here at the shelter that employees have adopted and the battle is ongoing. We treat with iveomectrin at the shelter and antibiotics for infection. Demodex is harder than other mange to treat. That is just the nature of the beast. One little dog, a beagle mix has been on treatment for 5 months now and he is finally seeing the light of day.
NO WORD FROM THE RESCUE i am still hoping.

 

[mainchick]

Still no word from the rescue. I am sad.

 

[NancyDz]

I wouldnt assume she'll battle it all her life. I rescued my lab/doxie mix with a horrible case of demodex. He had no fur and he was only 7 months old. The SPCA was going to put him down as it is not easy to treat in the stressful environment at the shelter. I adopted him, treated him and he has never had it again and is now almost 6 years old. He actually looked pretty good after 2 months of treatment and you couldnt even tell after 4 mos. With the right environment they can bounce back fairly quickly. I hope she finds a home!


Nancy

 

[mainchick]

we won't be putting her up for adoption. It is either rescue or euthanasia. i guess I should have said "most likely" have to deal with it for life. IN general, that is the case. It is manageable though.

 

[rebecca100]

Demodex is from a poor immunity and certain breeds are more prone to it than others. Just because the dog has it doesn't mean it was neglected. My SIL's dog had a horrid case of it. It was well fed and loved, they just didn't have the money to take it to the vet and treated it at home. It did overcome it and is now very healthy. Maybe this is the case with this dog and it got out of hand and they didn't know what to do. Now if it had been beaten and abused or tortured or was extremely wormy and starved then I would say condemn the owners, but not for what can't be helped about getting it. You can read about many people's stories on the internet about their dealings with this mange and how bad it got before healing, which it can often do on it's own especially after the dog reaches an age where it's immunity is stronger. From the look of the gums, it didn't look wormy and it didn't look thin. I had a dog given to me once that had been bitten in the eye and they were going to kill it. I took it and then tried to give it to the shelter where I knew it would be treated. they refused to take it and I had to have it put down anyway at my cost, because I could not afford to have the eye removed and infection had set in. I learned a sad lesson with that. it was a beautiful pekinese that could have found a good home. Since then i have taken in several dogs who need homes and found homes for others that I couldn't take. I am not saying that this was not bad and that the owners didn't handle the situation very poorly. But things aren't always what they seem and I think people are too quick to accuse and condemn. I hope she gets better and I think euthanization would be a sad thing to do to a dog who could make a family very happy.

 

[mainchick]

Euthanizing would be sad. The problem is so many people expect the shelters to do the medical work on the animals. They ARE shelters. They don't always have tons of money and time and resources to fix problems that the owners should have.
the pup should have been treated fron the earliest onset of the problem BOTTOM LINE. I think we can all agree on that. There are so many organizations that help with the medical care of animals that are in need. Where I am, down here in southern California, people are always willing to help the underpriveledged and the animals in need. Any shelter will direct you to low cost clinics, and medical help charities. there are a few shelters (4) around here that within 50 mile radius. there is really no excuse for letting that pup roam around STRAY in that condition (and then never claim her.) Her skin smelled, it was open and bleeding, pus is dripping and crusty scabs were scratched off and her skin opened up because she was so itchy. An owner needs to be aware that certain medical costs can arise when taking on the responsibility of an animal. What is that boy scout motto "always be prepared"? Just have a back up plan you might need one. it is kindof like when you have children you assume medical responsiblity for them. This is a basic responsibility of animal care. That is it. BTW Rescue is supposed to pick her up tomorrow. God Bless the angels in rescue!!!!

 

[NancyDz]

That's great news

Even if the shelter could have afforded the medical care, the environment is not right for healing Demodex. They need to have consistent food ( same kind and quality) , stress free environment of which isnt going to happen in a shelter. That's why SPCA was going to put my pup down, they said even with medical treatment it is hard to create the type of environment needed for it. It would have needed foster care at a minimum to get it out of the shelter.


Thanks for they update!

 

[mainchick]

yay! After Mastiff rescue responded to my plea to help Sandy the mange pup, I was very excited. They said that they would take her and treat her. They planned on boarding her at their vet's office for 2 weeks and then she would go to a foster home. they said they were going to pick her up not last Friday but the one before. they NEVER SHOWED UP! they never called , they never emailed, nothing. i was devastated, i knew that there would be little to no time to get her out because I used up all her time waitiing for mastiff rescue!! I felt like crying. I put out the plea again, could some private rescue PLEASE take this young pup and give her the treatment she needs? The angels of rescue said they would and we arranged for her delivery! This morning, I took Sandy to the Modjeska Ranch Rescue so she can start intense treatment in her new foster home! These people are truly great people. I was crying when I dropped her off. Sandy just barely missed euthanasia!!
she is going to make it after all!! BTW she now weighs 45 lbs and is almost 4 months!!

 

[mainchick]

guess what? so far so good with the little one!