I found a dog today

[lizbud]

This afternoon I heard a group of kids laughing like
maniacs in front of my house. I went outside to see
what was going on and found the kids using their
feet to shove around this tiny little grey dog.I yelled
at the kids to leave the dog alone and then called the
little guy to me and brought him into my fenced back
yard. Buddy is not very dog friendly with dogs he doesn't
know, so I kept Bud inside. On closer inspection, the dog
is a intact, mature male Lhasa Apso , with grey coloring.
He appears to have mange on his back end, and is missing
fur in those areas. I called Animal Care and Control & an
officer came to take him in. She seemed like a very caring
person, and told me she would tell Rosie Ellis from the
Southside Animal Shelter (no-kill) about this guy in the
morning. Rosie rescues animals from local pounds all
over the State and actually had more dogs & cats adopted
out last year than the local pound. I'm trying to think positive
about this little guy and my question is this;
mange is treatable isn't it ?

[Kater]

to my knowledge YES its treatable, we treat it all the time at our shelter

[mugsy]

Liz,

There are 2 types of mange. Demodectic and another one that I can't think of the name of right now. Demodectic is treatable and not contagious, it is, however, never going to go away if the dog has that kind. I guess all dogs are born with the demodectic mite (well actually they get them from their mother soon after birth), but some have a compromised immune system and can't fight off the mites and so are destined to continue to have them all their lives and it comes and goes. Dudley has demodectic and was fine until just recently and he is losing hair again, so Dr. B has him on Keflex (sp?) again to ward it off, we'll see what happens. The other kind of mange is contagious, but as far as I understand, is gone once it is gone. Please let us know what happens.

Molly

[lizbud]

Thank You,

After I calmed down a little bit, I did remember to look
it up online. It's just a guess on my part about if it is
mange or not, but the Animal Care lady called it mange.
This little guy was so sweet and so tiny. He had a very
healthy appetite , so he's not "sick" sick. I e-mailed &
called and left a voice mail message for Rosie from the
no-kill shelter b/c the AC person said she would tell Rosie
about him when & if she saw her in the morning. It seems
that Rosie makes regular rounds of the local pounds &
is allowed to take any of them into her rescue program.
She's listed on Petfinders.com as a resource here in town.
If you could have seen this tiny little guy waiting inside
my backyard gate when Animal Control came. :( :( :(

One wierd thing is that he never made a sound the whole
time he was at my house. Not a bark, not a cry or wimper.
He did lick my fingers when I tried to pet him.I'll call the
no-kill shelter again tomorrow to tip them off that Animal
Control has him. If mange is curable, this is one adoptable
little guy for sure.

[Logan]

Oh Liz, what a heartbreaking story. :( I do hope that the little fellow will be ok, and whatever his skin problem, that it can be treated. You did a good thing. I'm so glad you have good resources to use when something like this happens. Unfortunately, we don't in my neck of the woods. Please keep us updated when you can.

Logan

[Gio]

Poor little thing. :( . I hope he gets better soon.

[AdoreMyDogs]

Poor little guy :( Can you believe those kids? I am afraid of what they will grow up to be with that disregard of animal life! I hope all those nasty kids are sterile! As for little male Lhaso, I am sure he will find a home, granted he's not too ill. Those fuzzy little guys seem to be more in demand then the larger dogs. I will say a prayer for poor little Lhaso. I hope he's ok enough to adopt out :( Thanks for saving him from those nasty kids, Liz.

[Dixieland Dancer]

What an experience you had today Liz. I hope Rosie get the little guy to her shelter and gets his mange cleared up so he can find a forever home!

[lizbud]

I called the Southside Animal Shelter this
morning from work & talked to Mrs. Ellis herself.
She was on her way out the door to go to the
city pound just as I called. She said she had not checked her e-mail as yet, so did not know all
the details about my finding him or that he was
now in the care of Animal Control. Dumb me, in my
rush to get out the word to her , only left my
home phone number & not my work number, so she
had already called me & left a message on my VM.
When I talked to her this A.M., I told when he
was picked up, and the name of the Animal Care
officer.I did tell about the mange problem but
that he was a very sweet & friendly little guy.
She is going to make a point of checking him out
this morning on her "rounds" at the pound. In my
e-mail, I offered to help with his medical
treatment if she thought he was treatable.
If ever any pup needed a friend, it was this
little guy.I'll try to check back with Rosie
later on today, or tonight after work.Please say
a prayer that Rosie can take him & he can be
helped. Thanks Everybody. Liz & Buddy.

[Stenograsaurus]

Bless your heart, Liz, for all you are doing to help this little guy. Keep us posted. Paws are crossed for the little guy here.

[Randi]

What luck for the poor little guy that you saw him out there! :) I really hope the mange problem is treatable and he will find a good forever home soon. Thank you for your quick reaction Liz!! ;)
Any chance you can have a chat with the children and educate them on how to treat animals? I'm sure a kind approach will work the best. Just a thought!

Fingers and paws crossed for this little guy! :)

[aly]

Both types of mange are treatable. We treat both kinds at my shelter. The problem with a lot of city shelters though is that they will not want to use the resources to treat the mange and figure it is easier to put the animal down rather than have them sit in the cage longer and perhaps spread it around.

This is not the mind frame of all shelters by far though!! It sounds like you have a great contact and I'm sure she will treat it and has had to treat mange in the past.

The other type of mange is sarcoptic. These mites are easier to kill. We treat both types of mange with a dip. There's also and injection I think. We actually have 2 poor little mange puppies in foster right now who are almost completely bald :( :(

Eating high quality food is good preventative from getting mange back again.

[lizbud]

Aly, thanks for the info. It's precisely because
of his medical problem, that I didn't think the
pound folks would look much beyond his pitiful
appearance.He could be put down quickly.That's
why I was so desparate to notify Rosie at the
Southside Shelter, so maybe she could check him
out today. There was an article about her work
last fall in the local paper;

http://indystar.com/library/special/destinedtodie/rosie16.html

If Rosie can't help him then no one can. I'm
getting a headache just worrying about him.

[mugsy]

Do you know anyone that might be able to foster him if Rosie won't take him? I hope she did. I'll bet your offer to help defray medical costs will help the situation. God how I hate people that would do that to a little one. Please let us know as soon as you know something...I'm on pins and needles here.

[Sudilar]

Liz, you are an angel for taking that poor little pup in. I hope he can be cured quickly and rescued. Good luck.

[Rottie]

Originally posted by mugsy
Liz,

Demodectic is treatable and not contagious, it is, however, never going to go away if the dog has that kind. I guess all dogs are born with the demodectic mite (well actually they get them from their mother soon after birth)

If it's not contagious, how can they get it from their mother? :::Just trying to understand:::

[mugsy]

As far as I understand (trust me, I am by no means an expert here), but all dogs have the demodectic mites on them and Mom passes those few mites on to pups somehow (don't ask me how) and most pups fight them off and win, but there are a select few whose immune system can't fight them off and then the dog is prone to it for its whole life. I need to go and do some more research on it, but that's what I know.

[lizbud]

No I'm not an angel, but I did what I thought needed
to be done. I truely believe anyone of you guys would
have done the same. When I looked out the front window
and saw that tiny little dog being shoved around by kids
who thought it was funny,I suddenly became very fearful
for his safety & though how scared and confused he must
have felt. He looked no bigger than a dustmop & he kept
looking up at the kids as if to say, what are you doing?
I'm glad I did it, but think that anyone of you would have
done the same. I did not call about him this evening & I
have not gotten any e-mails back from Rosie or the Shelter.
I would imagine that they probably have about 20 or so
"emergencys calls" every day and are always busy.
I will call the Shelter in the morning & hopefully get some
info on this little guy. Prayers Please. Thanks. Liz & Buddy.

[mugsy]

Liz, just because any of us would have done the same, doesn't lessen what you did!! You ARE an angel. I hope you tore those kids up too. Lots of prayers from this end!!

[lizbud]

Rosie got to see the little grey dog yesterday
at the pound. She WILL take him to her no-kill
Shelter, but must wait 6 days before getting him
because he was picked up as a stray, Animal Care
and Control(city pound) has a policy of keeping all strays for 6 days before doing anything with
them. Rosie said that she thought his fur loss
& skin condition was a flea thing and not mange.
She did agree that "he's a mess", and has been
wandering around on his own for awhile.So it will
be Monday, 4/22/02 before she can take him from
the pound, if nobody claims him before then.I
asked her if the the pound staff would go ahead
and treat his skin problem while he was there?
She said she though they would. She said I could
call back on the 22nd for an update on him.
Thanks for the prayers everybody.
Liz & Buddy.

[Gio]

Thanks so much for the update. I'm pleased that he will be taken to a no kill shelter. I hope that once the condition has been treated and he will be back to his pretty self someone will adopt him. Continued prayers for him are on their way!

[ellensy]

really really hope that the li'l guy is doing fine, thnx for keeping us updated.

[aly]

YAY!!! Way to go Liz!! You gave the little dog a second chance at life and I'm sure he'll always know that somewhere in his heart. He is going to make a wonderful, loving, life-long companion for someone..... and its all thanks to Liz!

[lizbud]

I'm going to try and visit this dog at Rosie's Southside
Animal Shelter and hopefully take a few pictures.Maybe the
Before & After kind. Really guys , to see this tiny little
sweetie is to love him. I'm sure , once he's cleaned up & rid
of the skin condition, he'll be adopted quickly.

[mugsy]

Way to go Liz!!!! What a woman. I was thinking about that little guy today at school. Thanks for the update and I can't wait to see pictures.

[zippy-kat]

GREAT JOB LIZBUD!!

Thanks for you efforts (and follow ups) on this little guy!! I agree...you ARE an angel...the pup's angel! You saved him from an abusive situation and have stayed with him to ensure his safety. Afterall, isn't that what Angels do--help us through the tough times?

[mugsy]

Anything to report on your heroism of the other day liz? You know I was on petfinder the other day and saw Rosie's shelter online...very cool!! For the size of Indy, it's too bad that hers is the only no kill around, although our SPCA is the only one in Allen County (that is until Mike and I get ours!!)

[lizbud]

Hi Mugsy,

Please don't make me out to be a hero, it makes me
very uncomfortable. I am thankful that I was home at
the time of the incident & that I saw what was going on.
Guess what?, I'm taking my dog Bud to get a bath & brush
on Friday & am taking the day off work, soooo I think I 'll
mosey on down to Animal Control (with camera) and see
how the little guy is doing. I'll just pretend to be a casual
visitor & just stroll around. Hope the little bugger is O. K.
If his situation looks too bad, I just might say "he's my dog",
and bring him to Rosie myself.

[mugsy]

I like your attitude...I would probably do the same. Good luck and let us know. Have fun playing hookey tomorrow...I wish I could, but I have used up all my sick days when I broke my leg!!

[lovemymaltese]

Yes mange is treatable. And bless you for taking care of that sweet little dog. I wonder sometimes how children can be so cruel. You probaly saved his life.:)

[lizbud]

I called to Rosie at the Shelter to check up on the little
grey pup, as she was to pick him up to go to her no-kill
shelter after the 6 day waiting period. I got the sad news
that the dog was put down by Animal Care & Control on tues
4-16-02. Rosie said they told her the dog became very ill and was vomiting blood, so they decided to put him to sleep. I'm so
sorry there was not a better ending for this poor lost little dog.

[Karen]

So sad, poor pup to be so sick. But at least, for his last days, he was taken care of. He wasn't killed by those children, he was picked up, spoken to, loved, cared for, fed - in other words, pretty much heaven-on-earth for a stray. lost lonely pup. I am STILL glad you did all that you did, and I hope those children learned cruelty is NOT okay.

And he'll be at the Rainbow Bridge, I bet, waiting for someone who never had a little gray dog of their own, but always wished and wanted one.

[Logan]

Amen, Karen......Lizbud, you did what you could. :( Nothing more you could have done, but that precious one was saved from a more vicious death. That's important.

Thoughts and prayers are with you, my loving friend of all furry creatures. :)

[mugsy]

I'm sooo sorry liz. I hate it when they do things like that. I sure hope that little guy has someone who wants to meet him at the Bridge...I'm sure you will volunteer because you are such a caring soul, if not you know Mike and I will. I'm sorry it didn't have a happier ending for the poor little guy.

[lizbud]

Oh Mugsy, I'd not only volunteer, I would be honored
to meet him at Rainbow Bridge. I feel so bad; if only I
could have done more for him.I feel like maybe I should
have kept him overnite Sunday at a Vet Hospital & take
him to Southside Animal Shelter on Monday. The dog did
not act sick to me, he even ate a good helping of can dog
food and drank some water, when he was staying in my
backyard. Silly me was even starting to imagine maybe,
just maybe, keeping him for myself. I feel so bad for the
little squirt. Liz.

[Cincy'sMom]

It is easy to look back and say should coulda woulda. You did! You saved the dog from those abusive children. You took him to a place he was fed and taken care of and you were doing what you could to get him in an even better shelter. Don't blame yourself for the dog not making it. YOu couldn't have known he was sick. His pain is gone and he is happily playing at Rainbow Bridge. And as Karen said, I am sure there is someone there who is thrilled to have such a precious little friend!

[mugsy]

Liz, please don't second guess yourself...Mike and I have done that for 2 years over a pit we had to put down because she attacked Sox and drew blood and it's absolutely heartwrenching. You did what you had to do. I would certainly question the shelter as to what it was. Was it possible that the little guy got antifreeze or something like that?:( I've been thinking about you and about poor Presley and his seizures all night. It doesn't sound like a pleasant night in Pet Talk land. Anyway, you're in my thoughts tonight.

[lizbud]

Thank you all for the prayers and kind words for the
grey Apso dog. I wanted to feel some closure to this
by posting a prayer for the little guy. I do not want to
continue this, just to feel in my heart that it's over,
and that he's in a much better place.

COME TO ME

God saw you getting tired when a cure was not to be
so he closed his arms around you and whispered,
"Come to Me".
You didn't deserve what you went through and so He
gave you rest. God's garden must be beautiful, He only
takes the best. And when we saw you sleeping so
peaceful and free from pain, We could not wish you
back to suffer that again.
Author Unknown.

[Gio]

Liz, I only read this post today. I'm sorry for the poor little fellow. But the others are right , at least you saved him from an even worse ordeal and showed him some loving. I think he will have a whole bunch of people wanting to meet him at the bridge, me included.