I remember when “Girl” arrived at the Shelter. She is a hound mix, with a docked tail and butterscotch colored spots. An owner-surrender, “Girl” was quickly adopted because she was healthy, well behaved, and housebroken.
However, two weeks ago, she was returned to the Shelter in horrible shape. Now skin issues are very common here in humid Southeast Texas (I’m battling rough spots on my Miniature Pinscher’s ear right now with a steroid cream). But “Girl” is red and raw all over. Click on the photo to see the rawness on her ears, elbows, hindquarters and inner legs.
How on earth can someone let a dog get to this point? Can they just not see her discomfort? Her raw skin and the bloody red scratches? This is mange complicated by secondary infection.
“Girl” is being treated at the Shelter, and we’re hoping to get her into a foster home so she can recover more quickly. She’s made tremendous strides in just two weeks. The Shelter Vet estimates “Girl” needs another month before she’ll be ready for adoption. Amazingly, her spirit hasn’t been crushed. “Girl” is a sweet dog, who craves attention. She deserves far better than she’s had.
In the chaos of the Intake line, there is no telling what happened to the former adopters—at this point, the County doesn’t allocate much in the way of resources to prosecute animal cases like this. The Shelter volunteers have rallied around “Girl,” and we’re going to make sure that t once “Girl” is out of the shelter that she never goes back.
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Photo by Linda Monk.
Linda, this is such a sad story for Girl. I hope her next forever family gives her the love she deserves.
ReplyDeleteDoes the shelter keep track of these adopters so that they don't get another pet (at least without some counseling and training)? Also, do you share the information with other shelters so that they don't make the same mistake?
I understand that many people don't have the financial resources that I do in order to keep my pet happy and healthy, but adopters should be honest about that, when adopting, so that the shelter can help them find the programs in their area that assist with inexpensive care.