In April I received a call from a man to ask if we can rehome his wee 7mnth old staffie bitch. I asked all the questions but when I came to the one asking if she’d had any vet treatment he said she had. He said she had a bit of a skin problem. She’d been treated by the PDSA but since he’s started work he doesn’t qualify to use them now and he can’t afford the treatment at a private vet. I wasn’t quite prepared for what I saw. Gem had very sore and scabby skin and she was very smelly. The guy wasn’t at the house when I went to pick her up it was his wife but to be honest she couldn’t care less what happened to her. We got her out of there immediately. She had not collar, lead or even any toys. That soon changed though.
Her skin was burning and very red so I covered her in Aloe Vera cooling Gel. We picked her up on the Sunday evening so first thing Monday morning she was taken to the vet. He was horrified. It turned out the wee soul had Demodectic Mange and a secondary infection. That’s what was causing the smell. It turned out she hadn’t been seen by a vet at all. She was put on a very high dose of antibiotic and given a special shampoo as well as a solution to kill the mange mites. She was a very poorly wee girl. Well I had her here with us for 3mnths and with a lot of TLC and loads of cuddles she is now in her new home and is a very loving wee lass.
Even now when I look at her photo it upsets me. The poor dogs face was so swollen she couldn’t even open her eyes properly. This is unnecessary suffering as mange can be managed if caught early. But to leave a dog to suffer like this is just cruel.
It turns out that we had gem’s sister Bonnie in as well she also had mange but not as bad as Gem. In all it has cost the rescue in excess of £600 for the 2 dogs treatment. I contacted the breeder to let him know about the pups and to tell him the condition is passed on through the mother. Well, the rescue have paid for the mother to be spayed so at least there won’t be any more pups from her. The 2 pups we have are now spayed too.
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