Hungry Dog - People depress me...

[Leaf]

One of the original ads: http://stlouis.craigslist.org/pet/891192215.html

Picture in the ad:

Long story short, the person who posted the dog on CL had tried everything to get the APA, HS, local rescues and local media involved to help the dog but nothing panned out. Their local sherrif's dept did nothing, mine said the dog was out of their juristiction.

Now, even though my animal control closed down the petfinder website is still up (I need to take it down) and I received an email...

The lady posting about the dog got ahold of it (so said). Once the dog strayed onto her yard (no mind she baited it with a dish of food) she leashed it, called me and asked if I could help.

She knows the dog has been around the neighbors property but there's a junk yard there so she isn't 100% sure whose dog it is.

Fortunantly I have contacts with the local HS. She and I met there, filled a found report on the dog, documented pictures and the staff looked for lost reports (none found).

Once everything was done as "by the book" as possible I brought the dog home.

I gave he a bath and clipped most of her nails. She was so good through it all! She slept a lot and ate, which was good - but didn't drink much. That does worry me. With her age and malnutrition she could have some serious problems, kidney (renal failure) being one.


Saturday she continued to eat some but slept a lot. Illness or exhaustion, I'm not sure.

It's early Sunday morning now. At 2:00 am I went to Wal Mart and got pedialite and some puppy chow (she had been eating eggs, chicken and rice with dog food at first).

I was very worried with how much she slept and how little activity she showed late Saturday evening.

Once home I took a syringe (no needle) and made her take in some of the pedialite. She took in almost half a cup before getting active. I mixed some of the puppy chow in the pedialite in hopes she'd eat and get the benefit of the liquid.

She ate, but not until after I left the room. She acts afraid to eat in front of me. She downed the entire bowl and came to find me in the kitchen. I went ahead and mixed more for her but right now it's sitting in the living room untouched (unless she's eating while I type this).

I'm hoping her inactivity is just the way her body is coping with what she's been through. She's really a sweet girl and deserves to become healthy again.

Hopefully a weekend of food and fluids will help her out before going to the vet early in the week. I want her prognosis to be as good as possible before taking her in so suggestions go along the lines of helping her recover instead of other possibilities the vet may see fit.

With luck she'll continue to improve.

 

[Leaf]

 

[Leaf]

 

[Leaf]

 

[Leaf]

 

[MyLOVEABLES!!]

Oh my, oh my.
Leaf thank you for taking her in. at least now she's in a good temporary home (..hmm.. maybe haha) i hope she continue to do well. keep me updated im very interested.

Love Priscainkbouce:

 

[Leaf]

I'm pretty excited right now, it seems like some of my night long vigil with her may have paid off.

I finished watching a movie (Grizzly Rage) and got up to switch my laundry over downstairs. When I came back upstairs she had gotten up and was waiting for me at the top of the stairs.

I patted her and she stretched out real big before heading to the sliding glass door. She went out, peed and headed straight to a dog house I have on my back deck so I made her some more food mixed with pedialite and set it by the front of the house.

She promptly nosed a blanket on top of the food dish and settled herself into the doghouse again. I offered to let her come inside but she ignored me so I'll leave her out for some fresh air for the time being.

That alone has been the most active she's been so far with me.

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

Wow why do her ankles look like that, is that normal when the dog is so malnourished? Leaf you do know that you have a very special place in heaven waiting for you and there will be tons!!!!!!! of animals there waiting for you <~~~~~~ hope that doesnt sound creepy cause that is not how i meant it :shock: you are such a special person.



Maybe the inactivity is because of the malnourishment and once she gets back to eating she will build up her strength to play and move around more. Glad to hear that she is already showing improvement, hugs to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :hug:

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Oh, Leaf....... I can't even begin to tell you how sad and angry that makes me. What a gorgeous girl she would be!

Why do people do stuff like this? I know money is tight but you can get dog chow pretty cheap, and you can always feed them scraps for extra weight and nutrition if you have to.

She's really sweet looking and I am so glad you are helping her. I know she's going to be fine.

 

[Elf Mommy]

You've shown her more love in 24 hours than it seems she's seen in a lifetime. Thank you for doing this. She has a beautiful face.

 

[Leaf]

Well, she's back in sleep mode again. :?At least she's fed and comfortable now.

I just hope things turn out ok for her. The lady who saved her emailed wanting to know if her kids could come see her sometime. I told her I needed to get veting done first and if everything goes well maybe they could come by on Friday if the dog is up to it.

I *really* hope she is showing improvement by then and doesn't croak beforehand.

I swear, between the rabbits' vet and the dog vet I'm going to have to pitcha tent close to the vet offices. It seems all I do anymore is run between one or the other.

 

[Happi Bun]

You're a angel Leaf! :hug:

Did you check her gums? If they are healthy and pink there is a good chance she will be fine and is just exhausted. If they are pale/white then I would beeven moreconcerned for her.

 

[furryface]

pedialite, vitamin water...ect... will help

try chicken or beef broth to get some fluids in her...

and patience....as far as she's concerned ALL Humans can't be trusted (can't blame her there) but eventually she'll come around

 

[Leaf]

Good news this morning...

Well, yesterday Dixie stayed on the back deck in the doghouse a lot. It was her choice, as I had the sliding glass door open and the doghouse faces the door in order to be out of the wind. I was a littler irked to find she had walked a few steps inside - and peed on the floor. Still, she was up and moving around.

Because of the pee incident I didn't let her roam the house as I originally planned when I left for work last night.. Instead I ended up using my xpen to block her into the kitchen. I put blankets down for her plus food and water.

When I got home this morning she was laying like a sphynx all alert. She hadn't made any mess at all, hadnt torn anything up and was ready to go outside, where she promptly relieved herself.

Already it seems that she is a little more stable which cheers me considerably.

 

[pumpkinandwhiskersmom]

Leaf, you are incredible! She sure is lucky to have you as her angel. Keep us posted...you know, you make a huge difference in the lives of those around you....thanks!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Leaf, she might be having trouble with her sensory system from where she was starved! A few accidents might happen from nerves and just not being used to having to remember not to pee in the house...... it becomes just normal to go wherever sometimes for them.

Work with her - as I know you will - and reassure her. She sounds like a dog who wants to please you. She's adorable and I LOVE her name!

 

[LuvaBun]

Oh goodness, that poor girl . Such a sweet, gentle looking thing too.

thank you, Leaf, for helping her. Dixie (love it), sounds like she really wants please you. I hope everything works out for her.

Jan

 

[gentle giants]

Like HappiBunny said, check her gums. If they are pale, you do need to get her to the vet asap.

The low energy/activity level is normal for having been starved that way though, think how much your energy level drops if you miss even one meal. The body goes into a kind of conservation mode, where it is doing everything it can to save energy. It will probably take her a while to get any kind of normal energy level back, since she has obviously gone without food for a long time. The main worry is if her internal organs have suffered any damage from the starvation or not, and ifshe is an older dog that will make it even harder for her to recover.

It would probably be a good idea to just try giving her several small meals a day, as her stomach won't ba able to handle large amounts at a time. The Pedialyte is a great idea, I'm sure she is probably dehydrated too. Good luck with her, she looks like a really sweet dog.

 

[furryface]

I've been hunting this since I first read this post--

if Dixie could talk, I'm sure this is what she's say---


Once I was a lonely dog just looking for a home. I had no place to go, no one to call my own. I wandered up and down the streets in rain, in heat, in snow. I ate whateverI could find, Iwas always on the go.
My skin would itch, my feet were sore, and my body ached with pain. No one stopped to give me a pat or gently say my name. I never saw a loving glance, I was always on the run. For people thought that hurting me was really lots of fun.
Then one day I heard a voice so gentle, kind and sweet, with arms so soft that reached down to me and took me off my feet. “No one again will hurt you,” was whispered in my ear. “You’ll have a home to call your own where you will know no fear.”
“You will be dry, you will be warm, you’ll have enough to eat. And rest assured that when you sleep, your dreams will all be sweet.” I was afraid, I must admit, I’ve lived so long in fear. I can’t remember the last time when I let a human come so near.
As she tended to my wounds and bathed and brushed my fur, she told me about this “rescue group” and what it meant to her.
She said, “we are a circle, a line that never ends.. In the center of it, there is you protected by new friends. All around you are the ones that check the pounds, and those who share their homes with you after you’ve been found.”
“All the other folks are searching near and far, to find the perfect home for you, where you can be a star.” She said, “there is a family, they are waiting very patiently, and pretty soon we’ll find them, just you wait and see.”
“And then they’ll join our circle, they’ll help to make it grow, so there’ll be room for more like you who have no place to go.”
I waited very patiently. They days, they came and went. Today is the day, I kept on thinking, my family will be sent. Then just when I began to think it wasn’t meant to be, there were people standing there gazing down at me.
“I could tell they felt it, too, for a special dog like you.”
Now every night I say a prayer to all the Gods that be. Thank you for the life I live and all you’ve given me. But most of all, protect the dogs in the pounds and in the streets. And send a Rescue Person to them to lift them off their feet.

 

[EileenH]

Oh wow..so sad..

She is such a pretty girl. You are a wonderful person to step in for this girlie. Her poor wrists
What a soulful look, in the picture of her looking straight into the camera. It'll take time, but she'll come around.