Mistreated furless dog shows up frozen at front door. Thankfully, she chose the right person to help her
A kindhearted man from Earlton, New York opened his door on a freezing January evening to be met by the sight of a shivering homeless dog.
On top of almost being frozen to death, the helpless angel was also malnourished and completely furless. The shocked man did not know where the dog came from, but he knew he couldn’t leave her out in the cold.
“It appeared that she had been dumped by the roadside and abandoned. It was a frigid night, and it was assumed she came to the door looking for food and warmth,” a member of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA wrote on their Facebook page.
The man, who did not wish to be named, decided to invite the dog in and called the police.
Unsure of what to do next, he believed the police would be able to help out, and he was spot on. Officers arrived and took the poor baby to a nearby shelter, where employees found she was in a terrible condition.
“She was in bad shape. She had some open lacerations on her face and neck, and was pretty much devoid of any hair. It was sad. It’s always sad to see them like this,” Ron Perez, president of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society said.
Unfortunately, the homeless dog was suffering from Demodex mange, which is a terrible skin condition caused by mites digging in beneath the skin.
According to vet expert Chris Reeder, who is certified at Franklin, Tennessee’s BluePearl Veterinary Hospital, the condition can even kill dogs if they are not treated in time.
“Generally, it’s more debilitating than fatal, but in certain situations it can be,” he said.
Even though the dog was able to stay alive through it all, the mange still had a severe effect on her health.
On top of leaving her without fur, her skin was also in horrific condition. In addition, she was covered with infected scabs.
“When she scratched it, she would scratch her flesh, which would get infected and create more bleeding,” Perez said.
All the people at the shelter were praying for the sweet dog’s recovery. They gave her all the medical attention she needed in order to combat her infections and the mites. They also did the best they could to give her a good amount of TLC while she was healing.
The shelter employees named the dog, Penny, and to everyone’s surprise, she started healing quite quickly.
“Within one week, she looked like a different dog. The vet was pretty impressed with her recovery,” Perez recalled.
Sweet Penny healed in the shelter in just a few weeks and she is now completely mange-free, even though according to Perez she may never be able to regrow her fur in some areas.
“She’s a real fighter and very resilient. Her stress levels are clearly much lower now, because she’s interacting with people and she has proper food and is sleeping correctly,” he said.
And when it comes to the person who abandoned Penny, the law will be holding him accountable.
Authorities have identified and arrested him on charges of animal cruelty, and should he be found guilty, he will likely face a fine of $1000 and possibly time in prison.
While people were happy to see justice being served, this was by far not the best thing to happen to sweet Penny.
The most wonderful thing that happened to her was getting adopted by a loving family.
“We got a lot of applications to adopt her, but these two individuals are fantastic pet owners. They took it slowly and came and visited with her a couple times a week. They brought their dogs in, and everyone got along fabulously. I’d like to think this will be the last home she’ll ever go to,” Perez explained.
“She’s just a sweet dog. She really doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. She’s an absolute doll, and she’s going to be a great pet,” Perez added.
We are sure that Penny appreciates all the support that she received as well as her caring new family.
Go Penny!
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