Baby Holly Update.........

(Note: click on any photo to see a larger version)

Two weeks ago, TLC agreed to take on this 5 month old pup found wandering the streets of Torrance... She had a lot going against her - Demodex, Guardia, malnutrition and an upper respiratory infection... 

 

The shelter had named her "Peggy Sue" but we changed her name to "Baby Holly" in honor of one of TLC's hard working volunteers... 

And saving one of these babies is really a team effort in the humane community - from Ric who alerted TLC - to Tammy who transported - to Baby Holly's foster mom and those who support TLC with donations financially... It truly is a team effort!  And these are the kinds of things those donations go to... the hard cases others walk away from and the public will not adopt... 


Two weeks later, Baby Holly has gained a pound and a half of weight... She's learned what it is to be a puppy and to play with others - now that she has the energy to do it... She's also learned to enjoy the daily baths and seems to even look forward to them... 


The 'skull cap' of scab and muck is now gone... It is no longer festering underneath with noxious tissue, decaying and infected... 


The open infected sores are now healed and it no longer hurts her to open her mouth on the sides... BabyHolly no longer shakes her head constantly from the infection inside her ears... 


Baby Holly is a princess at sitting each day for her eye drops after her bath and willing takes her meds... Sometimes she'll even lay a few kisses on her foster mom like she appreciates all the effort to save her life and get her healthy again!

We are still working on removing all of the demodex that had filled her ears, but it is a tedious process that takes time, even with the most patient of dogs (and foster moms)... But Baby Holly sits there and with gentleness, gently the ears are wiped out every day and progress is being made...

And the ears are now standing up - this was a surprise to us for sure!  Maybe because she was so sick, she didn't have the energy to keep them up (?)...


This is one of the most gentlest dogs we have run across for a long time... She never barks, she never complains, she never whines...

Any bit of attention you give her - be it a bath and massage afterwards - it seems she just SOOO appreciates it... She will stand for 30 minutes as you do what you need to do without trying to jump down, move away or do anything but be cooperative!...   There is almost an 'old soulness' about this pup... Could be because she was through so much in such a short amount of time on this Earth, but you get a sense she is happy to just "be", ya know?... Just happy to be...

Her coat is starting to come in well now... She's still got patches where the crust left, but took the hair with it... 

Some of these spots had a few layers deep of infection too, so it was touchy to treat the infections and still do what we needed to with the exfoliatants...  


Overall, it is still thin, but there are no longer any open wounds, nor filled with scabs and hair stuck in the scabs --- so when the scabs left, they took the hair and opened up surface abrasions... This pup was in bad, bad shape and we are so very pleases she has done so well in just two weeks... 


This is what rescue is all about... Demodex dogs are not the easiest saves, but they are probably some of the most rewarding ones we do... 


Now, as far as her eye, we are still not sure what the eventual outcome of that is going to be... As Baby Holly continues to get healthier, the eye seems to not be as clouded over... 

She still has the drops that go in three times a day and shortly she will go back into the vet's for a recheck... Maybe at that time there will be a decision made... We think she has vision in the eye, even if still a bit clouded over... 

Two weeks ago, the eye was completely clouded over and now from this sideways perspective, you can see the cloudiness is centered in just the very center while around it, the eye has become clear... 



She is not in pain however... And she is not turning her head sideways to see, so we are keeping our fingers crossed the eye can be saved with time, meds and TLC... 

But we think the most amazing thing about all of this progress is the lack of scarring on her head... That skull cap was pretty gruesome to see (and smell - YUCK)... 

We thought for sure she'd have scars all across her head for the skull cap of scabs had cracked in numerous places and there was a LOT of decaying tissue underneath it... 

We just couldn't see where it wouldn't be scarred up, ya know?  And yet?  It is now just about as smooth as a baby's bottom!

Amazing, huh?  What a difference in just two weeks with a lot of TLC, the proper meds, good nutrition and time... 

And now we are going to close this entry in the blog with a nice snapshot of Baby Holly in her clean outfit for the day - a bright pink and yellow hoodie that looks like it was just made for her!  What a sweetie this little one is... and she'll be available for adoption about the middle of January once she is spayed.  Are you the very special someone for our Baby Holly?