Spotlight on TLC's PandaBear!

'This is what I look like when I am loved...

but I didn't always look this way...'

What do you do when you spot a mangy looking dog who has faced such obvious neglect that she looks like this?

You barely avoid hitting her with your car as she quickly darts underneath and you watch her narrowly escape death by the oncoming car, as well.  You pull over and see her make it safely to the other side of the street. 

She is outside and it is summer 2012.  The heat is blaring and she has no water to quench her thirst.  Her tongue hangs out in heavy pants in an attempt to cool her overheating body.  You've never seen a dog who looks so dirty and mangy. 

She finds shade next to a parked car and spends almost every second biting at her raw, infected flesh.  It itches so bad, yet hurts as she attempts to subdue the tingles and irritation.  From the middle of her back, down to her tail, she has hardly any hair.  You decide to get out of your car and approach her.

She turns away from you, shy and not sure about that strange rectangular thing you are holding up to her as you snap some photos.  When she turns, you spot the black walrussing on her tail, butt, and down her back legs.  The stench of her infected flesh permeates through the thick, summer heat.

You toss her a piece of your cheeseburger and she devours it ravenously and then gives you that look...you know the one where those deep brown eyes are wondering if you have more and thanking you for your kindness, at the same time.  You toss her the rest and grab the bottle of water in your car, dump out your half empty coffee cup and pour in some cool water for her to drink.  Her thirst is quenched and her tummy has stopped rumbling.

She finally lays down under the shade of the car and you spot her racooned eyes.  She has no eyelashes and has scars on her face and down her front paws.  What do you do?  Do you leave her where you found her?  If you turn your back on her and go on with your life, you know in your heart that she will most likely not survive much longer.  Between the danger of cars, hunger, lack of water, the blistering heat, or her infected skin, she'll probably die a miserable death after living the rest of her days in pain and discomfort.  Somebody did this to her.  Somebody already turned their back on her and look at what it did to her...

So, what would you do?

The person who almost hit this dog in a bad area of Los Angeles, decided he wasn't going to turn his back on her.  Even though he had no dog handling experience, he spent the next 8 hours trying to trap her.  Unfamiliar with dogs, he was afraid to touch her because she looked so mangy, yet he could not get her in a box he found near a trash pile where he almost ran her over.  Not wanting to leave her there, he finally called Animal Control, who was able to capture this neglected dog and bring her to the local shelter.  At least there, she would have access to food and water and a bit of shelter for the next 5 days, which is the amount of time most shelters will hold a stray to see if the owner comes to claim them.  This dog had no microchip, or she would have been given more time for the owner to be found (yet another reason why it is so important to microchip your beloved pets).  5 days of food and water...better than letting her try to survive on her own...but what would happen at the end of those 5 days.  Who would adopt a dog that looks like this?  Would she be killed when her stray hold was up?  Did the Good Sam do the right thing?  He was not so sure...

 



Luckily for this baby, the Good Sam's girlfriend called her cousin, who happens to be a TLC volunteer (and the writer of this post) and told me what happened, sending photos and upset because they didn't know what to do or if they did the right thing by this dog.  I tried to comfort them by telling them that I would network this pup in the hopes of getting rescue attention so we could save her life.  I reassured them that in this particular situation, they did the best thing they could for her.  Living that kind of life, in that kind of pain, being hungry and neglected was no way to live.  We wouldn't let her down.

I advised them to go to the shelter the next day to take photos so I could begin networking this poor, mangy pup to the rescue community.  Several photos were then sent to me and, upon seeing them, I immediately contacted the TLC Director.  This dog was extremely urgent and certainly it would be hard to attract even a rescue for her in this condition.  So many rescues are full or they can not afford or are not willing to take on such a hard case as this.  She was not highly adoptable and had very little chance of making it out of there alive in a few days.  Oh my goodness...

I know the TLC Director, Linda Nelson, hates to be showered with compliments.  She does what she does because she loves dogs unconditionally.  This is what she is meant to do with her life and in my humble opinion, she does it better than anyone else I've seen.  It comes naturally and she can not always see how amazing she is...(so forgive me, Linda) - but I have to give you a rightful shout out for stepping up for PandaBear (and all the other hard cases you have and will save) and showing her that humans can be loving and kind. 

After I spoke to Linda and sent her the photos, without hesitation, she told me  to pull her.  TLC wasn't going to let her die.  We would take this neglected baby in and show her that she deserves the very best.  We didn't even know at that point whether she was a male or female (she was unmarked at impound), but we did know that she was in terrible shape and that she didn't stand a chance in hell of making out of there alive once her 5 day stray hold was up.  A couple of days later, we found out the shelter vet aged her at approximately 11 years old and not only did she have severe skin allergies (and a horrid flea infestation), but she also had mammary tumors.  Three strikes against her already...did not look good for her to get out alive if we didn't get her out asap...

So, we formulated a plan for her rescue.  A 'CTA' (Commitment to Adopt) was placed on her by her Good Samaritan and we arranged for a special pull.  On the morning her stray hold was up, he went to get her and brought her to TLC, along with a senior chihuahua who has since been adopted (Frosty).  Two lives saved!

These are photos of PandaBear at the shelter, before she began any treatments.  We were actually relieved that no one came to claim her, knowing that she would continue her life of misery and neglect if they did.  There was no microchip, of course.  And probably even if someone did recognize her, they wouldn't come get her because they'd actually have to pay her bailout fees and it is obvious she had probably never even been to a vet.  She was not spayed and the shelter vet said she was too sick to be fixed so they issued a waiver for her spay.  They did not believe she would survive it.  On top of that, she had those mammary tumors that would need to be removed, if we could even get her past her other issues to be well enough to undergo any kind of surgery. 

We were sure no adopter would want her and in this shape, even her chances of being rescued were less than slim.  In my heart, I believe that is the main reason 'why' Linda said yes immediately.  TLC was her only chance.  We couldn't let her down.  Even if she only lived a short time as a result of her severe neglect, this babygirl was going to know unconditional love.

Upon arrival at TLC, she was immediately bathed and we began a special nutritive diet, complete with vitamins and supplements to help her gain strength to undergo the next phase of her rescue journey.  She went to the vet the very next day and we were told it was going to be a l-o-n-g road of recovery for her because she had been neglected for so many years.  It takes years and years of neglect to cause walrussing this bad.  It was one of the worst cases the vet had ever seen.  We were told by the doctor that most likely, she would never regrow hair in any area where the skin was black and he agreed that she was probably around 11 years old, based on her physical condition...

Here is a photo of her at the shop when she arrived and her progress two months later...

 

This photo (below) is a close-up of her progress a couple of weeks into treatment.  You can see how the black is turning pink and the sores/scabs are disappearing.  Hair is starting to return!

 

Almost two months into her rescue, her scars started to disappear and she began to grow blond eyelashes!  Even the vet was shocked at her progress and had the nicest things to say about how well team TLC had done with her care!

Look at that girl!  She doesn't look anything like her first photos!  Her ears are a beautiful golden color and the rest of her fur is a mix of a creamy, golden color that is just lovely.  Even though she is a quiet girl (not a barker at all), she is alert here and interested in everything around her!  Does this look at all like the same dog who was so hot and neglected on that summer day?!?!  Click here to see her first video and first 7 weeks of progress...

PandaBear was so happy to have what was probably her first bed.  Well, maybe she had one as a cute puppy and then when she outgrew the puppy phase, was kicked outside.  We have no idea how long she was on the streets or if she had a home at all, but dogs that undergo such hardship have an 'attitude for gratitude', as Linda always says.  They know how bad it can be and are so appreciative of any little comfort that can be spared.

In August we took more photos of her.  In this one, Linda was explaining that she originally was bald from the middle of her back down to her tail.  LOOK at that gorgeous new hair that grew in less than two months.  It was fine, baby hair - soft and gorgeous.  In this photo, she looks groggy because she had made such great progress, that our vet cleared her to be spayed!  She was finishing her recovery from the spay at the shop and we woke her up to take a couple of photos.

Look at those blond eyelashes that started growing in!  And the black around her eyes had gotten so much smaller!  Her raccoon eyes were disappearing. 

The vet decided not to remove her mammary tumors when he spayed her, because he did not want to put her through too much too soon.  So her second surgery was delayed a couple of months while she continued to improve.  Here you can see that she only has a little section on the base of her tail that doesn't have much hair.  She is such a happy girl!  Here is a video one of our volunteers took of PandaBear in Oct 2012, playing with him (click on underlining).

After a couple more months, PandaBear was declared well enough by the vet to have her second surgery to remove the mammary tumors.  Thanks to the adoption of a litter of rescued puppies, we were able to use the donations from those adoptions to fund her second surgery.  Our puppies and generous donors allow us to save as many hard cases as we do. 

Looking at PandaBear now, while the hair might never fully return on the areas where she had the most scarring, she is certainly a very pretty dog and has made amazing progress.  We think she is a pommie mix and she loves people to pieces.  She had a lot of handling with all her medicated baths and she loves to walk and explore the outside with her person.  PandaBear quickly became a volunteer favorite and even the wonderful folks at California Pizza Kitchen at the Simi Valley Town Center mall were smitten with her and decided to sponsor her!  She wears her vest with pride!

PandaBear continued to bide her her time at the rescue shop, waiting for someone to think her special enough to adopt, but she seemed a wee bit sad to us.  She had still not experienced being in a home and had been with TLC for over 6 months.  Because she was so quiet at the shop and spent a lot of time quietly watching things around her, potential adopters would walk right by her.  She was being overlooked.  How sad, especially after everything she went through already.

So, a wonderful TLC volunteer (Kathryn) decided she was going to take PandaBear home to give her a couple of months of pampering and spa treatments.  PandaBear will always have sensitive skin and started battling a yeast infection, so to Kathryn's house she went for some TLC and lots of soothing baths.  Click here to see how calm and easy she is to bathe.  She loves her baths!

Doesn't she look cute all wet?!?  Look at those darling ears :)

She loved getting snuggles in her towel and Kathryn says she loves to roll around on the carpet to try off.  Check this out!  Look at her beautiful fluffy coat now!  Wow!

PandaBear got along splendidly with Kathryn's two chihuahuas.  She learned so much with Kathryn.  She learned basic obedience commands (see her learning to sit here), she learned how to walk even better on lead than before (look at her enjoying her walkies with her foster BFF Sissy here), how to go potty on command (she is completely potty trained as long as she gets out to make it twice a day), she even played with her foster fursiblings (see her playing tug-of-war here).  Kathryn gave her an 'A+' for her behavior.  PandaBear's fur continued to grow and fill out and she put on a few much needed pounds. 

Here she is rummaging through the toy bin, looking for just the right toy to play tug-of-war.  Look at how long her fur has gotten!

And here she is playing with Kathryn, rolling over on to her back for a tummy rub.  Is it possible this is the same dog found on the streets of LA and close to death? 

Click here to see my favorite PandaBear video that Kathryn took of her in foster care.  She is so happy in a home and just needs a furever one to complete her happy ending!

Just look at her now!  We are excited to also announce that the vet has told us that there is no way she is really 11 years old.  He thinks she is more like 6 years old.  Her extreme neglect aged her almost double.  We are thrilled that she has a long life ahead of her and know in our hearts that with her energy level and playfulness, she is truly young and happy!  Look at her playing with Kathryn in this cute video!

 

 

Rescue is beautiful in all its forms - whether a puppy or a senior is saved - whether a gorgeous or not so gorgeous furbaby is saved - whether a dog with all its limbs or one that is missing one or two legs is saved - whether the furry friend is friendly or shy, etc.  BUT there is really something extra special in saving a furbaby like this one.  And the family that finally adopts PandaBear will truly be giving and receiving something extra, extra special.  We know there is a family out there who will love her unconditionally, scars and all.  Please help us share her story so that we can locate them and finally give PandaBear the happy ending she so deserves.

 

If you are interested in meeting her, please call the rescue shop at: 805-527-SAVE to find out if she is there or in foster care so we can arrange a 'meet and greet'.  YOU can make a difference in the life of this wonderful little fluff ball who is perfect in every single way, scars and all...

 

There have been many 'Good Samaritans' in PandaBear's life, but what she really wants and needs more than anything else is a 'Great Furever Family'...can you be that for PandaBear?

 

Here is a montage of her progress from June 2012

 

 

August - December 2012



 

January - March 2013

PandaBear's profile can be seen here: http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/23194837

Thank you for taking the time to read about our PandaBear and thanks in advance for sharing her story.  We need help to put the word out about this beautiful, sweet, playful girl.  Help us give her that happy ending of finally finding her furever family and if you spot a furbaby on the streets like this, remember PandaBear's story and be inspired to be that person who doesn't turn their back on them. :)

If you would like to donate to help us care for and treat our hard case rescues, like PandaBear, Alfie, Mr. Jones, Mr. Bill, and all the others, you can paypal directly to: tinylovingcanines@yahoo.com as a gift and please note who the donation is for or simply state, "hard cases".  Every single dollar helps us be able to afford the needed surgeries and longer term care.  Thank you for helping these forgotten furbabies get the loving care they need and so deserve!

~ Jen