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?

 





 

Just what is the 'demo' you keep talking about?

Periodically, I get emails from folks asking why TLC rescues so many "demo" Chihuahuas... "Demo" (or demodex) is somewhat common and we see more and more of it recently, for some strange reason.

You can read the Wiki on demodex HERE, but in short?  We ALL have hair mites - microscopic in size, but we all have them.  We see evidence of them only from what they leave behind --- and usually in dogs with suppressed immune systems, demo occurs (also known as 'red mange').  Small patches of hair loss start and if left without vet care, it can spread throughout the dog's coat and cause sores that bleed eventually.

Fairly common in puppies, it can also occur with the ill or older dogs.  And once these dogs hit the shelters, it is usually the 'kiss of death' for few people in the general public will adopt one.  It is not contagious, but it smells and looks pretty ugly when at its worst.

One of the worst dogs we pulled with demo was BabyLove.  When we first pulled her out of the shelter, BabyLove actually 'sweated' blood when you picked her up or held her.  It did not take that long with the proper medical care - and BabyLove started responding well, picking up weight, growing back her gorgeous coat and eventually found a fantastic furever home!

Recently we were called about a litter of 5 pups we have begun to call the "Hollywood Five" - Bogart, Bardot, Garbo, DeNiro and Bronson.  They too have demo and are responding rapidly with treatment... 

So if you happen to see a dog at a local shelter and it is confirmed demodex, don't turn away - you could very easily be saving that dog's life! 

Our little Mela...

Mela is a little bit of nothing... About 2.5 pounds if that... She was spotted by someone in the general public at a local high kill shelter, and we got numerous emails about her... Finally, we discovered she was in the medical ward because of demodex - a form of mange... And of course, with demodex they have a distinctive odor, so she earned the name of "Stinky Butt" as well!

Mela is coming along little by little... Demo takes some time to recover from... It seems they need to lose all of their hair first and then slowly, slowly as their nutrition levels rise with better food, antibiotics to fight off secondary infections and lots of TLC and cuddling, the skin starts regenerating its coat...

So while you might pull a naked dog out of a shelter, there's no telling what you will end up with once you've gotten the demo taken care of!

She's no longer 'stinky' but the name has stuck... We're still working on some bare spots along with her tummy and legs... She's got a cowlick on the top of her head and still a small bald spot, but still amazing progress in a short time... 

Mela is an 'under the chin' cuddler... Given half a second, up underneath your chin she'll go and snuggle in for a nap... She's very sweet and loving, but she's a true Chihuahua!... Don't mess with her, no matter how big of a dog you might be... Mela 'don't play'... No matter who you are! ...

In fact it seems that the bigger you are, the more likely she is to tell you where to go, how fast and when!... The other dogs know if Mela wants to sleep in a certain corner of the bed, that is hers to nap in... She claims it, it is hers!... And don't argue with her either!

In her world, she's typical Chihuahua - 2.5 pounds of weight and a 100 pounds of attitude... No lack of self esteem, even if she is half naked... 

Sweet pup... Once she's fully healed, she will make someone a great dog!....

~~~ Linda