Amy & Laura
Came into care on Monday 28/8/06
AMY AND LAURA HAVE NOW BEEN ADOPTED INTO VERY LOVING HOMES.
These girls were left in the pound suffering with severe sacroptic mange.
This mite (otherwise known as the Scabies mite) crawls just under the skin causing extreme and constant itching, large inflamed and sore patches that can end up infected and obviously, causes pain and distress.
Both girls are quite malnourished. This is most likely due to their very high stress levels at not being able to relieve their intense discomfort. Once they are feeling more comfortable, their appetite will increase and they 'should' gain weight quickly.
Thankfully sarcoptic mange, though highly infectious to other animals, is fairly easily treated with a product called Ivermectin (found in Advocate and Revolution) which has been done today.
They have been put on a short course of Prednisolone to help reduce the intense itching and increase their appetites.
They will be in our Quarantine Kennels for at least 2 weeks and will need to have skin scrapings done to ensure they are free from mites prior to joining the others in care.
"AMY"
4yrs old
A sweetheart of a girl who has obviously been over-used as a breeding bitch as well as not being treated for mites. She is an affectionate and friendly girl.
Lesions can easily be seen caused by constant scratching.
Amy can't move without stopping to scratch.
One very sad and sorry Dalmatian.
"LAURA"
12mths
We believe Laura to be a purebred Great Dane even though she is a bit smaller than your average Dane. She has been bred too young, no doubt survived on a poor quality diet and has generally been neglected.
For those who are not familiar, her colouring is classified as Merle and white (or Merlequin) ... like my Genevieve... meaning she will be exceedingly pretty and highly intelligent (just kidding on the intelligent bit! haha).
Laura is quite shy at present and stressed in a new environment but she will settle in quickly.
Being blue-eyed we will be testing her hearing over the next few days but at this point, do not believe that she has a hearing deficit.
She can't open her eyes properly due to the swollen and itchy skin on her face.
The injury to her left ear is due to long term, untreated fly-bite. This can take a long time to heal due to being such a vascular area.... mix that with head shaking that reopens the wound every time and it is a frustrating and painful problem.
We treat this with Rawleighs Salve and Aloe Vera Gel (alternating) and popping some aerogard ointment around the wound site.
Laura needs to gain at least 8-10kg to reach a healthy weight and as is easily seen, she has very little fur left on her body at the moment.
UPDATE 1/9/06 The girls have settled into the routine here very well and their personalities are starting to shine through now that they are not as itchy and their skin is starting to heal.
They are slowly gaining weight and they ended up needing a course each of a broad spectrum antibiotic to combat small skin infections. This is resolving quickly.
Amy is now showing herself to be a happy and very affectionate girl who learns quickly. She loves to please and will try anything for a treat!
Amy had a bath today... can't say she enjoyed it but she tolerated the invasion with good grace.
Amy having a rest in the sunshine.... yes, in the dirt. Oh well... she was white again for a short while! hehe
LAURA is now showing that she is just a big baby and a goofball one at that! She is ridiculously affectionate, which involves a lot of headbutts, forced cuddles at waist height and wiping her face anywhere on your person that she can.
She is a MUCH happier girl and whilst she was positively horrified at the new concept of being bathed, she got over it quickly and returned to her rather goofy self and promptly rolled in... you guessed it! The dirt!
Oh so amusing!!
And a much happier face!
Thank you to the following for sponsoring Amy and Laura:
RALF and BINDI
Ms J. WHEATLEY
KAZ & XANDER
Your support and donations are very much appreciated.
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