Marty

Marty, a 1.5 year old yellow male, came to LRR from a Richmond, VA shelter where he had been for 2 months trying to recuperate from being hit by a car. When his owners did not claim him, LRR took him in and immediately vetted him to assess his wounds and begin treatment. Fortunately, he did not have any broken bones - just lots of scrapes and bruises. He was also painfully thin. We expected him to heal and grow strong quickly with antibiotics and a good diet. But even though he felt better and became more active, he continued to lose big chunks of fur, actually looking like someone had taken a round cookie cutter to his fur. Skin scrapings confirmed he had demodectic mange, which while common for younger pups, is often brought about by trauma or an immune system deficiency in adult dogs. Those months of sitting in the shelter after suffering a car accident seemed to be enough to get the mites causing the mange busy.

We gave Marty two series of 6 dips, hoping that would cure the mange and get the mites back in check. But, when the mange returned, we feared there was an underlying cause. Bloodwork revealed nothing amiss, and a third series of dips was begun. Vets told us that some adult dogs can take a very lengthy time to get their mange under control, while some never do. We hated the thought of bringing sweet and playful Marty so far only to have him unadoptable because of this possible chronic condition. At least the time between dips and the mange return were longer, and we added some homeopathic treatments, such as Echinacea, to his diet to see if that would help boost his immune system.

During this time, a couple contacted us with an interest in adopting Marty, whose story was featured on our web site. After becoming approved and receiving much counseling about his condition, we asked them to foster Marty for 6 months. They had some experience with dogs with chronic skin problems and were so taken with Marty after they met him, they were determined to foster him to adopt. The stress of moving Marty to different foster homes had seemed to play a role in his set-backs, so we hoped that once Marty was settled in his new foster home, he would finally begin to heal permanently. We also began a course of ivermectin treatment which seemed to help. During these months, it became clear that the couple really wanted to adopt Marty - mites and all! He had become very attached to them as well. When we dragged our heels a few more months just to be sure that this time the mange didn't return, the couple became insistent they adopt Marty. As you can see from the photo to the left, he looks and feels great. Thanks to CFC donations, LRR was able to treat this labby for nearly a year and place him with a wonderful new family who adopted him knowing his demodex trials may still flare up from time to time. But, for now, Marty is happy and healthy, and we all are celebrating his successful second chance at the good life!