Post by DiamondTiger on Jan 3, 2009 18:32:14 GMT -5
I'm so tired right now I can't remember if I posted about this dog already or not, so in advance I apologize if there's another thread here about this pretty girl.
About a month ago we noticed a white pit hanging around the shelter. She looked as if she'd just finished nursing a litter, and it appeared that she'd been dumped in our driveway over night. She was clearly lost and terrified. We tried for weeks to catch her, but every time she saw us coming she'd trot off in the opposite direction and avoid anyone who got too close. Yesterday a neighbor of the shelter came in and told us that he'd finally managed to get her to come to him and that he now had her, keeping her safely in one of his kennels. He asked if he could bring her in and of course we were over joyed and said YES!! She's hurt and we want to do everything we can for her.
We noticed right away, the first time we saw her, that she had a big cut on her shoulder. Skin was basically just hanging and there was this great big gaping wound. Naturally the fear set in with those not familiar with pits, and the assumptions started flying... "Oh, she's been in a terrible fight." and "She might have been a bait dog." And then of course there's me telling everyone to slow their roll and to not jump to conclusions because we know nothing about her and we couldn't get close enough to have a good look at the wound, much less the dog's over all condition.
So today when she came in I was glad to say to everyone "IN YO FACE! Not a fight, not even a scrap... this dog's got absolutely NO indication of every having been in an altercation with another dog, or even a cat." The cut is clearly from whatever was used to tie her up at one time not so long ago in her life, she's got marks (indent around her neck) from a collar or chain being too tight. One can only speculate about how she came to be "the stray dog at the shelter" (that everyone took it upon themselves to call us about as if we had no idea or just didn't care).
Okay, so she came in today and here's the rest of the story... until tomorrow.
She's scared but she's safe and so far really sweet and very tolerant of everything we've done medically. Her new name is Topanga.
And here she is... in full blown heat *ugh*, so I requested that she and our Siberian Husky be locked indoors at night to 1) prevent pregnancy and 2) to prevent theft.
The cut on her neck still looks pretty bad, but it's FAR better than it was a few weeks ago when we were able to get close enough to really see it. She let us shave away the hair around it and scrape away the dead / flaky / scabby skin that was caked on and around it, didn't even flinch.
She is also, sadly, heartworm positive and will need treatment soon after she is spayed. She'll go on our next surgery list as soon as she's no longer in heat.
*Just to make sure everyone understands* Topanga isn't yet a candidate for any program. She will still need to be fully evaluated once she's a little more settled in and is no longer in heat. Only then can I make a decision as to whether or not she'd be a good candidate for rescue. She isn't urgent YET... but pits don't make it long in our shelter.
(Our board and our kennel manage buy into all the hype and the only reason we even take pits now is because I'm there.) I can't say yet whether or not we'll have room in our program for this sweet girl should she pass all evaluations. So I'm going to make a special request to the forum members who do rescue. If you've got space and could possibly help this girl, please keep her in mind. I know you all have dogs in your own areas who need help too, so I won't be upset if there's just no way. I can't NOT try for her tho... ya know?
About a month ago we noticed a white pit hanging around the shelter. She looked as if she'd just finished nursing a litter, and it appeared that she'd been dumped in our driveway over night. She was clearly lost and terrified. We tried for weeks to catch her, but every time she saw us coming she'd trot off in the opposite direction and avoid anyone who got too close. Yesterday a neighbor of the shelter came in and told us that he'd finally managed to get her to come to him and that he now had her, keeping her safely in one of his kennels. He asked if he could bring her in and of course we were over joyed and said YES!! She's hurt and we want to do everything we can for her.
We noticed right away, the first time we saw her, that she had a big cut on her shoulder. Skin was basically just hanging and there was this great big gaping wound. Naturally the fear set in with those not familiar with pits, and the assumptions started flying... "Oh, she's been in a terrible fight." and "She might have been a bait dog." And then of course there's me telling everyone to slow their roll and to not jump to conclusions because we know nothing about her and we couldn't get close enough to have a good look at the wound, much less the dog's over all condition.
So today when she came in I was glad to say to everyone "IN YO FACE! Not a fight, not even a scrap... this dog's got absolutely NO indication of every having been in an altercation with another dog, or even a cat." The cut is clearly from whatever was used to tie her up at one time not so long ago in her life, she's got marks (indent around her neck) from a collar or chain being too tight. One can only speculate about how she came to be "the stray dog at the shelter" (that everyone took it upon themselves to call us about as if we had no idea or just didn't care).
Okay, so she came in today and here's the rest of the story... until tomorrow.
She's scared but she's safe and so far really sweet and very tolerant of everything we've done medically. Her new name is Topanga.
And here she is... in full blown heat *ugh*, so I requested that she and our Siberian Husky be locked indoors at night to 1) prevent pregnancy and 2) to prevent theft.
The cut on her neck still looks pretty bad, but it's FAR better than it was a few weeks ago when we were able to get close enough to really see it. She let us shave away the hair around it and scrape away the dead / flaky / scabby skin that was caked on and around it, didn't even flinch.
She is also, sadly, heartworm positive and will need treatment soon after she is spayed. She'll go on our next surgery list as soon as she's no longer in heat.
*Just to make sure everyone understands* Topanga isn't yet a candidate for any program. She will still need to be fully evaluated once she's a little more settled in and is no longer in heat. Only then can I make a decision as to whether or not she'd be a good candidate for rescue. She isn't urgent YET... but pits don't make it long in our shelter.
(Our board and our kennel manage buy into all the hype and the only reason we even take pits now is because I'm there.) I can't say yet whether or not we'll have room in our program for this sweet girl should she pass all evaluations. So I'm going to make a special request to the forum members who do rescue. If you've got space and could possibly help this girl, please keep her in mind. I know you all have dogs in your own areas who need help too, so I won't be upset if there's just no way. I can't NOT try for her tho... ya know? 
