Abuse in Plain Sight
Abby, Shiloh, and Tucker came from a very tidy suburban home that still had festive fall and Halloween decorations up when our volunteers rescued them from a tragic life of neglect. All three dogs were living in squalor, isolated in a dark garage, malnourished, and in need of significant medical care. They all had urine burns on their feet from not being let out and are battling skin, ear, and mouth infections. Thankfully, a good Samaritan in their community became aware of the dogs’ dire situation and called Animal Control for help. We don’t yet know what happened after that call, but no action was taken at the time to help them. Frustrated but determined, the Good Samaritan persisted and contacted our team in SC for help. Susan, our SC team lead, contacted the family and had a very candid conversation about the consequences and fines associated with animal abuse. They agreed to surrender all three dogs to our care.
Yesterday, our vet saw all three dogs, and based on their condition, it’s unthinkable the pain they’ve endured. Abby, the small senior Dachshund, somehow lost 1/2 of her jaw while in that garage, and never saw a vet. She is malnourished, and her mouth is still rife with infection. She will require advanced reconstructive oral surgery to address the infection and extract all her remaining teeth. Tucker, the medium-sized Aussie mix, is also underweight and has abscessed teeth and a large, infected clot of hair wedged in the roof of his mouth. He has a heart murmur that’s likely made worse by his condition, and will require dental surgery. Finally, Shiloh is a Lab, but you’d never know it by looking at him. He has mange as well as raging skin infections, which have made his skin so fragile that it cracked and bled when the staff touched him during the examination. He’s anemic and malnourished from a poor and scarce diet, and his ears were so swollen from infection that they had to use a laser to open them up to apply some medicated drops. Even through all the pain he’s in, Shiloh was so sweet with the staff, and you could see he was already feeling better after his first medicated bath and ear meds. The vet staff found him a nice comfy bed and blankets, and he curled up in the corner and slept, probably at peace for the first time in years.
Abby has already gone to her new foster home to recuperate before oral surgery. She has an interested adopter from the local rescue community, so we hope she will be going home soon to live out her golden years. Tucker and Shiloh will soon be going to their new foster homes and will require some special TLC to recover fully.
The medical care for these three pups is going to be substantial, but we are committed to their rehabilitation. If you would like to chip in to help with the costs, we need and welcome support from our community. These dogs have suffered at the hands of an ostensibly normal family, and we plan to be a voice for their justice.
