Is that a Dog? The Story of Marly.

Last Friday I got a call from Madison County Animal Control.  A dog had come in that was in terrible shape and needed help.  I was cleaning the shelter so I couldn't get there til after noon.  When I got there John said he had an all day project for me.  A man had found her and another little dog (another story) runnign loose near a road.  He said they were strays. 

When I looked into the kennel run I wasn't sure what I was looking out.  A little dirty, matted mound of hair mess was wandering around the kennel bumping into things.  Her eyes had pus running out and one looked like it had ruptured.  The AC guys said they had trimmed some of the hair off her eyes because you couldn't see her eyes.  Right out the door we went and headed to Horseshoe Lake Animal Hospital. She was wagging her matted tail as we headed out the door. 

I gave her a Capstar to kill the fleas when I got there.  They were crawling.  When I walked into the vet office a collective "Oh!!" went up.  One lady was eyeing me like Iwas a monster for letting her get in that shape until someone asked where she came from.  We went into the room and I started looking her over while the tech got some info. 

The hair on her legs was like a thick concrete legging around them.  It was hard and dirty.  Her left eye was in terrible shape and all I could see was pus.  Her teeth were in terrible shape and she looked to be at least ten years old.  She had a large marble size mammary tumor.  Her nails were long and curled under.  Her ears were about 5 inches long and encased in hard matted hair.  There were long plugs of ear wax coming out of her ears.  I have to say in the ten years I've been doing this she is one of the worst cases of neglect I've see.

Dr. Randla came in and checked her out.  Very soon she was whisked to the back for some work.  And I mean some work.  There were 3-4 techs working on her for 2 hours.  The hair was so hard you couldn't cut thru it.  There was two girls with clippers slowly inching the crud off of her. Dr. Randla came back between patients and worked on her.  They called her Marly because of the terrible dreds she had.  Through all of this she just laid there and let them work on her.  One time she cried because her skin was so raw under the concrete.  Finally she got in the tub and had her first bath in a very long time.  She loved it.  Her eyes were cleaned, nails trimmed and ears cleaned.  Wow!!  There was a dog in there! 

Today when I stopped by Horseshoe everyone was asking how Marly was.  This is why we use Horseshoe-they went above and beyond to help this little mess of a dog.  Everyone jumped in to save her when others might have thought it was hopeless or not worth the effort.  Thanks guys!

Marley is doing great! Her eye is looking much better and I hope it will heal and she won't lose it.  She loves her little coats and eats like a piggy.  Soon she will get a dental and have the tumor removed.  Tonight she is going to a foster home!!  Here are a few pictures of her transformation.