Imagine a cold, snowy night. You’re nestled inside your warm home when suddenly, you hear a faint noise outside your door.
As you open it, you’re met with the sight of a hairless, shivering dog, clearly in distress.
Not the typical cute puppy you’d expect, but would you turn your back on it?
This was the situation one man found himself in. Despite the dog’s appearance, he didn’t hesitate.
He welcomed the freezing creature into his home, offering warmth and shelter.
The Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA shared on Facebook, “It appeared that she had been dumped by the roadside and abandoned.
It was a frigid night, and it was assumed she came to the door looking for food and warmth.”
Although the man’s heart was in the right place, he knew he couldn’t provide a permanent home for the dog.
So, he did the next best thing: he contacted the authorities.
The police, in turn, reached out to a local shelter to ensure the dog would receive the care she desperately needed.
Ron Perez, the president of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA, painted a heartbreaking picture of the dog’s condition.
“She was in bad shape. She had some open lacerations on her face and neck and was pretty much devoid of any hair.
It was sad. It’s always sad to see them like this,” he said.
Upon arrival at the shelter, a vet diagnosed the dog with demodectic mange, a condition where mites burrow under the skin, leading to hair loss.
As the dog scratches the itchy mites, the skin becomes infected, exacerbating the hair loss.
VCA Hospitals explains, “Mange is a parasitic skin disease caused by microscopic mites.
Two different mange mites cause skin disease in dogs. One lives just under the surface of the skin, while the other resides deep in the hair follicles.
Although both mites share similar characteristics, there are also important differences.
It is important not to confuse the two types of mange because they have different causes, treatments, and prognoses.”
The shelter staff named this resilient dog Penny and immediately began her treatment.
With the mites eradicated, Penny’s incessant scratching ceased.
The infections subsided, and her skin began its healing process.
Perez was astounded by her rapid recovery, noting, “Within one week, she looked like a different dog.
The vet was pretty impressed with her recovery.”
As the weeks went by, Penny’s transformation was nothing short of miraculous.
Her mange was completely eradicated, and tufts of hair began to sprout.
While some patches might remain bald, the most crucial aspect was her regained health and spirit.
Penny’s story could have had a tragic ending if not for the stranger’s kindness and the shelter’s intervention.
Reflecting on her journey, Perez said, “She’s a real fighter and very resilient.
Her stress levels are clearly much lower now, because she’s interacting with people and she has proper food and is sleeping correctly.”
In a twist of justice, the police managed to apprehend Paul C. Bull, the individual believed to have abandoned Penny.
He now faces animal cruelty charges, with potential penalties including a $1,000 fine and jail time.
But Penny’s story doesn’t end in the shelter. She found a forever home with a loving family, eager to give her the life she deserves.
Perez shared the heartwarming conclusion, “We got a lot of applications to adopt her.
But these two individuals are fantastic pet owners. They took it slowly and came and visited with her a couple of times a week.
They brought their dogs in, and everyone got along fabulously. I’d like to think this will be the last home she’ll ever go to.”
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