As I was driving down Elgin towards the University of Houston campus one Saturday morning, I saw a dog out of the corner of my eye. The dog looked so terrible that I circled around the block and parked near it, so I could leave it a can of dog food. I was carrying dog food with me because I had been seeing so many pitiful strays near the university.
But this dog was in far worse shape than any others I had seen. Most of the fur on its body was gone, save for a strip down its back and across its shoulders, and some on the haunches and tail. It was covered with bloody scabs, one of which must have been five inches across. Other areas of the dog's skin such as the front of its chest were just raw, the way your skin gets if you scrape your knee. Knowing next to nothing about dogs, I couldn't identify it beyond that it was a fairly small dog whose existing hair was tan.
As I got out of the car, I could see that the dog was sniffing the metal lid of an empty can, probably looking for food. I set down an open can of dog food near the dog, intending to get back in my car and drive away. But as soon as it saw the food, the little dog began wagging its tail! My heart broke, and I reached out gingerly to pet the fur behind its neck. The dog let me pet it without exhibiting any wariness. I didn't know what was wrong with the dog, or whether the dog had a chance of being cured, but I knew I couldn't live with myself if I left the dog on the street in that condition.
To skip ahead five weeks, the dog turned out to be a female puppy, now nine months old, and I named her Dahlia. She was diagnosed as having a severe case of demodectic mange, with a secondary skin infection. Demodectic mange is a non-contagious form of mange which puppies inherit from their mothers. While all dogs, cats, and some humans have microscopic mites present on their skin, puppies with weak immune systems may get an overabundance of these mites. The mites live in the hair follicles, so when they start multiplying, they crowd the hair out of the follicles, and begin causing eruptions in the skin. Things such as diet, emotional health, and stress can all contribute to flare-ups of demodectic mange, but it is most common in puppies under 18 months whose immune systems hasn't matured. I was told that the treatment for Dahlia's mange had a 75-80% success rate, but that recovery would take "a lot of money and a lot of work," and that it was not uncommon for dogs with such severe generalized mange to be put to sleep.
Because there were a number of complicating factors preventing us from fostering her - my asthma, the fact that we rent our place, my husband starting a new job, etc. - I came very close to having Dahlia put to sleep at first even though that was the last thing I wanted to do. But thankfully some wonderful neighbors in the Woodland Heights area whom I met online offered their home to her during the recovery process. She was rehabiliated through a terrific organization called the Homeless Pet Placement League, which paid for all of her medical care beyond her initial stay at my vet's, and which arranged for Dahlia to go out to their adoption sites after her recovery was complete. I remained involved with Dahlia's care by giving her the medicated dips which she required once a week for six weeks, taking her for regular walks, puppy-sitting her for occasionally while her foster parents were out of town, and taking her on occasional outings to fun places such as the Bone Appetit pet bakery.
And what about Dahlia herself? Her scars healed up almost immediately, and after being dewormed and getting antibiotics and proper nutrition for a few days, she went from being a listless dog who would lie on her quilt quietly most of the time, and could only walk in a hobbling gait, to an exuberant puppy who loved to dash around the house chasing her toys, and would get so excited about going for walks that she jumped straight up in the air. On walks, Dahlia would bound eagerly towards any dog she met, no matter how enormous, ready for a game, and she was equally friendly to human admirers. Her fur grew back slowly but steadily, and she became a real cutie, with only a couple of very small scars to show what she had been through.
Three weeks before Christmas, Dahlia was adopted by a family with three kids, ranging in age from 6 to 11, and three cats. The family had put a great deal of thought into the idea of adopting a dog - she was no Christmas whim - and they were smitten with her friendliness and her big-dog looks in a medium-sized package. Dahlia has fit in well with their family, follows them around the house, and bounds to the front door to greet the father when he comes in from work before he can even greet his wife. Dahlia has particularly taken to their 8-year-old daughter, and loves to sleep on her bed and lie next to her on the loveseat. When she hears the daughter coming home from school, her ears prick up and she goes to the front door to wait for her, tail wagging. She likes to go out in the back with a toy and tear around the yard at top speed. "We love her; she's so funny," her new mom told me. They plan to have her for a good long time.
And I am delighted to say that they kept her original name; Dahlia already knew her name and it seemed to fit. That makes me feel like I will always be with her in a sense.
In September, Dahlia was the cover dog for the Homeless Pet Placement League newsletter, and hopefully inspiring others to donate to this organization that literally saves the lives of animals like her. And maybe the article will inspire someone else to practice a random act of kindness that will reward them the way that everyone who met Dahlia has been rewarded by the experience of knowing such a joyful dog.
TRAPPING A FERAL CAT