Wiggles
Story
Partners
for Pets received a call late one Friday night. The
call came from a man that claimed he had found a small
dog with badly matted fur in terrible shape and smelly
near his home in the country. This man could
not keep the dog and told us he had gotten our number
from the Collinsville Animal Shelter. We agreed
to take the dog in and one of our volunteers met him
at a local gas station. Once the dog was in our possession
the dog was rushed to the shelter. The stench of a
dead animal was overwhelming.
After
carefully examination of our newest addition to the
shelter, Lisa McCormick, Shelter President, decided
that this dog was in serious need of medical attention. The
mats that covered the dog were gooey and the stench
was not going away. The dog, a black and white Shih
Tzu, seemed friendly, but made it clear that
his back was painful to touch.
Lisa,
Theresa, VP, and Lucy immediately started working to
get the mats off of the dog that we've named Wiggles. Once
the mats were cut away the sores were revealed that
caused Wiggles so much pain. The sores on his back
had drained and caused fur to look like tar. By this
time Wiggles was in so much pain that Lisa administered
some pain medication to the dog.
Clipping
slowly away at the mats it became clear where the smell
was coming from. The wounds were badly infected
and infested with maggots. Large maggots were
oozing out of the wounds and matted fur. It was
clear that Wiggles needed veterinary care immediately. Dr.
Irvin from Horseshoe Lake Animal Hospital returned
the emergency page to the shelter advising us how to
fix Wiggles. Dr. Irvin instructed Lisa to apply
Ace to remove the mats and to soak Wiggles in the bathtub.
With time and patience the mats were removed and the
wounds were irrigated with warm water. After
Wiggles treatment the water was swimming with maggots
of all shapes and sizes. He seemed in good spirits
even though the volunteers were not.
Lisa
brought him to Horseshoe Lake Animal Hospital in
the morning for an examination and second cleaning. Antibiotics
and some Ivermectin and Wiggles is good as gold. Wiggles
is doing well and he is waiting to heal. Whatever
got a hold of Wiggles is a whole other story but
are glad that he will make a full recovery.
-
- UPDATE - -
11/06/04
Wiggles
has found a home!! After spending a few weeks
at a volunteer's home, Wiggles came back a new boy. The
scars on his back are now gone and hair has grown
back. Wiggles shows no trace of what he had
been through. Wiggles is a happy boy and his
new home is excited to have him, including the five
children that can't wait to play with Wiggles. ~
Lisa
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