FOUND DOG - VERY ILL - HELP PLEASE

Fukuyama

SO earlier today me and my girlfriend came accross an unconcious dog in a school when out walking our own dogs.

It took me ages to bring it round (thought it was dead actually). I carried it home and it began to wake up. It's walking (swaying a lot). It's drinking water to beat the band. We think it was dehydrated.

I really think it had closed its eyes for the last time when I picked it up. Poor thing.


Any advice? It wont really eat. And is very weak. I'm going to bring it to a vet tomorrow.

Its fur is so matted and clumped. Its also about twice the size of its body. I'd say its been in the wild for at least a month.

Please - any advice or tips from someone experienced would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much.

(Apolagies for any typos there might be. I'm typing this fast so I can get back to nursing this poor creature. )

SillyMangoX

To be honest, get him to a vet tonight. He sounds like he's in serious trouble, probably needs IV fluids. All vets have an emergency line so give a ring and get him seen asap.

You did a great think in taking him in though, well done. Hope he pulls through.

Whispered

I agree, vet asap. Dehydration can kill a dog very easily.

Is it moving around at all now? I wouldn't try offer it more food until you see a vet.

You also have to consider the fact it might NOT be dehydration, it could be poison or an internal injury. In which case he shouldn't be drinking. Definitely one for the vet.

ameee

fair play to you taking him in poor thing keep him warm and hydrated until you can get him seen to the sooner the better by the sound of it

Hoof_Hearted

That was a lovely thing you did.
My dog was so dehydrated once she couldn't drink so I put a bit of meat in some very watery porridge, once she started getting liquid she was ok after a couple of hours. Might be worth a try?
You might just have saved this dog's life and now that he's had some fluid he might be inclined to take more. But, like the other poster said, the vet can get fluid into him intravenously. If there's a pharmacy open maybe get some of those electrolyte (?) sachets (for when people dehydrate from diarrhoea)
Lucky dog meeting you.

Fukuyama

Hi guys,

He's drinking to beat the band so I think the dehydration isn't the main issue now. He also now has a saucer of milk should he feel so inclined.

I've talked to my dad and he reckons its been in the wild for several months rather than weeks by the look of his coat. It's 2 times the size of his body! :eek:

Anyway, it's nibbling now a little bit and napping away on a blanket.

I know this is mean to ask, but to vets charge for this kind of thing? I'd pay if they did - just wondering. I'm not really in a good situation financially. This little critter comes before my wallet however!

Whispered

They do charge, but you might be able to work something out with them, considering the circumstances. Maybe even paying a few euro a week or something.

keithsfleet

Where are you? If you're anywhere in south dublin myself and girlfriend will go out to you, she's a veternairy nurse.

andreac

Dont give it milk as they are not meant to have milk, dogs are lactose intolerant and it can actually make them sick and upset their tummy.

Millem

Dean0088 wrote: »

Hi guys,

He's drinking to beat the band so I think the dehydration isn't the main issue now. He also now has a saucer of milk should he feel so inclined.

I've talked to my dad and he reckons its been in the wild for several months rather than weeks by the look of his coat. It's 2 times the size of his body! :eek:

Anyway, it's nibbling now a little bit and napping away on a blanket.

I know this is mean to ask, but to vets charge for this kind of thing? I'd pay if they did - just wondering. I'm not really in a good situation financially. This little critter comes before my wallet however!

If the vet is decent they shouldn't charge you. A cat crawled into my garden after getting knocked down on the road outside my house, I brought it down to my vet who took it in and treated it no questions, it was put on a drip over might but unfortunately had to be PTS the next day due to its injuries, my vet did not charge me a penny. He is amazing and always taking in dogs from the local travellers and treating them for free, a lot of the time they don't even bother to collect their dogs and vet ends up keeping them
until he can find them a home. Another time someone dumped a 6 week old pup in my garden, I brought to another vet to check for microchip, they said pup was full of worms, they gave me wormer, spot on and 3 bags of trial puppy food and again didn't charge me a penny. I think vets talk an oath (like doctors). My vet says he sees it as part of his job tbh and wouldn't let an animal suffer.

Stheno

Dean0088 wrote: »

Hi guys,

He's drinking to beat the band so I think the dehydration isn't the main issue now. He also now has a saucer of milk should he feel so inclined.

I've talked to my dad and he reckons its been in the wild for several months rather than weeks by the look of his coat. It's 2 times the size of his body! :eek:

Anyway, it's nibbling now a little bit and napping away on a blanket.

I know this is mean to ask, but to vets charge for this kind of thing? I'd pay if they did - just wondering. I'm not really in a good situation financially. This little critter comes before my wallet however!

I took a very very emaciated boxer in from a pound once when I was involved in animal rescue.

They are a bit like humans in concentration camps or those suffering from starvation, they can't cope with loads of food.

It's a good sign the lad is drinking.

Very emaciated dogs need very small and very frequent feeding.

Stop immediately with the milk, dogs, like cats are lactose intolerant.

Good meals for them are puppy food, mushed up almost like baby food to a very liquid consistency with sardines, or tuna mixed in

Plain boiled chicken and rice are another good option, use the water from boiling the chicken to dilute it to a mushy stew. This is almost better than puppy food as it's very gentle on the stomach

Small small meals, a quarter what you'd give a dog of that size, and regular are the way to go.

Even more important give the amimal time to rest, he/she is probably exhausted and does not yet realise they no longer need to fend for themselves.

If I can help you anymore then pm.

Vets do charge, you are looking at about 120 euro for a consult and bloods.

You could keep a close eye on the dog, and see how he responds to food and water, great great sign it's drinking, unless it's been poisoned.

Good luck and well done to you.

kinkygirl

The poor fur baby, and bless you for taking him in.
Some (it should be all) vets, will treat a stray animal without charging a fee.
Hugs to the darling fur child, get well soon.

Macker1

Dean0088 wrote: »

Hi guys,

He's drinking to beat the band so I think the dehydration isn't the main issue now. He also now has a saucer of milk should he feel so inclined.

I've talked to my dad and he reckons its been in the wild for several months rather than weeks by the look of his coat. It's 2 times the size of his body! :eek:

Anyway, it's nibbling now a little bit and napping away on a blanket.

I know this is mean to ask, but to vets charge for this kind of thing? I'd pay if they did - just wondering. I'm not really in a good situation financially. This little critter comes before my wallet however!

You should be very proud of what you have done here. I hope that the dog recovers and can so you his appreciation when he is better. :)

Fukuyama

Hi guys!

He's perky this morning and seemed in good spirits. I'd say that was his first night in doors in a very very long time.

Anyways, I decided to clean him up a little bit. It looks like it'll be sunny today so all that fur would kill him!

I'm halfway through and there's a MASSIVE bag of matted fur in my shed. :eek:

Anyways, you'll never guess what was under all that fur? A small little PUPPY!

He looks quite young. Maybe 9 months or so it's hard to tell. He has a nice coat but unfortunatly it's very matter and I think he'll be sporting a crew cut for the next couple of weeks.

About the vet - I've mentioned money being an issue. Seeing as he doesn't seem to be in immediate need for attention I've decided to bring him to the mobile Blue Cross clinic that does rounds in Dublin. A friend told me that a 'contribution' can be made. I'll throw them thirty euro or so. I really couldn't fork out over 100 to a vet. They're in my area tomorrow so he'll get a full NCT done then

To give you guys an idea of the state of his fur here's a few pics I took last night. His face looks quite wide but I assure you it's 1/3 that size. It looks that way on account of two matted balls of hair clumbed to his face on either side the size of large cooking apples!

The reminder of his fur tells a similar tale.

I'll throw up some pics later when he's spent some more time with mr. sissors.

Thanks for all the help so far guys! Y'll rock! :cool:

-- Dean.

furtzy

I'd say he'll be quite the looker when he's tidyed up. God bless you for taking him in

ABajaninCork

Oh poor thing! What with Jake and Jimmy Bottlehead, what is WRONG with people today???? The capacity for cruelty these days never ceases to amaze me.

It's a lovely dog. He'll look great once he's cleaned up. Is he a Bichon mix, I wonder?? Fair play to ye for helping the poor fella. He'll be so grateful to you I'm sure. I take it he had no collar and not even chipped. See if the Blue Cross can chip him for you...

Please let us know what the vet says. Fingers crossed for you and good luck!!

kildare.17hmr

Fair play

Zulu

Fair play. I hope to hear of you winning the lotto soon.

clappyhappy

Good on you, great to see that there are still decent people out there. Best of luck to you and the dog.

Nothing like this sub forum to restore faith in humanity. Well done Dean.

maggiepip

Unbelievable:( My feeling is that the poor little thing was dumped and left to die after serious neglect, or managed to get away from serious neglect somehow. Anyway how lucky is he now:)

What a brilliant thing you did:) Many thanks.

sive1281

Hi,

I'm a groomer in the Meath area, I'm not a mobile groomer, but if you can get him to me I'll groom him free of charge for you.

I am pie

This has saved my Monday morning, reach your right hand over the back of your left shoulder and give yourself a solid pat on the back. Decent people still exist !

cyrusdvirus

sive1281 wrote: »

Hi,

I'm a groomer in the Meath area, I'm not a mobile groomer, but if you can get him to me I'll groom him free of charge for you.

I'm off this week, will do the transport if you want

Hooked

gatecrash wrote: »

sive1281 wrote: »

Hi,

I'm a groomer in the Meath area, I'm not a mobile groomer, but if you can get him to me I'll groom him free of charge for you.

I'm off this week, will do the transport if you want

I was having some **** day in work today till I read this. Complete strangers caring for an animal and more complete strangers offering grooming, vet care and transportation. I must go... I appear to have something in my eye.

Hats off to the lot of ye!

fox_1973

Well done you, really has made my day reading this, make sure you keep us posted

artyeva

he looks like a hungarian sheep dog with all that extra hair on him!! fair play to you op, and the offer of grooming and transport to the hairdressers. restores my faith in humanity.

that? no i'm not cryin..... just a bit of dust in me eye. mfff....

Delancey

Dean , did you get an update on his condition from the Blue Cross vet ?

callmekenneth

fair play dean0088, some good karma coming your way for that one, you saved that little guy

missyb

Good for you, It really makes my day to see true kindness in people, and all the lovely offers you have had. Well done to you!

Fukuyama

Hi guys

My face went from :eek: to to with all the offers for help! Thank you guys so much for all the help and support you gave us.

I'm going to just come right out and say it - yesterday afternoon I was left with no choice but to call the DSPCA for my new buddy.

Removing his fur was taking forever. I was slowly making progress while giving him breaks for play and exploring my house. As more fur came off however I began to doubt on his age. I thought he was quite young but as I reached the lower levers of his coat I became less confident.

When he had been running around and interacting with my other dog he always seemed a little lost. I also noticed that he'd rarely focus right at you when calling him / rubbing him.

I took a piece of chicken, touched it off his nose and put it on the floor in front of him. He couldn't find it.

Me thinking he had cute puppy clumsiness was actually him navigating almost blind.

I trimmed his face more and got a good luck at him. He had a slight blue/grayish twinge covering his small eyeballs which was unmistakably cataracts.

I sat with him for a while wondering what to do. This suddenly was way over my head. I realized he probably didn't really know where he was or what was happening in his little life. I went upstairs and phoned the DSPCA. We both agreed it'd be for the best if their emergency ambulance collected him. The inspector arrived very quickly and confirmed it was cataracts. He checked him for a chip to no avail.

He said he was a little malnourished but hadn't been in the wild for long as a blind dog would be far more worse for ware food wise if he had. This led us both to the conclusion that someone (who I'd very much so like to re-enact the infamous American History X scene on) has been keeping this dog in awful conditions with matted fur living in filth before dumping him, blind, unable to fend for himself. :mad:

I said my goodbyes and off he went.

He'll be kept for five days at which point the vet will make the decision. He said sometimes old people adopt dogs like him for quiet companionship. Not sure if he was just wheeling out some comforting half-truths or...

Anyway I'm glad that I brought him home with me. The thought that he could still be in that school lost alone and worse of all blind in this weather sickens me. Especially as the place is infested by people drinking and is unoccupied by staff/students for the summer.

Again, thanks so much for the PMs (particularly from Tara) and the other users who offered to groom him and assist me in getting him to the Blue Cross etc...

Also if anyone from the DSPCA is on this forum - Thank you for your support and for helping the dog. I've gotten my own dog from you guys and your work is amazing. I'll make a donation of what I can when I get paid on Friday.

Again, thanks so much guys!