Going Home

Dumpling's life experience has changed so much in a year. From a lot of pain and discomfort; raw, bleeding, scabby skin; multiple infections, all the while facing imminent euthanasia, to a new life with so many pleasures; chasing lacrosse balls, chewing shoes (only once, but it was brand new), playing with his best dog friend, Guy, barking at pesky skateboarders and his favorite--snuggling. Or maybe food is his favorite, he's not sure.

Anyways, the main news is that, after living with Guy and I for one year, I am very excited that a wonderful home has come forward and is now moving through the adoption process for Mister Dumpling. YAY.

It took a while, but these things take time. 

Thanks Dumpling for being such an inspiration and for staying alive. May you bring your new home lots of joy. We'll miss you.

Day 88 - cute but crazy

I think his face says it all.

Day 61 - Chrissy

Dumpling loves chasing after Guy (who always has a ball in his mouth).
Dumpling is a liiiiittle high energy!

 Thanks Nathan for taking the pics!

Day 60 - Beach

Dumpling at a great time letting loose at Ocean Beach yesterday (Saturday). 

More pictures coming tomorrow from our trip to Chrissy fields today (Sunday).

Day 59

Dumpling looks great today. Dr. Scott originally said 2.5 months for full recovery and so far, that looks pretty bang on. I am impressed by her accuracy and treatment. He's still on ivermectin, and has plenty of hair. He's just a bit patchy in places and has some (probably permanent) scarring on his face from scratching away chunks of his face when he was very itchy and yeasty. (Thanks Christine for getting him a cone while he was at the ACC so it wasn't much worse!)

Sidenote: Sweet Chloe left last night for a potential new home. Let's keep fingers and toes crossed for her. It's been a long wait.

Day 50 - Tough being a Pup

Day 39 - Getting Cuter

He's chewing a bone while lying on Guy!

Day 32

Actually these were taken yesterday...

At La Boulangerie on Polk... he got lots of attention and even a stuffed toy from some nice passers-by.

Day 31

Some people that meet Dumpling now feel sorry for him; I try explain that he is perfectly fine, and much better than he was. It's hard to believe how miserable he was just a month ago. I am very grateful to have been able to care for him.

Day 30 - Rugby Day

Dumpling enjoys a rugby game with 'pappa.' :)

Day 29

Cute!

Guy post-manicure and Dumpling

Chloe and Dumpling snuggling. Chloe needs a Home/Adopter! Ping me if you know of anyone who might be interested. 

Day 24 - Tyrant!

"Look at me, I'm so cute...."  Very cute and very naughty! Chewing plant pots, plants, wicker baskets, books, garbage. He likes to bark too! It's good to see him acting like a normal pup and getting into mischief.  He snores so loudly I had to move him to another room last night because he kept waking me up!

Guy and Dumpling going at it.

Day 22 - Vet Visit #2

Check up at the vet's this morning with Dr. Maxmen.

Dumpling has gained 5 lbs and is now a hefty 30lbs. 

No more scabs, he just kind of semi-bald and a bit dry/flaky.

I had noticed his lymph nodes are very swollen; Dr. says its from draining and the skin infections. So, he's still a pretty sick pup, although he doesn't show it at all.

He continues with the antibiotics to deal with the ongoing secondary skin infections, and slightly higher Ivormectin dose (since he has gained weight) to get rid of that pesky demodex mange.  

Day 16 - A Puppy

Breakfast time

Finally, Dumpling is acting like a normal pup. Climbing on the couch repeatedly (which is forbidden here), relentlessly bugging the older two dogs, who happily play with him in a toned-down, more gentle fashion, and, humping Chloe (he is not yet neutered because of the Demodex).
He and Guy have formed a kind of brotherly bond and they like lounging in the sun together.

Buds

Day 13 - The Other Dogs

Nathan was also kind enough to come by to see Dumpling on the weekend, however, he doesn't like getting his hands dirty, so he only played with mange-free dogs in the house. ;)

Nonetheless, thanks for coming by, Nathan. The other dogs appreciated some attention, since they have been a little neglected lately. (Nathan is a volunteer-in-training at the SFACC (where Dumpling came from) and all-round dog lover).

Guy and Dumpling

Day 11

A bottle of Aloe close by at all times

Dumpling is coming along in leaps and bounds now.

Just a few patches are still bleeding. A lot of scabbing, which is good. And lots of pink skin. Kinda looks like a new born baby.



Day 9 - A Visitor

Yummy puppy bone

Dumpling had a visitor today. Christine from Give a Dog a Bone, who cared for, and spent time with little Dumpling while he was at the shelter.  (Thank you, Christine.) She practices Reiki on humans and animals and continues to do energy healing on him. Perhaps that is part of why he seems to be healing so fast!

He almost enjoyed his bath today. It doesn't hurt him so much; only a few raw areas remain on his skin. I gently washed his face too to clean off some of the yeast accumulation.

He is more comfortable sitting and lying and even went for a walk around the block with the other dogs and he loved it.

He should be cone-free in a few days.

Day 7 - Bathtime

Dumpling hates bathtime, but tolerates it like a champ like everything else.

He is dying to eat all the scabs off his legs. 

He is much less raw now. He's still a mess, but the bleeding is more isolated and rare. Yay. Very excited for him.

 Dry skin is good.

Day 6 - Yes!

Definite Progress!

Left Hind leg Wednesday  ----------- Left Hind Leg Tuesday

His legs are drying up now. Woo. Look at that hind left leg. So much better today. 

He was up a lot of last night whining, starting at 2:30am, but once I opened the bedroom door and let him in, he went to sleep. So, I guess he just wanted to hang out with me and the 2 other dogs. 

He's ruining my rug with his trail of puss and scabs, but, oh well, it was a cheap one.

Day 5 - Progress?

Doesn't look like progress, but I can tell his demeanor is better this evening. Following me around; sitting beside me. He moved a 12lb weight to break out of his caged off area this morning. He is a determined little fellow.

He's still very raw and sore, obviously, but he's a  trooper.

As soon as I take off the cone for a brief reprieve and pee outing, he's much more chipper, but also ready to scratch the crap out of his yeasty head, so I have to watch him.

I'm guessing the healing will go first in-first out, so I expect the feet to clear up last. They are the worst, too. His back will probably start to heal up first. I might try a wash with cool water and aloe shampoo tomorrow, or Friday.  

Day 4 - Vet Visit #1

Another shitty day.

Vet's visit this morning at 9 at the awesome Park Animal Hospital. The whole ordeal of getting into the car, to the vets, skin scrapings, and getting back home was a bit traumatic.

Vet (Dr. Scott) says the main issue is actually bacterial and yeast skin infections as a result of the untreated mange. He is 24 lbs and emaciated. He stinks because of the yeast infection.

He is on a plethora of medication. She says he will look much better in just 2 weeks, but 2 months of solid treatment to 'get better.'

He had a good feed when he got home and lots of pills, and is now passed out.

He got a new larger, softer cone so he can't eat at his legs, and he loathes it even more than the other one. He basically refuses to move anywhere. But, I think today I can finally see a little improvement.. some parts of his legs are drying up juust a little.

Day 3

AM

He got up this morning and peed and was shuffling around for a little bit. I was awoken by that, and got up (6am), gave him his morning antibiotics and painkillers, and fed him. He ate well. I took all 3 out. He pooped and peed immediately. He really didn't want to take the stairs back up, but will follow the other two dogs, or treats. He then drank a lot of water.

His legs are bleeding and cracked. His face looks ok.

He is sleeping now (7:35am). He tends to shiver, I don't know from pain or cold, but I put a towel over him when he sleeps now and it seems to stop the shivering.

I figure as long as he keeps eating he wants to live. We'll get him there. I'm sure his legs will need gauze and bandages. To the vets tomorrow morning!

PM

This morning I washed everything he'd been lying on which was crusted with puss and dead skin. He then moved into Chloe's crate around 11am on the fresh bedding and slept fitfully for a number of hours, shaking and hiccuping and awakening periodically, but now he's fast asleep (5:10pm) and looks comfortable. Phew.

Sunday AM April 17th

(When compared to his original pic taken last week while he was at the ACC, I can actually see mild, but distinct improvement around his eye area.)

Day 2

AM

He woke me up this morning at 6am with a loud whine. Seems he needed to go poop. Good boy. We just have to take it day by day. I am impatient to see progress. He seems quite uncomfortable and pretty miserable to be honest. I am hoping to see improvement quickly.

PM

The highlight seems to be that he slept a lot today, peacefully enough, and then, in the afternoon after a lot of sleep we went outside with all 3 dogs and he was full of beans and wanted to run. He was trying to play with Guy and Chloe but they don't seem to know what to make of him. Unfortunately, now he is a little lame and seems a bit in pain. It's the end of the day, too, so his pain meds may be wearing off, although they are supposed to last 24 hours and he is on actually a large enough dose for his size.

He ate very well today, drank lots of water. He went to the toilet ONLY outside. He's semi-housetrained. He's eating again now (it's 10pm)... All good signs. Still very difficult to see him in pain. But, I have to believe that every day that goes by he is getting a little better and that, with the antibiotics, the Advantage, good food, lots of sleep, and the other dogs around to bolster his mood, he is improving in some small way, even though he still looks like shit and is clearly uncomfortable. Fingers crossed for the little guy.

Day 1

Last Day at ACC

(Treatment Week 2)

Dumplin arrived at the ACC on April 9th and he came home with me on April 15th, so he is starting his second week of treatment. I have been told that he has already improved over the past week (dear lord he must have been bad when he first arrived).

Hangin' at Velo Cafe

He is currently on Clavamox (antibiotics) twice a day; 3 Rimadyl once a day for pain and inflammation and Advantage Multi once a week for the demodex. We took him to Velo cafe on the way home, he seemed ok and well enough to 'beg' for food as we ate. This is a good sign.
His skin is really bad, particularly on the underside of this belly, all 4 legs and on his head. That is called 'generalized mange.' It's quite raw in a lot of places, puss-ing, foul odor, obviously he has bacterial and maybe other secondary infections.

He eats well, however, and takes treats and drinks water. He whines if he needs to go potty; he doesn't like to go inside so much.

He doesn't like the stairs but tolerates it to get out and he hates his cone. Without it he will scratch his head which has very bad scabs and it will bleed.

Monday morning 9am was the soonest vet appointment I could get. It can't come soon enough.