Kona
Most recent update, Kona is still doing great at her new home, read all about it here:http://www.wamal.com/images/kona/kona_hopehaven.htm
 |
Kona is a special girl who is looking for a special home. Can you help? |
 |
Kona was pulled from a kill-shelter only a few hours before she would have been euthanized for her age and skin condition. I first met her in the parking lot of my vet where she was clearly just happy to be around people who cared. |
|
|
 |
Kona was examined by my vet because of the uncertainty of her health. It was determined that she was quite underweight, had fleas, was possibly approaching 10 years of age but could be as young as 8, and was suffering badly from skin mange and associated secondary infections. Kona was immediately put on antibiotics and a topical parasitic treatment to kill the mites causing the mange. She was sent home with instructions to bathe her and keep her quarantined from other dogs because of the communicability of the mites. |
 |
 |
 |
Three of us took on the task of grooming and bathing Kona. It wasn't an easy task getting this big girl on the grooming table, but she was wonderfully cooperative once there. But it gave us an up-close view of how bad her skin and coat were. |
|
|
 |
Kona's skin is covered in scabs from the mange and the secondary infections. Her coat has fallen out in many places as a reaction to the mange but you can still see where new coat is trying very hard to grow back in. |
|
|
 |
Tears were shed as we combed and raked her old coat and saw the extent of damage to her skin. |
|
|
 |
Kona's bath was tough on her sensitive skin, but she did survive it nicely. She was none too happy with us for our efforts and made it known as she ran for the dog house! |
|
|
 |
Even bathed, you can see the damage to her skin. This picture was taken the day after the bath as she was just starting to heal. For this 24 hour period, Kona spent most of her time sleeping and simply trying to recuperate. The shock of being clean, combed, and well-fed on top of the medications was a lot to deal with. |
|
|
 |
8 hours after her bath, her outer beauty is starting to shine through, matching her inner beauty we already discovered. Kona is a lovely Sable and White! Once her coat grows back in and the weight goes back on, this big girl will be a stunner! |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
Unfortunately, Kona's needs for quarantine exceeded my ability to provide in the long term. To ensure that the mange isn't transmitted to other animals, she needs to be in quarantine for 3 weeks. Kona has been brought to a boarding kennel where her isolation can be observed but bringing her there broke my heart. You see, Kona wants desperately to be loved and to love her own people and dropping her off clearly violated her trust in me. I cried the entire way back. Kona is a lovely spirit, full of joy and gentleness that I got to know in the few days I was able to care for her. I would take her back in a heartbeat if I could, but would prefer that she find her own Forever Home. Please help find that place for her, for she deserves more than what she's had in the recent past. |
|
|
FastCounter by bCentral