“Howl of A Dog” was contacted to rescue a sick dog, later named Heidi, from a busy street in Romania. The friendly but hesitant dog lived in that neighborhood for months. She was somehow accepted as a part of the landscape, receiving food scraps and being a “lucky” Romanian stray. However, as Heidi’s skin condition deteriorated, people chased her away, repelled by her mangy look.
The volunteers noticed that her breast was slightly enlarged, which worried them, as they thought that maybe she had puppies somewhere. When the volunteers asked the locals, they indicated where Heidi used to sleep and told them that she never had any puppies. Unfortunately, the dog was too close to the road, so the volunteers tried to lure her to safety.
The kind rescuers adjusted the stopper on the leash so it won’t get tight around the dog’s neck. Heidi understood that the volunteers were only trying to help her. They carried her to the car and placed her in the car’s back seat. Heidi’s whole body was ravaged by mange. Thick and hard crusts made her skin look like a stone.
The firm, pungent smell from her body was not something that could be easily forgotten. Softer areas, such as the ears, became home to ticks. The volunteers gave the poor animal a medicated bath to ease the itching and help heal and soften the skin. She already looked better on her first day at the shelter. Unfortunately, the skin under the remaining fur was also affected by mange, so they wanted to clip all her hair.
However, the rescuers decided to give her some rest as Heidi had already been through a lot. The vet established the medication and steps to treat her skin infection. It was concluded that Heidi’s enlarged breast was just a normal hormonal response to the heat cycle.
Mange was all over her body, and even the areas that seemed alright at first glance were actually worse. The volunteers knew that the road to rescue was very long. Mange was very stubborn and required many medicated baths. However, after 21 days at the shelter, Heidi’s skin condition had improved, and her fur had started to grow back nicely.
Heidi had now started to enjoy the baths. When she visited the veterinary clinic for a new check-up and skin tests, the vet confirmed that the skin infection and mange had cleared up. After three months at the shelter, Heidi visibly looked happy & healthy. She had been spayed and even recovered from it perfectly. Life on the street was not easy for this sweet dog. However, she was now making up for the lost time. She had now found a playmate, Bruno, rescued by “Howl of a Dog.” Both the dogs played all day long. Heidi soon got adopted by a loving family in Toronto, Canada.
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