OKC Pets Magazine Nov/Dec 2020

18 OKC Pets • November/December 2020 Desperate hunger won out over her concern about the human sitting at the end of her traveling feast. Once she drew near to me, I placed a small pile of food between us and let her eat with no further pressure from me. I gave her another small pile. And another. Soon she was looking to me, hoping I would replenish her roadside picnic. I offered another course but this time held it in my hand—the one with my leash casually looped over my wrist. As she stretched her thin neck forward to reach the offered food, I quickly slipped the noose of my lead from my wrist over her head. My little traveler balked in surprise, but she quickly returned to gobble the kibble that had spilled on the ground. Once I had her secured, I could finally get a good look at my new friend. The dog I initially believed to be a small mixed breed was, in fact, a tiny Australian Cattle Dog, also known as a Blue Heeler. Her thin skin and rough, filthy coat stretched over nothing but bones. She had no muscle mass, no fat. Where she should have had a firm little belly, it felt like a deflated balloon. Her condition was so extreme that I honestly couldn’t tell if she was a puppy or a small senior. I have rarely seen a dog this depleted still able to walk, let alone trot down the road. With quick roadside assistance from my partner, JimThomason, I was able to get a crate and load the now trembling dog into the back of my Jeep. I immediately put in a call to the vet as I headed toward Tulsa. This dog needed help, and she needed it right away. My friends at Hammond Animal Hospital immediately agreed to take the dog for an exam and observation. Because we had no idea if she might be ill or if she had ever had vaccinations, she needed a safe place where she could be isolated from other dogs. She settled into her quiet quarantine area with seeming relief, finally succumbing to the exhaustion that had likely plagued her for months, maybe years. The dog was covered in fleas. The effects of starvation and parasites, both internal and external, had left her extremely anemic. We honestly weren’t even sure if the dog’s system could rally from such prolonged and extreme neglect, but we had one thing working in our favor. The little cow dog’s appetite was voracious though her stomach was struggling to adjust to this sudden wealth of food. The care team at Hammond gave the dog four to five small meals a day as her system adapted to regular nutrition. They gave her a thorough bath to rid her of the torturous army of fleas. They gave her medication to rid her system of intestinal parasites. They gave Hope, when first leashed up by Nancy.