Dog Recovers from Rare Disease After Months of Treatment
When Louie, a 5-year-old Australian Cattledog mix, was first brought to Foothills Animal Shelter, he was almost hard to look at. He was severely underweight, his eyes and the top of his head were sunken in due to atrophy and there was a foul smell emanating from his mouth. Jefferson County Animal Control Officers brought Louie to the Shelter after receiving phone calls about the dog's horrible condition. Luckily, Louie's owner agreed to give him over to the Shelter so he could begin to get the care he needed.
For the first several days, Louie refused to eat or even open his mouth. The Shelter's Chief Veterinarian, Dr. Emily Hays, decided to sedate him and see if she could figure out why this might be. Dr. Hays examined his mouth and was shocked at what she saw: some teeth were missing, others were eroded down to the bone and there were severe ulcers covering his entire mouth and lips. No wonder he had no interest in eating; it was far too painful.
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