He is a giant breed, likely a mix of Anatolian Shepherd and maybe a coonhound. He could be 7 years or older. He is Heartworm positive and not neutered - and not a candidate for surgery in his current condition.
In his prime, I think he should have weighed close to 125 lbs. I doubt he weighed 60 lbs that first day. I could easily lift and carry him.
He was so weak he could barely walk and could not stand to eat or drink. He was covered in open, weeping yeast infected sores that smelled so bad it was nauseating. He had significant hair loss from the tip of his tail to the middle of his back. His entire skin coat was covered in little scabs under the greasy fur.
His desperation for water kept all his focus and attention. Those first 3 days, he rarely lifted his head to even acknowledge me. He leaked urine like a sieve and required constant bedding changes and cleanup. We quickly developed a routine:
- Make our way outside to potty.
- Change bedding, lay newspapers, pour water and get food ready.
- Bring him in, lead him to his area, wipe him down and let him eat and drink.
- Every two hours, even through the night.
Amazingly, with nothing more than regular food and water, he began to improve. Significantly improve. He could locomote better, he began to make eye contact with me and he no longer required assistance getting in or out of his area or the back door. He could stand to eat and stand to drink and the urine leaking lessened.
Pretty soon he was keeping his area dry and barking when he saw me. His skin began to clear up and was no longer a weeping, crusting mess. It still took a week for the stink to die down, but clearly he was improving overall.
He started antibiotics for the secondary skin infection, but otherwise, the only thing that turned this boy around was appropriate food, water and care
He has a few angels that have made it their priority to help him - with monetary donations for food and care and with gifts of a giant, therapeutic, memory foam dog bed and a bed warming pad. Other wonderful volunteer helpers have come over to help bathe and clean him up and to let him out during the day. He has champions, and he really needed them.
Today, two weeks from the day he arrived here, Baggy Buddy is doing fabulous. He barks when he wants to go out to potty or if he thinks it's feeding time. He pretty much does what dogs do - loves his people, hogs the best bed and eats like it's going out of style :-)