 Second Chance Pet Adoption received a phone call from a sheriff in northern Missouri regarding six lab puppies that were dumped out in the country.
The puppies were only six weeks old and the sheriff had no avenues of adoption and needed our help. He was keeping them in his barn which wasn’t safe due to coyotes and bobcats in the area. He mentioned that the puppies may have ringworm which is a fungal infection and causes hair loss. We agreed to take the puppies and keep them in a foster home where the ringworm could be treated. When we pulled up to meet the sheriff we were not prepared for what we were about to see. The puppies didn’t have ringworm but rather had gaping, open sores and large areas of missing fur in various parts on their bodies. Some had sores on their backs and bellies but the worst had them on their faces and around their eyes. This was something that we had never seen before and ended up being something the vet had never seen before either. We had a vet examine each puppy and were given medications and instructions to treat the puppies. We knew this was going to be a long road to recovery.
A very dedicated volunteer spent most of her time applying damp washcloths on their sores several times a day, applied medicated cream, and antibiotic ointment. It took approximately one month for a few of the puppies’ sores to show improvement while the others with the sores on their faces took closer to two months. The entire litter had the potential to be beautiful puppies and we knew that one day we would prove ourselves right. It took several months for the fur to grow back on most of the puppies but they all ended up looking like beautiful purebred labs- there were three black, two yellow, and one chocolate.
Lucky (the black lab pictured above) moved to Nebraska to live with his new family. He had some sores on his face but he now has a beautiful black shiny coat. He is such a handsome boy! His new family wrote, “Lucky is a great dog and we are lucky to have him. Lucky is now 11 months old and is living a healthy, happy life. He loves people and loves to be at your side. He also loves walks and looking for sticks. He enjoys chewing on toys, he has had so many toys we have lost count! Actually Lucky is the happiest when he can retrieve two toys at a time- he always finds a way to fit both in his mouth! A favorite game of his is playing tug of war with his blanket; it usually ends up with him pulling our 11 year old son across the floor on the blanket. Also, Lucky won’t let you get dressed in the morning until he has played with your socks – soggy socks in the morning – a small price to pay for a loving pet! Needless to say, bringing Lucky home was truly our Lucky day!”
Cooper (the chocolate lab pictured -right) lives with two other labs at his new home. His new family now has a chocolate,  black and a yellow lab! He was the largest in the litter and had most of his lesions on his back and belly. His fur is all grown in and he is looking great. We recently received an update from his family. They wrote “Cooper is doing well and is getting bigger everyday! He weighs over 70 lbs and is still growing. He is very playful and is always wagging his tail.” We have received several updates from Cooper’s family and look forward to many more in the future.
Lucky and Cooper are only two of the six puppies that found wonderful homes. We hear from all of the families and are so happy with all of the updates and pictures that we receive. We cannot thank the dedicated volunteers and new families enough for giving these puppies a second chance at life.
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