In Donna, Texas, even the most stoic rescuers were shocked when a dog was brought into the rural animal shelter on Tuesday heavily infested with ticks.
The dog was struggling to survive on the streets of Texas. She was so severely neglected that she was on the verge of death. She wandered onto a stranger’s yard who called Dallas Dog – Rescue.Rehab.Reform for help! She was covered head to toe in blood-sucking ticks. There were so many ticks that there were parts of her body you couldn’t even see. That includes her ears, chest, back, and paws.
She was so anemic that she could barely stand. They rushed her to the vet where she received life-saving care and a blood transfusion.
“This sweet stray wandered into a stranger’s yard who called us for HELP!” Dallas DogRRR-Rescue.Rehab.Reform in Allen, Texas, posted on their Facebook page.
”This is her luckiest day…”
Given the name Amora, the dog was rushed to the rescue’s partner veterinarian. She has been classified as critical, and the staff will work with her to stabilize her condition so that she can be flown to Dallas. Her outlook is unknown.
WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO – May not be suitable for all viewing audiences:
The good news is the next morning!
Update from the ground: “Mi Amor survived the night. They are just now rounding on the hospitalized patients. They’ll start feeding her soon. More ticks have descended. They don’t mind if I come in to check on her and help her clean up, but I’ll wait until the office is ready. They will run another CBC later this morning to determine her need for additional transfusions. I’ve asked that they let us know ASAP if she would need to be transferred to another facility for ongoing transfusions or care.” The remaining ticks was pulled off in the same day.
After few days Amora was ready for fostering. A volunteer in the Dallas Dog – Rescue.Rehab.Reform shelter decided to foster her.
Amora’s foster mom says, “When I first got her, she was terrified of everything… we literally spent over 20 minutes trying to convince her to get out of the car so she would get into mine… it didn’t work. We eventually got Amora home and I wasn’t going to introduce her to my dogs so soon, but they weren’t going to let up on finding out who she was.
I sat with her on the floor comforting her while she shook and growled at the new company. She finally decided these other creatures were okay and maybe a hour later, decided everything they did, she was going to do. My female German Shepherd, Ava, quickly became her best friend, showing her the ropes, including pottying outside (we’ve had no accidents inside!).
She still runs for the bathroom mat or the beds in the “dog room” when scared, but she’s trusting more and she wanders around the house on her own now. Car rides, harnesses, being picked up, and baths are still terrifying to her so we’re working on that. A lot of her confidence comes from having another dog or her human around. She wants to be with somebody all the time.
After one year in her foster mom, Amora finally find her forever family. Her brother and her are best friends and she goes to work with her dad every day!!