Monte

Monte was in dreadful shape when ODH was asked by the shelter to take him.  His foster mom picked him up from the shelter herself and vowed to love him and do whatever Judith and the vet suggested to hopefully bring him back to better health.  On the drive home, the window had to be opened because the smell was so bad. His foster mom said that she  will always remember that day when her husband came in the door from work and asked “what is that smell??”  She has to reply “Uh honey, thats our new dog.”

Monte was covered in yellow, nasty yeasty scabs, almost no hair, green pus in both his ear canals, goopy infected eyes, luxating patellas, bent elbows, swollen snout from all the infection in his mouth, black teeth and was very emaciated (5.2lbs). We were not sure he was gong to make it.

He had 5 vet appointments in the first month with the best vet ever. Monte had a bag full of meds and shampoos and lots of instructions. Fortunately he was a good eater and his foster mom fed him 4 small meals a day. He started gaining weight right away and thankfully took all his meds and was  a dream to give eye drops to. (There was a set back when Monte decided to eat his own poo; he got really sick but thankfully responded quickly to the medications.)

Monte had less vet visits the second month and  his ears finally  cleared up. His hair started to grow a little peach fuzz and his legs were better since some muscles were building up. His eye ulcers, however,  were not getting any better.

After about 13 weeks Monte is hardly recognizable from his intake pics. He is 7.4 lbs (at his goal weight), ears are cleared up, he’s walking and running with no obvious pain, hair everywhere except neck and chest (maybe a chihuahua thing). The only problem left is his eye ulcer, He is going to eye specialist soon. He was cleared for his dental and that will happen soon as well.  He will likely lose  all his remaining teeth.

He is such a joy to his foster family, and they are grateful he has come to live with them.  He is now starting to play and will chase his foster mom around outside.

Monte is the perfect example of a dog’s forgiving nature; he had a horrible thing happen to him but he is still wanting love and gives love back to his people. We hope to have him around for years but if its only months, his family will never forget this funny little man. Thank you to Old Dog haven for all the help and advice to get him healthy.

Update:  After a wonderful time with his Final Refuge family, Monte’s health finally failed him and it was time to let him go.  He was a precious boy and will be remembered forever.

His foster mom says:  “I miss my ”little man” more than words can express. He was such a beautiful, funny, quirky pup. I will think of Monte Bones with a big smile. Thank you Old dog haven for the honor of being his forever human.”