When I read this opinion article this morning in the Gulfport Patch by Shelly Maslak, I couldn’t help but think about all the deaf and blind dogs out there who get put down because of their disabilities. If a dog is white, with pink skin and blue eyes, the shelter will usually determine if the dog is deaf , visually impaired or not. In many cases if the dog is found to have a disability, the dog or puppy will be put into the “E” kennel block section of the shelter. The pup  basically becomes a “dead dog walking” just because of the way the canine looks and because it may have a minor disability.

Thanks Shelly Maslak for bringing this urgent situation to the attention of your readers. I hope you don’t mind us spreading your words with our rescue community. According to my deaf dog Nitro, you totally ROCK! ~ Christina Lee – Deaf Dogs Rock

 

From the Gulfport Patch.com – RESCUE ME By: Shelly Maslak   –   A Dog Shouldn’t Be Put Down Because of Its Looks

This sweet young dog was deemed unworthy of veterinary treatment, for nothing more than her appearance.

When this little girl went to Animal Control, she was not even given a chance. No one took a picture of her, fed her, removed her fleas or helped with her pain. She had no name, and her cage was labeled “E.” That means euthanasia.

Luckily for this girl and another, someone who volunteered in this facility felt she was worth it. The volunteer says her cage care had been turned around, and she knew that if this dog was going to get out it was going to have to be right then.

She had to go back to work, but first she spoke with the person working there. The person working immediately got this little girl straight to the vet.

Photo credit: Shelly Maslak

The vet said she had Demodex Mange, a yeast infection and was heartworm negative (a huge plus). She was about 10 months old. What a life at 10 months! Fortunately, Demodex Mange is curable, and so is yeast. The one thing that is not curable is putting her to sleep.

This pup is one of the sweetest, most lovable girls you can imagine, but she had not been given a chance before she was scheduled for euthanasia. The only hope she had was for her original owner, who allowed the skin condition to happen, to come pick her up. Because her information wasn’t sent out to any rescue groups to possibly help her, no one knew that she even existed.

She is lucky that one lady walked through and saw her, and the other took action to save her life. They only had 1½ hours to do it. Talk about fast workers. This one was saved, but there are many who have not been.

Read the full article by Shelly Maslak by clicking here.