Henry - Found a Home

 

Henry was dumped in a cage outside the pound around the 24th of June 2005.

 

The three photos here on the left were taken at the vet after he was rescued by his foster carer.  She is normally down for rescue of dogs like Alaskan Malamutes etc, but when she saw Henry, she just couldn’t let him be destroyed without giving him a chance.

 

Henry was wasted away and about 20 kgs underweight.  He was suffering major hair loss and infection from chronic mange.  He had pustules on his skin, clogged up eyes, scabs on his face and inflammation between his toes.  It was guessed that he is about 2 1/2 years of age, and not microchipped.

 

Henry was washed and fed.  He began treatment, receiving antibiotics for the infections, a cream for his eyes and Advocate for the mange.  He also started on Dectomax injections about 3 weeks after coming into care. Robert McDowell surgery at Bathurst provided herbal suplements to work in conjunction with his allopathic veterinary treatment.  These were diagnosed based on Henry's condition.  He is washed with Pyohex twice a week, followed by an Ectodex rinse and then Aloveen conditioner to sooth his skin

 

Bayer kindly donated the Advocate needed for his treatment.  Dermcare donated all the washes for his skin.  And a number of cash donations have been received towards his treatment.

 

Slowly but surely he has been improving and now 3 months later, the three photos to the right clearly show the difference.  He still has a way to go, but is now about 53 kgs and has much more hair, his eyes are lovely and clear, but there is probably going to be some damage that will be irrepairable like some scar tissue on his skin and between his toes.

 

When I met Henry I was amazed at his loving, affectionate and playful nature, despite his mistreatment.  Although it is unacceptable that any dog or Dogue should ever be left in this condition, I was surprised at the apparent quality of Henry as a specimen of the breed.  He is built low, has a wide chest, and large head and thick stocky legs.  From my point of view, I suppose I found it a little more sad that someone could leave a dogue of his quality in this condition…………as if I wasn’t sad enough about his plight.

 

Henry’s problem could be that he developed a case of juvenile mange when he was a young pup or juvenile dog.  With early treatment, it often goes away and never returns, but left untreated, it can often spiral out of control.  Or he could have an immune deficiency problem meaning he will need to be monitored for the rest of his life.  Luckily for the breed, it is not a rampant problem.  Severe cases of mange like Henry are not very common today.

 

I have no doubts that he will be nurtured back to health and then be adopted by someone who can give him all the love and after care that he will need.  My deepest sympathy goes out to Henry for how he has suffered in the past, and my heartfelt admiration goes out to his carers who have done everything to make his life worth living again.  You are wonderful people and deserve to be very proud of yourselves.  (And whoever you are that allowed Henry to get to this state, you should be ashamed of yourself, but I suppose by leaving him at the pound, you did the best thing for him because now he has the life he deserves.)

 

UPDATE

The photos below show just how much he has improved and how much of a beautiful boy he is.  Henry now has a loving home, thanks to everyone who helped or wanted to adopt him.

This page is dedicated to the very thing that I hope the calendar sales will go towards helping, Dogue de Bordeaux rescue.

 

Neglected or abandoned Dogues is not common, but it does happen.  How anyone can let a dog get into such bad condition, is beyond me.

 

On this page I will feature Dogues in need of new homes.  They could be abandoned, impounded, found or returned to the breeder, and I hope to help locate good homes for them and ensure they are happy for the rest of their lives.

 

If you hear of a Dogue in need, or wish to enquire regarding adoption, please email me.

 

Email  info@bellarouge.com

Bailey - Found a Home

 

Bailey is 2 years old and only weighed 33 kgs when rescued.  He was fostered from a WA pound by Carl and Jenna at Roussegeant Bordeaux’s.

 

Except for being atleast 20 kgs underweight as you can see from the photo on the left, Bailey appeared to have no other major health problems.

 

As you can see from the photo to the right, he has improved so much since being adopted by his new family. 

 

Apparently Bailey was only ever fed one can of dog food a day, with no other foods, so he never received the proper nutrition for a growing dogue.

 

After being returned to better health, Bailey was adopted by a family and joined their other dogs, some Pugs, in living the happy life he deserves.

Bronson (now Hubert) - Found a Home

 

Bronson was a 7 month old male pup.  He was impounded by the RSPCA in QLD, suffering from mange due to neglect.  He was very underweight and had lost most of his fur due to mange.

 

Unfortunately he then contracted kennel cough, but underwent treatment and is now living at his new home with Kristen in QLD.

 

Hubert and the RSPCA thank everyone for the many offers of support and the help given by breeders and people in QLD and NSW.

 

We all hope that he enjoys his new life with Kristen and I look forward to posting updated photos of him as he grows and gets healthier.

 

*UPDATE* - Sadly Hubert lost his battle with recurring mange and hip dysplasia in September 2007.   But we know he enjoyed his last few years in the wonderful care and love of Kristen.  All our hearts go out to Kristen and Hubert.

Elderly Male Dogue in Hawkesbury Pound - Found A Home

 

This male was found as a stray but seems to have been loved and cared for.  He is microchipped but the details on record were not current so his owners were not located.  By his microchip they know he is 8 years old, and his white facial hair probably confirms that.

 

I visited him and he seemed like a very sweet man.  He was friendly, even when I was on the ground at eye level with him.  For his age, he is in good condition, a little lean, which is probably not a bad thing for a dogue of his age, but he still has reasonable muscle tone.  His coat is in good condition with very few calouses on his elbows or ground pressure points.

 

He is very undershot, you can hardly see his top front teeth when you open his mouth, although when his mouth is closed, he does not have any protruding teeth.

 

He eyes were a bit weepy but I saw no signs of redness or irritation.

 

He was available for release from the Hawkesbury Pound on the 4th of May and was fostered immediately.  He has since gone to a lovely permanent home in Penrith and his release fee has been reimbursed to his foster carer by the Dogue Rescue Fund.  I would like to thank Brenda who fostered him and look forward to hearing from Joel with updates and photos on his new life.

Jake - Found a Home

 

Jake is approx 2 years old and rescued from a dogs home in Victoria by Deauxrogue kennels, and I thank Michael and Donna for taking him  into their home.

 

Except for being underweight, and possibly not the best example of the breed….ha ha ha….he appears fairly healthy so far.  He has a nice coat, good skin and no obvious health issues at this stage.

 

He has a beautiful nature, is settling in nicely and is very sweet and smoochie.

 

As he gains weight and we learn more about his temperament and health, additional details will be posted here.

 

Jake recovered well, put on weight, remained a loving boy and has now been homed.

Bella - Found a Home

 

Bella is 3 years and 7 months old and surrendered to the RSPCA and is currently in the Blue Mountains shelter.

 

She is desexed, wormed, heartwormed etc.  She appears healthy, has a good coat and so far no outward signs of any issues.

 

Bella is a lovely friendly girl and ready to go to a forever home.

 

A member of the Dogue Forum went and saw her on the weekend and adopted her on the spot.  A wonderful end to her story.

Boston - Very sad ending to a sad life

 

Boston died within 3 hours of getting him out of the pound and to a vet.

Some of us first saw Boston just after he arrived at the pound.  He was neglected, skinny, had severe mange, and two huge partly healed “gashes” across the front of his chest and lower throat.  Straight away we organised foster care and arranged to get Boston out soon after his mandatory stay of 7 days in the pound.

But when I saw Boston the day before his release, I was saddened in his condition. He was very lethargic and did not look well. We were told that he had a touch of kennel cough, but that was all.

When Cindy collected him, she straight away knew there was something major wrong too. He could hardly walk and was wobbly.

She rushed him off to the vet, who straight away said he was very sick. By the time they took his blood sugar levels, which were critical, he suffered a seizure. He was treated with antibiotics but before much else could be done, he suffered a massive haemmorage. The vet said he was the sickest dog he had ever seen come into his vet and actually guessed his age as much older dogue than we though, maybe even an adult due to teeth and tartar buildup. Boston was small and appeared so young.

There were so many thoughts going through our minds at that moment. How could someone let an animal get into this state in the first place. That he was happy and looking well enough when we all saw him a week ago, and suddenly he was sick on Friday, then died on Saturday. I wish I had checked on him earlier and demanded a vet check. How could he have gone downhill seemingly unnoticed? The poor little man had a chance with us.

I am so sorry for Cindy and Elwyn who had to bear the heartbreak of seeing his last sad moments. But commend them for their love of animals to want to take Boston into their home.   It was also very hard for me, Jo and Cindy as we got to meet him. I wish we had have got to him sooner.

Be peacful little man, you are in a better place now.   And whoever did this to him the first place should be ashamed and disgusted in themselves for letting a helpless dog get into this state !!