Sharon Stone, IDA’s Operations Manager at Hope Animal Sanctuary in Grenada, Mississippi, received a message through social media reporting a “tiny” yorkie who had been found on a close by farm property all alone, covered in fleas and with his hair matted with cockleburs.

The caring woman who found this small dog had bathed him and searched for his guardians with no success. She now asked that we take him since her large dogs did not care for him and she was afraid he might get injured.

When Sharon met and examined the little dog, she found that he was a senior, at least 10 years old, and that his poor teeth were in horrendous condition and his nails were overgrown. We named him Kent and the first thing the next morning, he was taken to our veterinarian. Kent weighed only five pounds, and he had an enlarged heart which may have been caused by the severe infection in his mouth or could have been due to his age. He is also heartworm positive.

This poor dog had been on his own for some time, and his feces told us he had been eating gravel and chicken feathers. Now he is safely housed at our Hope Animal Sanctuary where he is being given antibiotics for the infection in his mouth. Ideally he will be able to have a dental cleaning in a few weeks. We would love to find a home for Kent locally where he can live his remaining years in comfort and where he will never be alone or hungry again.