After we got a late afternoon call alerting us to a dog left in a crate in a ditch, we knew we had to act quickly.

We rushed to the location and found a dog with severe skin issues trapped in a crate on a rural road. This road is already normally a low traffic road, but because of the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order, traffic hardly ever passes — leaving the dog little hope of being rescued and zero chance of surviving without help.

Fortunately, we got to her in time and immediately brought her to our Hope Animal Sanctuary, where we gave her a full evaluation. The little dog’s skin was extremely red and inflamed, likely with sarcoptic mange. This is a highly contagious skin disease caused by mites burrowing into the skin, causing intense itching and inflammation.

Despite the pain she must have been in, she was lovely and sweet. So we decided to name her Lovey!

We gave Lovey a medicated bath to help alleviate the itching and medication to begin killing the mites. Poor Lovey has had this condition for quite a while. It’s hard to even imagine how much she must have suffered with her skin burning and itching constantly. All she could do was scratch, but her skin was so sore and tender that when she did, it caused her skin to tear and bleed, adding to her discomfort. That was Lovey’s life all day every day with no relief in sight.

Even though Lovey was sick and miserable with sores covering her body, she was such a pleasure to be around, and so grateful for help. Our hearts were broken for this sweet girl who had been so neglected and ultimately dumped by her uncaring family.

Now, however, she’s getting the care she deserves, and we’re thrilled to watch her blossom and play. Lovey is still currently on daily antibiotics for the bacterial infection caused by the mites and scratching. We will also continue giving her a bath every three days with a medicated shampoo for the duration of the treatment, which we expect to take 4-5 weeks.

We can’t wait for Lovey to show you how healthy and beautiful she’s getting every day, so we will be sharing her journey as she progresses. We expect her to be ready to find her forever home very soon.

While Lovey, who we believe is only about 1 year old, is just starting an entirely new life filled with love and kindness, there are so many like her who need our help. Easily 90% of all adult dogs we take in at Hope Animal Sanctuary have heartworm disease. Each of these dogs must receive lifesaving treatment which is very expensive. But when treatment is complete, the dog is heartworm free and healthy.

We hope to keep providing Lovey and each animal we can with everything they need to be happy and healthy, but we can’t do it without your help. Please support the animals we rescue at Hope Animal Sanctuary by making a lifesaving donation.