Ingrid - Almost Two Years Later

We love hearing about our foster alumni. Tonight Emily, the person who adopted Ingrid, one of our foster pups, sent us a picture that really made my day. The picture on the left above shows Ingrid when we got her in April 2010. The photo on the right shows her a couple of days ago. She looks fantastic!

You can read Ingrid’s story by searching this blog, but here’s how it started:

The day before we were to leave on vacation last week I was talking with CCHS Shelter Manager Michelle McKnight about some last-minute details. Our original intention was to take a few weeks off fostering after our vacation to allow some time for work to be done on the house. But before I could tell Michelle about our plans she threw me off when she casually said, “Oh, by the way, I have your next foster dog already here. A puppy that’s been pretty badly injured. She needs medical attention, but will be ready when you get back.” What could I say to that?

Ingrid was relinquished to the Champaign County Humane Society by her “owner.” I use that term loosely. He’s what’s called a “dog flipper,” a person who scours newspaper and craigslist classifieds looking for ads from people who want to get rid of their dogs. Like a person who buys a fixer-upper house or run down car, a dog flipper will get the dog for free or low price and then turn around and sell it on craigslist for a profit. In the mean time, the dogs live in squalid conditions with no care.

As I understand it, our county Animal Control (AC) department as well as CCHS had been watching this guy’s activities on craigslist. They finally found out where he was located and went to pay him a visit. What they found sounded pretty horrible -- eight dogs were living in a tiny, filthy apartment. All intact. Five-week old Ingrid, who weighed all of 4 pounds, had been mauled by a nasty Pomeranian, supposedly in a fight over food. Both of her eyes were swollen shut and a golf ball size abscess was over her right eye. The flipper’s story was that Ingrid had been injured 2 or 3 days before CCHS and AC showed up, but he hadn’t done anything for her wounds. His story changed a few times, though, so who knows for how long she had been injured. He relinquished her to Michelle along with three other dogs.

Though damaged, Ingrid was able to keep her eye and was adopted by a great family who could see past her wounds. It’s great to see how Ingrid turned out. Thank you to Emily and her family for giving Ingrid a chance.

Ingrid Update

Ingrid had an eye exam yesterday. We were all very surprised and happy to hear that there appears to be some reaction to light in her left eye. That was very exciting news for Ingrid, but we have to be careful not to get overly optimistic.

On Monday she will see an ophthalmologist at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. The professionals are still trying to determine the best course of action and we’re hoping Monday’s exam will let them make some decisions about whether or not surgery is necessary so Ingrid can move on with her life.

Ingrid Update

Ingrid likes sticks and helping Erin with the mopping.

Ingrid Update

Ingrid continues to do well. She’s a very friendly, playful pup who likes sticks and tennis balls.

In my first post about Ingrid I mentioned that her first foster mom, Gigi, worked at a veterinary clinic. But I didn’t tell the whole story about how Ingrid’s injuries were treated, and I’d like to do that now because it illustrates how some of the private vets in town step up to help with extraordinary cases like Ingrid. These situations happen more than you might think and mostly go unpublicized.

Gigi works at Caring Hands Animal Hospital on Philo Road in Urbana, which, by the way, is where Harriett and I take our Base Pack dogs and cats.  The vets at Caring Hands, Drs. Curt Thurman and Rebecca Buraglio, as well as their techs, have helped with animals from CCHS on a number of occasions, one notable example were the Redbone Coonhounds.

When Ingrid was relinquished to the shelter both eyes were swollen shut, she had a golf ball sized abscess over her right eye, and her left eye was badly damaged. Ingrid required immediate attention and Gigi volunteered to take care of her for CCHS while we were away. Gigi took Ingrid to work with her so she could apply the necessary treatments. But while Ingrid was at the clinic with Gigi, Dr. Thurman took it upon himself to treat her abscess, do fecal tests for worms, run urinalyses to test for infections, treat the worms, and assess the damage to her eye. Without the help of Gigi, Dr. Thurman and his techs, Ingrid would not be in the stable, pain free state she’s in today.

We’re very grateful for the help provided by everyone at Caring Hands. Because of their compassion and care Ingrid is acting like a normal 8 week old pup.

We have an appointment at CCHS on Wednesday afternoon to assess the damage to Ingrid’s eye.

Here’s a video I shot while trying to take Ingrid’s picture for this post. She’s a nice little pup and will be available for adoption from the Champaign County Humane Society. Contact the adoption staff or Michelle at CCHS for more information.

Ingrid

The day before we were to leave on vacation last week I was talking with CCHS Shelter Manager Michelle McKnight about some last-minute details. Our original intention was to take a few weeks off fostering after our vacation to allow some time for work to be done on the house. But before I could tell Michelle about our plans she threw me off when she casually said, “Oh, by the way, I have your next foster dog already here. A puppy that’s been pretty badly injured. She needs medical attention, but will be ready when you get back.” What could I say to that?

Ingrid was relinquished to the Champaign County Humane Society by her “owner.” I use that term loosely. He’s what’s called a “dog flipper,” a person who scours newspaper and craigslist classifieds looking for ads from people who want to get rid of their dogs. Like a person who buys a fixer-upper house or run down car, a dog flipper will get the dog for free or low price and then turn around and sell it on craigslist for a profit. In the mean time, the dogs live in squalid conditions with no care.

Dog flippers are popping up all over the place. Some claim to be rescues, rescue transporters, or other humane workers so they can get the dogs free. Here a story about another flipper in Michigan.

As I understand it, our county Animal Control (AC) department as well as CCHS had been watching this guy’s activities on craigslist. They finally found out where he was located and went to pay him a visit. What they found sounded pretty horrible -- eight dogs were living in a tiny, filthy apartment. All intact. Five-week old Ingrid, who weighed all of 4 pounds, had been mauled by a nasty Pomeranian, supposedly in a fight over food. Both of her eyes were swollen shut and a golf ball size abscess was over her right eye. The flipper’s story was that Ingrid had been injured 2 or 3 days before CCHS and AC showed up, but he hadn’t done anything for her wounds. His story changed a few times, though, so who knows for how long she had been injured. He relinquished her to Michelle along with three other dogs.

The day after we got back from vacation we got a call from Ingrid’s foster mom who told Harriett Ingrid was ready for us. She been taking Ingrid to work so she could apply hot packs to her face a few times each day and generally keep an eye on her. A local vet had successfully treated the abscess, but the prognosis for Ingrid’s left eye is grim. There will be a checkup next week to decide what to do, but it’s looking like Ingrid’s going to lose her left eye because it is too badly damaged.

Ingrid is a delightful little puppy. She’s friendly and very playful. Gertie’s back with us and has reverted to “mommy mode.” She alternates between trying to take care of Ingrid and playing with her. Sidney and Ingrid have had a few nice plays as well. Ingrid’s crate trained and her housebreaking is progressing nicely.

We’ll have Ingrid until the issue of her left eye is resolved. We’ll know for sure next week, but for now the assumption is that she will need surgery to remove her eye. Once that’s out of the way Ingrid will be available for adoption through the Champaign County Humane Society. Inquiries about Ingrid should be directed to either the adoption staff or Michelle at CCHS.