Dance with me, Fred!

Fred is one of the Mazie's Mission "flagship" dogs.  In 2010, Dr. Shults got a call from Collin County Animal Services (CCAS) about two Brittany Spaniels (as far as they could tell) who were in bad shape.  Bad doesn't even begin to describe the condition these two souls were in. 

Fred, the day Dr. Shults pulled him from the shelter

The male was much worse than the female.  He had such severe mange and secondary skin infection that his face was one bloody scab and he was covered in his own excrement.  He was too weak to stand.  All he could do was lay there and shiver.

Dr. Shults promised him she would make him better

I was at the shelter that day to take photos for a Mazie's Mission holiday video.  When I bent down to take this picture and saw his face up close, I burst into tears.  I had never seen an animal suffering this badly.  I couldn't understand how some human(s) somewhere had let him get to this point.  Where did he come from?  How long did it take for him to get this sick?  We will never know.

Erin took them home with her to begin their treatment.  For the first few days, the male could not stand or walk to relieve himself, so Erin had to pick him up and carry him outside.  She started him on several medications, hydrotherapy, medicated baths, quality food and most importantly, affection.  She named the pair Fred and Ginger.  None of us thought that he would ever have fur on his face again.  It was so scarred and swollen.

Slowly, his skin started to heal and he began to put on much needed weight.

As the pain went away, his charming and goofy personality began to come out.

He even started growing fur on his head!  After months of intensive treatment, Fred was finally well enough to start attending adoption events.  All of the volunteers just loved him, and we knew his forever family was out there somewhere.  It was a full year from the day that Dr. Shults rescued him to the time that he was adopted.

Now, he has a family that treats him like a king!  He loves to chase tennis balls and nap with his humans.  You would never, ever be able to look at this dog and know what illness and pain he had gone through.  Even though people let him down, he was able to trust and love unconditionally, a quality that dogs have mastered better than any other species.

I call him a "flagship" dog not only because he was one of Mazie's Mission's first rescues, but also because he illustrates perfectly the reason why we choose to help animals that might make others look away.  His transformation is nothing short of awe-inspiring.  Seeing him so happy inspires us in rescue to keep going, even though the cards are stacked against us.  A happy ending like this makes the struggle and heartache worth it, so we continue to encourage people to adopt their pets instead of buy them. 

As a bonus for Fred, his family recently adopted a companion for him from Mazie's Mission.  Hers is a story that will be told as well--she and Fred share a similar background.  Her name is Pearl, and she and Fred couldn't be happier.

We always need volunteers.  You have probably heard it many, many times, but FOSTERING saves lives!  If you would like to have more information on how you can help, please visit our website at www.maziesmission.org  If you have adopted from us and have updated photos, we would love to share them here!  You can email them to jaime@maziesmission.org

Thank you for reading!

hugs and puppy kisses,

----the Mazie's Mission family <3