Bosco.......Look at Me Now!

Little Bosco came to the shelter last year like many other discarded dogs. He was picked up as a stray, but in reality he had been tossed out, cast aside and abandoned by someone who did not care about his fate after that. They just wanted to get rid of him.

Bosco was just a puppy, barely weened but in terrible shape from all appearances. Little Bosco suffered from Demodex mange. The non contagious auto immune disorder that is easily treated by those who recognize what it is and know how to treat it.

Tracy Thompson, the former shelter supervisor knew what it was and she immediately began a treatment regime for little Bosco while others began marketing the little lost soul and trying to find him a home. Several weeks passed and while his condition improved considerably, little Bosco was not very pretty to look at, even once he began responding to the treatment.

As his condition improved, he graduated finally from the isolation treatment room to the main kennel, where he sat looking like a lost child trying on an adults over sized shoes. The kennel was obviously a large and terrifying place and combined with all the sounds of barking of the other dogs, little Bosco would simply sit and cower in his new environment.

Thankfully one of the volunteers was able to capture some wonderful photos of little Bosco and get him out onto social media sites and advocate pages and as a result, someone saw him and fell in love with him. They soon came to the shelter to see this cute little pup that had grabbed their heart. When they finally saw him, they recalled later that all they could think of at the time was that he looked like a pitiful little 'hairless mole.'

First impressions are important, especially when the subject matter is being viewed with the heart and not just the eyes. Bosco's soon to be new mom looked immediatley past the pink Demodex infection and saw the heart of a little lost pup who needed to be loved that day and she adopted him. Little Bosco found his forever home that day in the eyes of a loving heart. The small pink all but hairless puppy found the warm and caring heart and the welcoming forever home that he so desperately needed.

That was a year ago and Bosco has blossomed into a beautiful, loyal and loving little dog. His Demodex was quickly cured and his real persona soon replaced that pitiful little pink mole that he had been for most of his life as a puppy.

Bosco's story is not unlike dozens of others of the past year that have occurred at our animal shelter. Each instance a victory and a testiment to dedicated people working together for a common goal. Citizens and employees alike pursuing the mutual desire to see little dogs like Bosco given a chance at life and love.

Bosco's new mom changed his name to Gordon, but that wasn't all that was changed that day last February. Bosco's mom was also changed. Having seen the condition of her newly adopted pup and having seen the obvious needs of the many others, Bosco's new mom became an active volunteer on the spot that day.

She has been at the shelter every week since that day, walking and socializing the unwanted and stray dogs of Douglas county. She has also become an amateur photographer and began her own socail networking page to get the message out about the needs of the animals in our shelter.She has also invested her own money to sponsor other dogs for treatment and spay neutering, in order to give them a chance. And she has come out of her pocket on the spot to help others pay adoption fees when she saw the good in a person's heart.

Sometimes it's not just the people rescuing the animals, sometimes it is the animals rescuing the people. Such was the case with Bosco's mom. She too was rescued that day and I for one appreciate what she has done and all that she has contributed over the past year. It is people like Karen Milde who have been willing to step forward when others didn't. Willing to give of her time and money to try and meet a need that most in our community never knew existed.

Thankfully, through the efforts of Karen and others over the past year, those needs have been both exposed and addressed by her and others like her. Right now, the mission is continuing. All involved in the active core group of volunteers of the past year are continuing their efforts to save and help animals at our shelter. That mission has not changed and the dedication of those involved will not change or be deterred.

Come join us and become part of something good in your community.

Karen's advocacy page is Douglasville Pawlunteers

There are many other dogs and cats like Bosco that are available for adoption at the shelter weekly and they need our help. Please take the time to visit the Douglas County Animal Shelter located at 1755 County Services Road (off Cedar Mountain Road) this week.

Or you can visit the Douglas county shelter pets in depth and with personal commentaries on individual animals by those who know them best. Their photos are posted and profiled daily on volunteer pages at: Rainbow Connections on Facebook  Or our sister page at: Furbabies of DCAS on Facebook. Or the other advocate pages like Douglasville Pawlunteers or Animal Advocate Georgia or Douglas County Animal Friends.

Douglas County Animal Control also maintains PetFinder listings on their website.

Pet listings on the volunteer pages are updated daily; therefore, some animals featured may be adopted prior to your visiting the shelter. Finding forever homes for these pets is the goal of those involved in the volunteer efforts of the past year. So please consider giving another of these  loving pets a home if the one you first saw on one of our pages has already been adopted when you come to the shelter. Come see these sweet dogs and cats and allow them to show you just how special they each can be once they are given a chance to be loved and to have a loving home.

Adoption fees for dogs and cats at the shelter are $25 and there is a $10 micro chip fee. That means for $35 you have the opportunity to make a friend for life and the opportunity to give a homeless fur kid a forever home.

All dogs presently receive intake inoculations for kennel cough, parvo and distemper (cats receive distemper as part of a five way vaccination). All pets adopted from the shelter are required to have their rabies shots and be spayed or neutered within thirty days of adoption, unless they are kittens or puppies, Kittens and puppies are given extended time. The Douglas County Animal Shelter phone is: 770-942-5961. If the line is busy, please keep trying as there is often limited staff to answer calls. However, messages left will be returned as time permits.