Love & Time Equal Life

London came to the Douglas county animal shelter a battered and afraid little dog early last summer. She suffered from Demodex mange on her face and upper torso and she was terrified of her surroundings. Demodex is an easily treated non contagious parasitic immune disorder, but most dogs and puppies afflicted with it are labeled as 'unadoptable' and destroyed within days after their arrival at most government run animal shelters. 

Dogs afflicted with Demodex are passed by and looked over by visitors to most shelters, so unless they are given the time and treatment they need to heal and thrive, they are rarely adopted and frequently destroyed. They appear sick and undesirable to most people and thus many thousands are destroyed each year for no other reason than no one is willing to give them a chance or the medications they need to heal.

Little London got her second chance at life about three months ago. A wonderful local Lady saw this sweetheart featured on Rainbow Connections on facebook and came to the shelter to see her. It was love at first sight and London was adopted into a wonderful family that day..

It has been three months now and we recently received an update on little London and the change in this sweet little soul is wonderous. The sad little dog with the folded down ears and the face that no one seemed capable of loving, now has a wonderful home, a wonderful life and a beautiful face. Her ears are perked and her eyes are full of joy and wonder.

London received the time she needed to be loved at our shelter last year and as a result, a loving person adopted her and obtained the simple treatment needed to clear up her Demodex and reveal her inner beauty. The attached photo is a before and after composite of the difference that time and love can make in the life of little lost dogs like London.

Her name is now Gracie and the photo gives voice to a little lost dog better than any words I can muster.

Her smile today says: "Look at me now world! I have a home and I am loved! and "I am beautiful!" "Thank you for giving me a chance!"

Thank you to Gracie's new family for sharing their love and her progress with us.

There are many other dogs and cats like Gracie that are available for adoption at the shelter weekly. 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.

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.