Cosby:  Hospice

Cosby is the type of rescue that just pains your heart. He was picked up as a stray in one of the swankiest areas of Austin and had to serve his time at the shelter in the sweltering heat before he could get relief and come to us. What a sad, sad picture he is and what a terrible, unloved life he has obviously led. He has open sores on all of the pressure points of his front and back legs, indicating that he has spent years sleeping on cement. One sore goes all the way to his tendon. The skin around his mouth is raw. His ears were bleeding on the inside. His eyes are weeping. Oh, and of course he is heartworm positive.

Right now he is just exhausted and grateful, and trying to soak up the first TLC he probably has ever received. He is now current on his vaccinations and has been neutered and had his teeth cleaned.

UPDATE

We found out that Cosby has an auto-immune disease, so we had to find the right antibiotics to heal his skin. He is now looking much, much better. He still has some ulcers on his eyes, and is seeing an eye specialists to treat those. His nose and mouth get quite dry and he needs to be nebulized, but we hope that will decrease as his immune system gets stronger. We have not started his heartworm treatment yet, but months of Heartgard have at least killed all of the microfilaria. X-rays show that his heart and lungs do not show any adverse affects from his heartworms. He absolutely ADORES his foster mom and follows her around like a lovesick teenager. It really is cute to watch. She is a vet tech at our clinic so he gets the very best of care around the clock - lucky boy! He is so happy when she is around and snuggles in her arms. Simple love and kindness is going a long way to help healing all of his wounds.