Rescuer Finds Puppy In The Jaws Of Death Down Her Street

It is hard to believe that there was a puppy hidden under the hairless, sick and starving. Stephanie Smith-Justus was found by chance there.

However, one thing was clear to her the moment she saw the puppy – he was dying. As fate would have it, Stephanie is president of the Buchanan County Humane Society.

In a further stroke of luck, the vet she regularly works with lives on the same street. Stephanie also posted on her Facebook account Watkins’ rescue, and his story pulled on the heart-strings.

“On May 7, 2015 Watkins was found. Before this date, we know nothing about him. He was found by my neighbor who alerted me to a dog who was in terrible shape,” said she.

My husband and I went to search for him. As soon as we found him we realized he had been abandoned and severely neglected. My husband’s first words were:”He is not going to make it.”

They had looked for the puppy for at least an hour when we finally located him. He had crawled into a weedy ditch in an isolated area. We think he had found a hidden place to lay down and die.

Of course we were determined to not let that happen. Fortunately, Dr. Rasnake, our local vet, lives on the same street where we found him. Immediately rushed him to her. They didn’t waste time and immediately went to her clinic, Appalachian Animal Health Clinic.

The vet worked quickly to find an IV site. Dog was only 4 months old. Unfortunately his skin was oozing from every pore. He winced in pain when we touched him. He had cried so hard for so long that he had no more a voice left to cry.

“Dr. Rasnake diagnosed him with Demodex, a type of mange he had caught from his mother. He was severely malnourished and dehydrated,” said she.

Present were infection in his eyes, his kidneys, his ears besides a bacterial infection on his skin. The next few days thry saw him loose every hair on his body. He continued to lose fluids and weight for over 50 days.

After a while, he quit eating. When surgery ended, needed to know his bowels still worked so we prayed for poop. Three days later it came. Then he quit eating again. They spoke with a specialist, a nutritionist and an orthopedic vet.

They kept him 6 days and then sent him home for Dr. Rasnake to continue to treat him. Gradually, he started to gain weight. He had weighed 32 lbs when we found him and he was down to 17. It was a scary time. Really he fought hard to stay alive and thousands were praying for him.

Finally started eating and he pulled his feeding tube out. This required yet another surgery to remove the “balloon” that remained in his stomach. His recovery was much easier than the previous ones and we were relieved.

“We brought him home after 60+ days in ICU. He still requires weekly vet care. Dog has been house-trained and learned many new things.He has learned to share and to play with others,” said them.

Happily has leveled out at 38 lbs and eats well. His skin is a constant battle but he responds well to the weekly treatments. Actually gets excited when we tell him he’s going to the “doctor”. When we take him to the clinic, he is always happy to see the staff and Dr. Rasnake.

“Watkins was named after we found him.It is also where his vet lives as mentioned before. And the person who saw him first that day. It is the place where his journey started and where he has finally found joy,” said Stephanie.

Watkins progress is nothing short of remarkable! His weight is still very good and he lives every moment at its fullest,especially while playing outside.