Paige, Husky Mix

 Meet Paige! This sweet girl is Paige, a five year old Husky mix.

She was adopted from Apache Junction Animal Control (AJAC) in May of this year, six months ago. Paige’s so-called new “family” just dumped her at East MCACC this week and look at her now…

The top pictures show when she left AJAC and the bottom pictures show Paige now; she’s emaciated, her fur has fallen out, she has open, ooozing wounds all over her frail body and she’s limping on her back leg.

Paige has also shut down emotionally from all of the neglect she’s endured these past months. The clinic at the shelter is providing her antibiotics for any infections she may have and we will be transporting her to Bethany Animal Hospital for a vet evaluation and treatment.

As always, we will keep everyone updated on Paige’s condition.

Medical Update, Dec. 4th: Paige’s initial labs show a high white blood cell count, obviously from all of skin infections. Paige’s Valley Fever titers were negative, but she will be treated for severe skin allergies and infections.

Paige’s Updates:

Paige has been adopted! Congrats to Paige and her perfect fur-ever family!

From  Paige’s foster mom, Feb. 11th: Paige is now ready for Mardi Gras! All her sores have healed, her fur is growing back soft and pretty and she is no longer skin and bones but has filled out beautifully. She still has some allergy episodes that seem to be environmental, but with zyrtec and TLC they are very manageable. I put coconut oil and vitamin E on her with a shirt at night so she won’t lick it all off and it is helping her itching quite a bit plus making her fur very soft. She is a happy and healthy beautiful dog now who loves life. Paige plays very gentle with her sibling sisters and loves tug of war with Mom. She is pretty strong and usually ends up winning. She will chase a ball but won’t bring it back. Guess that’s her way of saying she is a husky and not a retriever. Paige is also very polite at treat time and will sit and wait her turn. We are working on leash training. She does really well until she sees another dog then she will pull but we are learning to sit till the other dog passes now. She learns fast and loves her walks but is also always ready for a car ride. House training was never an issue and we haven’t had even one accident in the house. In fact the first night she was here, she was in the kitchen with a baby gate and she barked when she needed to go outside. I was told when she was at the shelter that she would wait until someone let her out and she never had a mess in her cage there either. Paige cracks me up every morning. She is sooo not a morning dog. She will stay in bed until the very last minute that breakfast is ready, slowly gets up to eat and then right back to bed. I think if she thought the others wouldn’t eat her breakfast, she wouldn’t get up till 9 or later. She is a laid back dog who is ready for almost anything or just lay around and cuddle. Either one works for her. For all the turmoil and change she has endured in her short life, she is a well adjusted dog and a great companion who just wants someone to care about her and someone for her to care about in return.

Update, Dec. 29th: She is doing really well! She had her first “real” bath a few days ago and was really good about it. She is playing more now and settling into the routines wonderfully. Really a love bug. If she could be a lap dog, she would be. All her sores are healing up really well so now we are waiting for her hair to grow back so she won’t be so cold. She is a husky after all.

Update, Dec. 21st: Paige visited with Dr. Miller today and got a big thumb’s up. She is healing nicely but still on antibiotics and Zyrtec. Her weight is where it should be now but she still needs more muscle in her behind to get rid of the bones sticking out, so we are going to play lots of tug of war and sit-to-stand-to-sit exercises. She was a very good girl and remembered Dr. Miller!

Update from Paige’s foster mom, Dec. 17th: Paige is so good on the leash. She can go 30 minutes now without getting worn out. She gets in the zone and stays there the whole walk while her foster sisters, Maddie and Kal, get distracted. She’s really a good girl!

Update from Paige’s foster mom, Dec. 8th: She is such a loving sweetheart, but shy and a little timid. She did so good last night and her messing with her sores is better today, I think. She did perfect on our walk and even barks when she needs to go outside! Got a kiss this morning too so that just made my day! Vet thinks if it is allergies it’s more likely environmental, but it could also be bacterial pyoderma. Whatever it is, I am dedicated to getting her healthy and happy again. We are very blessed to have her as part of our pack.