**** Sweetie update ****

Photos and first post HERE. Thank you, every one of you, for all your helpful information and suggestions. It helps immeasurably to know that you are out there caring what happens to this dog.

I know if I were a really good blogger I would have updated photos for you, but I just don't have the heart.

Here's the new information.

She absolutely does have fleas. I didn't see any flea dirt, or fleas when I first brought her home, so I assumed... wrong. I gave her a bath, in some soothing herbal flea repellent shampoo, and then in an oatmeal shampoo. The mats on her feet and legs are flea colonies. I H.A.T.E. fleas. I picked about twenty-five off her. (She is about five pounds and is neither over or underweight.) And then I couldn't stand it anymore and sprayed her with some Adams. (I had the Adams from a long ago field trial where the seed ticks were so bad they were on our dogs by the hundreds. I hate ticks too.)

The good news in the flea infestation, is, as Wally pointed out, she may have a flea dermatitis which would be better (in my mind, anyway) than sarcoptic mange. (I hate sarcoptic mange - same bug as Scabies - MOST OF ALL ... hang on I'll be right back I need to take another shower.)

I was able to cut off some of the mats, but not many. They are so bad that they are pulling her face contorted and it hurts her. I am afraid of poking her with the scissors or cutting her, and until we see the vet, and I have some help holding her, I just can't do it.

She still wags her swollen, scabby tail at me, even after I tried cutting off the mats.


She has a cough. It's a raspy, wheezy tracheitis sounding cough. I HOPE it's an irritated trachea from being outside and panting panting panting. I hope it's NOT kennel cough or heartworm. I really hope it's NOT those things. She is in Bill's studio until we find out if she is contageous.

Her nails are disgusting. She has a nail on a front foot and a back foot which curl all the way around, under the foot and come back up, beyond 360 degrees, more like about 410 degrees. She has to walk on them.

She comes when you call her.

Hug your hounds. I'm going to take another shower. I can't get the stink of human disgrace off me.