Carson

I first saw Carson on Facebook in May, 2010. He had been found a stray and was at a southern California shelter for 2 weeks already. He was in horrible condition. Everyone was commenting, but no one wanted an old, half-bald dog. With the help of a few Facebook friends and some donations, we were able to adopt him and get lab work done. The lab confirmed my suspicion that he was low thyroid. He was also emaciated, anemic, had a lung infection, stuffy nose, draining leg wounds and an injured carpus (wrist) and resulting limp. Another volunteer brought him to Az.

He improved immensely on thyroid medicine, good food, supplements and he even tolerated his splint for 6 weeks. He finally could walk without constant pain. In the first 2 weeks, he gained about 6 pounds, eating four meals a day. The other dogs love him. His wrinkled skin tells us he is part shar pei. Carson acts as if he were abused and used to be difficult to treat and restrain, but he is very lovable otherwise. Over time, he has become much easier to treat as he is now trusting me much more. We also discovered he has low adrenal function and the addition of adrenal support has helped him to relax.

Carson upon arrival

Carson in the shelter

Carson is no longer lame, his skin infection has cleared up with repeated baths and anti-fungal medication, and he has gained 15 pounds. He loves to eat, chew his treats and go for walks. He had his portrait done by Sue Steiner of Save A Face Project. He acts very silly after having a bath, as you can see in the picture. He actually has a skin condition called Acanthosis nigricans. The itching and seborrhea are gone now. Carson is a great example of how almost no animal is a hopeless case. He loves every minute of his new life and brings laughter and joy to our home. Our Norwegian friend calls him a “charmtroll”. Deriving from the norwegian word “sjarmtroll”, charm troll is an expression used to describe a child with the ability to charm. We think it applies!

See him on Youtube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1bBB07rnYY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYmvW_MwCRc