Nova arrived at the shelter bald and bleeding. Her skin, ravaged by mange, was red, dry and cracking open. She was also depressed and alarmingly thin.
“I saw her wandering around, scrounging for food,” explained Jaime Randall. “She had a little spot on her head, about the size of a quarter, which was missing fur. But when I saw her just a few weeks later, she didn’t have a stitch of fur on her body. She was in so much pain, she could barely walk.”
When Jaime saw the poor pup in such distress, she decided to get her help. She put her in the backseat of her car and drove her to the Aiken County Animal Shelter. Ten-month-old Nova was taken in as a stray and given a thorough exam, then treated for demodectic mange.
“Demodex” is caused by a mite, a normal inhabitant of every dog’s skin. In low numbers, these mites cause no symptoms and may serve an important role as part of a dog’s normal skin. However, when dogs have a compromised immune system, the mites can multiply unchecked, which leads to demodex and itchy, inflamed skin. The condition, which is not contagious to people or other pets, is common in strays and neglected pets. Normally, it only results in some missing patches of fur. However, untreated, it can get as severe as Nova’s dreadful case. FOTAS funds the treatment for County Shelter dogs suffering from demodex.
After three weeks at the shelter, Nova remained unclaimed by an owner. Within a month, Jaime drove to the shelter to see how the sick pup was doing. When she looked into Nova’s eyes this time, she knew she had to give her a home.
Now Nova is one year old and doing great – all of her fur has grown back! Jaime’s young son Jaiden, who usually doesn’t have much interest in animals, fell in love with Nova right away and plays “chase” with her. Nova also plays with the family’s other dog, Princess, a Chihuahua, and gets along well with their three female rescue cats – Lucy, Lacey and Ollie. Nova and Lucy even cuddle with each other.
“This dog was dealing with tremendous hardship, then had her whole world flipped upside down when we brought her into our home,” Jaime said. “But you would never know it. Nova is fitting right in and doesn’t hold any grudges for what happened to her.”
There are many more wonderful cats and dogs at the County Shelter who need loving homes. Please go to fotasaiken.org to see them or stop by and visit them at 333 Wire Road. Dogs and puppies are $35, and cats and kittens are only $10.
Their lives are in our hands.
By Bob Gordon, FOTAS Communications Director
