ohmidog!

It may not take a village to save a dog, but the more people that pitch in, the easier it is.

Take Hector. His headed-for-a-happy-ending story is the kind that happens thousands of times a day. At it’s simplest, it’s merely a matter of well-intentioned people communicating. But when you take a closer look, it’s amazing, and a little inspiring, how many people can get involved to save one dog.

First, in Hector’s case, came the animal control officers who swooped him up.

Found wandering at a Baltimore park, Hector — believed to be, beneath all his scraggliness, an American Eskimo dog — was taken to Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS), where staff and volunteers cared for him, gave him a name, arranged to have him neutered, and assessed his temperament and condition. The former was fine. The latter needed some work.

Hector was not just underweight. He was toothless.

He showed no other apparent injuries, but some suspect Hector, because his teeth appear to have been pulled, might have been used as a “bait dog” by dogfighters. Because the wounds in his mouth were still open, and subject to infection, Hector was taken to veterinarian Marcella Bonner, of Swan Park Animal Hospital.

She tried to repair his gums, but the holes were too big. Hector probably needs a specialist, and even then — once the holes in his gums are healed — isn’t likely to be gnawing any bones.

Hector was returned to BARCS, but, because of his medical problems and his less than stellar appearance, he was an unlikely candidate for adoption — the only alternative to which is to end up on the PTS (put to sleep) list.

Hector had been in the shelter about three weeks and was nearing placement on the list when Sallyann Jennings stepped in. Jennings regularly removed dogs from BARCS to find them homes when she was with Recycled Love. She’s now working with a budding rescue group, affilliated with the Downtown Dog Resort & Spa called Stop Killing Dogs. Both are operated by Baltimore attorney  Barry Glazer, who set aside 10 slots for rescue dogs in his newly opened kennel. Sallyann also works with the BARCS Franky Fund for sick and injured animals.

She took Hector home and took him along on a walk to Riverside Park, where she regularly takes her three other dogs. Hector, because of his pitiful state — his dry coat, slight build and ratty (in spots) tail — drew a crowd.

Jennings got to talking to one of them, Tobey McGuinness, who works at Johns Hopkins and visits the park regularly with her own dog, a brute of a yellow lab named Lucas. Tobey — as can happen after a few minutes with Sallyann — agreed to serve as Hector’s foster mom for ten days.

Hector also drew the eye of Tamara Granger, another Riverside Park regular who works with K-9 Kraving Raw Diet Dog Food in Baltimore. Hector, unable to chew kibble, seemed a perfect candidate for the ground raw diet. Tamara talked with company owner Bob Barrett, who agreed to supply Hector with 6 weeks of free raw diet dog food and treats.  The company — certain the new diet will help Hector out — plans to document his transformation on its website, where Tamara will be reporting on Hector’s transformation on her own K-9 Kraving blog.

Tamara is also responsible for finding Hector a longer-term foster home. She contacted another friend about Hector — Dave Adams, owner of FlexPrint Graphics. He and his wife, Debbie are already owners of a Jack Russell mix named “Jack,” but had been considering a second dog. The Adams family, Jack included, stopped by Tobey’s to meet the dog, and see if Jack and Hector might hit it off.

As my slideshow above shows, everyone did, and Hector, Dave reports, made himself comfortable in the Adams’ bed his first night home.

We’ll be keeping tabs on where the story goes from here. Hector still needs a lot of help — oral surgery, a good grooming, and maybe a check of his ears. (He seems a little hard of hearing, but that might be related to sinus issues connected to his missing teeth.)

While Tamara continues to document Hector’s physical improvement, I’ll be following the case on ohmidog!  from a slightly different perspective. Hector, a little homeless dog found wandering in a world that’s supposedly growing crueler and colder, has touched a lot of lives in the past few weeks.

I’m guessing — as he still has a rough road ahead — he’s going to touch, if not a whole village, at least a whole lot more. So stay tuned for further developments on Hector’s road to recovery, and if you’d like to pitch in and help heal Hector, contact Sallyann Jennings. She can be reached through email at stopkillingdogs@gmail.com

All those who come forward with significant offers to help Hector out — since I want to be part of the village, too – will be entitled to a free month’s worth of advertising on ohmidog!