ohmidog!

It’s time for an update on Hector — the scraggly and toothless American Eskimo dog who, when we first met him, looked every bit as down on his luck as he was.

Since then, Hector, as we reported, found a new long term foster care home, has been enjoying free K-9 Kraving Raw Diet dog food (easier on the gums), has been checked out by more vets and specialists — with more visits ahead — and got himself spiffed up with a grooming (also contributed by K-9 Kraving) from Kelly at Dogma.

Here’s what he’s looking like these days.

For a video on Hector’s progress, put together by K-9 Kraving, which is documenting Hector’s response to a raw diet, combined with ample portions of love and care, click here.

In addition to the before and after, we’ve gotten some information that predates before. We still don’t know anything about Hector’s life prior to BARCS — though suspicions are he may have had his teeth removed so he could be a bait dog for dogfighters. But we do have new information on how he ended up at BARCS.

Tom Askey, who teaches American Government to 10th graders at Patterson High School, said Hector was found lingering around the door to the school, cold and shaking.

“When I tried to get close to him to see if he was okay, he ran from me towards the ball fields and Lombard Street. He then ran across a busy Kane Street into an area that was fenced in by the City Sanitation facility. He was cornered and super-sweet. Just layed down in a pile of garbage. I called a friend at school who I knew wasn’t teaching and owned a dog while I stayed there and talked to him. He drove over to us, gave me his dog’s leash and we fashioned a leash without a collar…

“But I didn’t have a break till 1:30 and it was only 10:30. I left my car running (a little dicey in that neighborhood and with 1500 high school students there), gave him my lunch, and then had my students go out and periodically check on him. They brought him water and all kinds of love. I brought him down to BARCS and prayed for the best. I called BARCS once, but didnt want to get bad news about him so I kind of let it go.”

Askey continued: “I was so touched by your posts/video on him and the progress videos that are posted on the K-9 Kraving website. The fact that people are doing such great things with him really moves me. In a town full of stray animals and badly-behaving humans, Im still struggling to grasp that this little dog I found is getting so much attention and love. Really really heart-warming.”

Hector was pulled from BARCS by Sallyann Jennings, on behalf of the rescue group Stop Killing Dogs. Since then, a number of people have stepped in to help him out. Tobey McGuinness provided short term foster care, and Hector’s now living in a long term foster home with Dave Adams, owner of FlexPrint Graphics.

Several veterinary organizations have also offered to assess Hector’s issues. He’s a little wobbly on the back end, and may have some hearing problems, which could be related to sinus issues and gaping holes in his mouth from tooth extraction. We’ll keep you updated on those as well in the weeks ahead.