Gus: The Hurricane Was Just the Beginning
by Ann Gwinnup
 

     Last fall, our family decided that we wanted to help out the Emerald Coast Golden Retriever Rescue (ECGRR). We had adopted our little Labrador mix from them a few months previously, and were impressed with the organization. So, we took the plunge and volunteered.
     Michelle, one of the organization's team leaders called us back — she had a dog for us! She would meet us in one week to transfer him. A warning, though — this dog had a condition called red mange. It wasn't contagious, but would need weeks of treatment.
     We met Gus and Michelle the following Saturday. We had brought our kids along to meet him, and we were all very excited. Our 6-year-old daughter was particularly excited, since Gus was a puppy, and she's always wanted a cute little puppy. However, Gus was the most pathetic little dog we'd ever seen.
     He was mostly skin and bones. Literally. Swathes of his fur were gone, and instead there were large patches of red, bleeding skin. His head was engulfed in a huge, battered cone to keep him from scratching or licking, and whenever he tried to walk he would bump the cone on the ground or on my leg and then just give up and sit back down, looking up at us pathetically.
     Turns out that Gus was pulled out of an animal shelter that was in the path of Hurricane Gustav (hence his name), and had somehow or other wound up with the ECGRR in Florida. I'm not sure if it was the infection or if it was the bleeding skin — but Gus smelled horrible — really, really horrible. On the way home with him, we had to have all the windows in the car open, and still the stench was overwhelming. My daughter actually started to cry, it was so bad.
     Once we made it home, we decided to try a bath to get rid of the smell. We lathered him up with our strongest scented shampoo, rinsed him well then pulled him out of the tub and started to towel him off. Just the friction of a towel on his head made it start to bleed again, but he still sat there so patiently while I did my best to blot him dry and get the bleeding to stop. My 6-year-old daughter was trying to help, and we were both in tears (although I suspect she may have been crying because of the smell and his utter ugliness).
     Over the next several weeks, Gus was on first one antibiotic then another. Still, the infection was only clearing very slowly, so the vet added medicated baths to his treatment. The baths were so toxic that we had to drop him off at the clinic for the vet to bathe him, and then pick him up again at the end of the day when he was dry.
     Slowly he began to recover and as the mites in his skin began to die, all the red patches turned black, but he even began to grow hair! He was sweet as ever — and would take any opportunity to try and curl up in your lap or snuggle under a free hand for some love.
     Over the three months that we had him, we constantly reminded our daughter that Gus was not our dog. One day he would get a family of his very own and we were taking care of Gus until his forever family found him. That day finally came. After months and months of treatment, Gus was finally healthy enough to be adopted, and he was so beautiful! He was sweet and cuddly, and adopted by a family with three young children.
     According to Gus's new dad: “Gus has been perfect! He's a great dog and fits in well. He does participate in recreational digging, though, but it gives my 8-year-old something to do — fill ´em in!”
     Without the aid of the Emerald Coast Golden Retriever Rescue, Gus surely would have died of his infection or been put down. His treatment was expensive and time consuming, and would have most likely exceeded the resources of most individuals and families. It's thanks to the ECGRR that Gus has gotten his chance.

* Sixth Place Award Recipient

Entry submitted July 27, 2009


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