This is the story of how a sweet little baby puppy was tossed out like trash and covered in mange, but how one of our longtime volunteers, Susan, found the perfect foster home to nurse him back to health so he could be adopted to a wonderful home.
From Susan’s niece, Faith:
“I got the call from Aunt Susan about fostering this puppy two days after my mom and I put our senior dog, Angel, down. We were definitely hesitant at first with just putting her down but thought that fostering a puppy in need would help heal our broken hearts, and though we still miss Angel full heartedly, Joey mended the open wounds.
“We learned that this puppy who was estimated to be 6 weeks old was tossed out in a field somewhere with a horrible skin condition and a clipped tail. After conversation with my mom, we decided that this puppy needed the love we were willing and ready to give.
“I went to the shelter on Sunday (1/15) and met this sweet boy for the first time and knew he was coming home with me. The pictures of him in the crate were on the day I first met him: Isolated, because of severe mange, and waiting to be loved.
“The shelter was initially calling him Wilbur because he didn’t have much hair but after a few days with us, we decided Joey (JoJo) Lee — big Bengals fans in this house 😊.
“After weekly baths in Betadine and specialized soap, little Joey’s hair started growing back in, and his mange cleared up! My mom administered deworming treatments, flea meds, kennel cough meds, his 5-in-1 vaccines, and ivermectin over the time we had him.
“Once his mange was taken care of, we noticed one day that he started walking funny. He started putting his weight on his ankles and his legs started to bow (as seen in some of the pictures attached). After a trip to the vet, they determined that his radius started growing faster than his ulna, which is common in dog breeds like Joey’s. A simple switch of his puppy food fixed him in the matter of 3-4 weeks!
“Joey is so resilient. He learned to sit in one day of training with me and some puppy food as a reward (he is EXTREMELY food motivated), and carried that skill on with his forever family. We are so thankful to have had this time with Joey — both my mom and I needed him in the same time that he needed us.
Joey was officially adopted from our care on 2/24 to a loving family with an 8-year-old human sister and a young adult pit-mix dog brother on a couple acres of land.
“They told my mom that they see their animals as family members and take them on vacation with them. The mother is very open about sharing pictures of JoJo (a name they kept) and their family journey — a perfect open adoption to keep our hearts connected.
“Beyond thankful for the Clinton County Humane Society and what they do for the animals in their community. Our connection with Joey will never be forgotten ❤️”
And we are beyond thankful to the volunteers who give their time, their love, and their homes to our area’s unwanted animals so that they can have the lives they deserve.
