I
t
took a only a few moments before horrified witnesses realized what
had been dumped was a little dog, and that it was still alive, a
small, completely bald wretched little creature, terrified and
scarcely able to move.
City services were immediately
summoned, and Animal Control drove up to take the discarded little
dog away. It was painfully evident that the dog, now identified as a
female French Bulldog, was in a desperate state. Her age was
estimated to be around 6 or 7 years old, and it appeared that she
had been bred nearly to death. She had a severe case of
sarcoptic mange, with open wounds all over her body. She was
so broken down that her stomach and chest literally dragged on the
ground, and her genitalia hung to her knees, scar tissue from
repeated c-sections knotting the flesh on her belly. She was
partially deaf. Although she was intact, there was no thought
of spaying her; the operation would most certainly kill her.
The prospect of euthanasia loomed large over a little dog that had
just barely survived being tossed to the side of the road.
Fortunately, one of the animal
control officers was familiar with a local rescue organization that
took in small breed dogs and re-homed them. Even though the
officer doubted that there would be a place for this little dog even
with a rescue organization, she gave the founder of the group a call
anyway, and so the abandoned little French Bulldog found her
guardian angel and continued on her way, under the wildly improbable
name of "Hello Kitty"!
Kitty endured months of dips for the
mange, antibiotics for the open wounds and infections, and a
constant itch that never seemed to go away. She was completely
bald except for a tuft of hair on her head, but she nevertheless
maintained her ladylike manner and demonstrated a sweet and
affectionate nature throughout her ordeal.
Three
months
into her recovery, Kitty waited patiently for another of her endless
examinations in the waiting room of the veterinary clinic, curled up
in the arms of her rescuer. That's when she met her new mama,
a lady named Lesa, who just happened to walk into that same waiting
room. Enchanted by Kitty, Lesa inquired about the little dog
and was delighted to find out that she was available for adoption.
Lesa held Kitty in her arms and and was treated to soft Frenchie
snorts and kisses. It was love at first sight. Kitty
became Bobo, and a new chapter of her journey began.
Lesa was not unaware of the
enormous task she was taking on by adopting a dog like Bobo.
Bobo would need continued medical treatment. Not many people
would have taken on a dog like Bobo. Besides her missing hair, Bobo
stank, and blood and fluid oozed from the skin infections all over
her body. She constantly itched and scratched, and only the
Elizabethan collar around her neck prevented her from shredding the
skin off her face.
Eleven months after Lesa adopted
Bobo, on September 15, 2005, Rebecca Sazegar, now president of the
Karen Krings Memorial Fund, first met Lesa and her beloved
little
French Bulldog and took the pictures that you see here. Bobo was quite happy, safe and secure in her new home.
Everyone who met her immediately fell in love with her, and Bobo
happily returned their affectionate greetings with her own special
brand of Frenchie kisses and wiggles. Most of Bobo’s hair had
grown back, although
her entire body remained riddled with persistent bald patches, and
her stomach and genitalia had ceased to sag. She had gained
four pounds, and was a petite twenty pounds. Bobo loved her
new life, cuddling on the couch and sleeping at night in Lesa's bed.
Unfortunately, even after more than
a year, the shadow of her past life was still there. Bobo was
terrified of boots. Whenever she saw boots, she tried to run
away, screamed, and rolled on the floor to her side. No one
could know for sure what this poor little dog suffered at the hands
of her tormentors before being tossed to the side of the road like
garbage.
There was a special reason for
Sazegar's visit on that September day in 2005. Several months
after adopting Bobo, Lesa had been diagnosed with cancer and had
struggled through six months of chemothera
py. She was unable
to work and could no longer support herself, her nine year old
daughter and pay for the continuing veterinary care required by a
sickly little French Bulldog. Even though Lesa had recovered
from the
terrible effects of the chemotherapy, and was currently cancer free,
her finances were drained. She had already spent thousands of
dollars to care for Bobo over the past eleven months, but no longer
had the financial means to continue her treatments. Bobo was
being treated at a dermatological center for animals in Tustin,
California, and her veterinary dermatologist was recommending yet
another course of antibiotics that he believed will finally,
effectively treat her widespread staph infection. The money
just wasn't there. Lesa, after a nearly a year of caring for
this little dog, realized that she needed to seek other options for
Bobo.
Lesa reached out to a rescue group
for help and advice. Even though it would break her heart to
lose Bobo, she had made up her mind to surrender her to the custody
of the rescue group, so that the little French Bulldog could get the
medical care she so desperately and urgently needed. Sazegar,
at that time a state contact for the
rescue group that Lesa had
contacted, drove out to meet Lesa, her daughter and Bobo and to make
arrangements for her surrender.
The surrender never happened.
After meeting Lesa and Bobo, Sazegar decided there had to be another
way to take care of this little dog, already once rescued, who had
been through too much already to be taken from the only loving home
she had ever known. She made arrangements to set up a fund for Bobo and turned to the southern California Frenchie community for
help. Over a thousand dollars was raised for Bobo's care,
thanks to the generosity of that community.
September, 2007, two years later...
The story hasn't ended.
Little Bobo still resides with Lesa and her daughter, now moved to
Northern California, and how different she looks! Lesa
recently sent Sazegar pictures and this update about her beloved
French Bulldog:
"Bobo is doing so well. She saw
her dermatologist in late August... we came down because
I
had work there, and so I took her in for her bi-annual checkup.
He was so amazed at how well she looked. She had even gained a
little weight - due to the fact that she has found a way to the
cats' food since we moved, and I suddenly realized SHE was the
one who was eating the "kitty leftovers! So she is a little
over her beauty weight of 21.9 at the moment, but her blood work all
looked great and Dr. Muse was just so pleased that she looked so
good. She has finally found her voice and has after 2 1/2 years
started barking.....at everything. There is Frenchie Friday at
Delores Park in the City (San Francisco) on Fridays, so we try to
make it there so she can mingle with the other Frenchies that live
nearby. She doesn't really play with them but she seems to like to
go and get pets from the other owners. She has gotten a little
assertive these days and herds the cats around the house , and if a
pair of dogs are playing a little too rough she wants to run and
jump in and nip them apart so I have to keep an eye on her while we
are at the park.
She snores as loudly as ever and would probably eat anything
that
wasn't nailed down still! I have her on a grain free kibble
and sometimes I mix in some Verve which is a freeze dried raw diet;
that seems to work best for her allergies right now. She got mugged
by a cat recently on a walk. A cat ran out and attacked her as we
walked by! I couldn't believe it. I jerked her out of the way but
she got swiped good on the nose. Poor thing. She was okay though. I
have to be careful because basically she has no immune system so
even a little scratch can cause a bacterial infection. I found a
very nice vet up here that we go to for regular visits. She is
so spoiled and never stays alone so if I have to go out of town for
work she goes to one of her "other" homes and gets horribly spoiled
with treats and extra pets. (I have two very good friends up here
who love her and are so good about her pills and baths and what
treats she can and can't have). So Bobo is doing very well and is
loved wherever we go."
We are delighted to share this
marvelous Frenchie fairy tale with our readers. Bless all
those folks who came together so that one little French Bulldog's
journey did not end on that hot August day by the side of the
road...