The Greek Warriors

Wellness Wednesday at Spay Neuter Charlotte last week was busy, busy, busy! Along with our usually appointments for shots and check-ups, we also had a man surrender to us five puppies, all covered in demodectic mange. The clinic has fallen in love with these pups. Even with the irritation their infections are probably giving them, they are still happy-go-lucky puppies and had their tails going back and forth like crazy. We named them Athena, Amara, Alivia, Thor, and Zeus and think these fit them perfectly.

Since the lovable puppies have come to Spay Neuter Charlotte we have de-wormed, vaccinated, and had them start their medication for their skins. North Mecklenburg Animal Rescue has helped by making arrangements for these pups to go to Buffalo, New York to be a part of the Educate A Bully program.

Demodectic mange is an infestation of tiny, little mites that live and feed in the hair follicles and oil glands of a dog’s skin. The mites are so small that they can only be seen with a microscope. It’s not rare – actually almost all dogs have a little bit of them. Dogs will usually get these mites from their mothers’ right after giving birth. The tiny mites then multiply on the dogs causing intense itching and irritation. Dogs will try to relieve the irritation by itching causing their hair to fall out. Itching too often can cause bacterial infections making the skin worse. There are two types of demodectic mange -localized, when mites proliferate in one or two small confined areas. 90% of these cases will resolve on their own with no treatment at all. And then there’s generalized, when the mites affect larger areas of skin or the dogs entire body, which is the case with the puppies brought into our clinic. Genetics, suppression of the immune system, underlying serious illness, poor nutrition, stress and other parasitic diseases are all factors that will allow the mites to be able to multiple on the dogs in larger numbers. Luckily, demodectic mange is not contagious to other pets or humans.

Spay Neuter Charlotte sad to see our Greek warriors leave, but we know that these guys have a bright future ahead of them!