A woman has shared incredible before-and-after photos of the dog she fostered after nursing the mange-ridden rescue back to health.
Lauren Buckley, 27, from Jackson, Tennessee, took to Facebook on April 18 to open up about her foster dog Lainey’s incredible transformation over the past four months, revealing the healthy pooch was headed to her ‘forever home.’
‘On Christmas Eve, we brought home an alien-looking creature who we feared would succumb to her infections before we could get her to the vet,’ she wrote in the heartfelt post, tagging Lainey’s other foster mom, Brooke Cole.
Before and after: Lauren Buckley, 27, from Jackson, Tennessee, took to Facebook on April 18 to open up about her foster dog Lainey’s incredible transformation
Hard to handle: When she and Brooke Cole brought the mange-ridden dog home on Christmas Eve, they feared he wouldn’t survive
‘She stunk, she couldn’t see, and she bled all over our couch. But we would do it all again, because today we get to send off a beautiful, spunky, sweet, healthy dog who has nothing but wonderful things in store for her.’
Buckley told Bored Panda that a good Samaritan found Lainey and her brother on Christmas Eve and shared photos of them on Facebook, explaining that he couldn’t keep them. That’s when she and Cole stepped in.
They fostered the dog through the Brown Dog Coalition, though they were initially unsure if they would even be able to care for Lainey, who suffered from demodectic mange and secondary skin infections.
Looking back: ‘She stunk, she couldn’t see, and she bled all over our couch,’ Buckley said
Poor pooch: Lainey, pictured with Cole, suffered from demodectic mange and secondary skin infections
Condition: Demodectic mange is an itchy skin infection that is caused by Demodex mites. A serious infection can cause the dog’s hair to fall out, leaving painful red patches of skin
Demodectic mange is an itchy skin infection that is caused by Demodex mites. Most healthy pets have Demodex mites, but if a dog’s immune system is compromised, they can multiply and cause intense itching.
A serious infection can cause the dog’s hair to fall out, leaving painful red patches of skin. Scratching the welts can lead to secondary bacterial infections, and the condition can become life-threatening if it’s not treated.
Lainey’s vet prescribed her antibiotics and ivermectin to combat the infections and mites. Buckley told Bored Panda that the dog took the medications daily for the full four months she was with them.
‘In addition, we gave her coconut oil in her food, applied it to her skin, and gave her twice-weekly medicated baths,’ she said. ‘We also did our best to keep her stress level low since Demodex thrives on stress.’
Getting there: Lainey’s vet prescribed her antibiotics and ivermectin to combat the infections and mites
Almost better: The dog’s hair slowly but surely started to grow back in patches
Amazing: After four months together, her hair had grown in, and she looked like a completely different dog
Happy ending: Buckley explained in her post that Lainey has been adopted by her friend Kelly, who loves her just as much as they do, and was moving into her ‘forever home’
The images that she shared on Facebook show Lainey covered in red welts when she was first adopted followed by pictures of her hair slowly but surely growing back.
After four months together, her hair had grown in, and she looked like a completely different dog.
Buckley explained in her post that Lainey has been adopted by her friend Kelly, who loves her just as much as they do.
‘Lainey has an incredible home with a good friend of ours. As much as we love her and would have happily kept her, that is not the point of fostering,’ she noted.
‘We love every one like our own, and seeing them get families of their own is an incredible feeling — especially with cases like Lainey’s.’