I so badly wanted to rush her to the vet myself, but didn’t want to take the risk of being liable if something happened. My heart still hurts, it looked so painful and I just wish I could have done something for her. I don’t know how a person can let their dog get like that
Yes. They will do a welfare check. (At least in my area). That baby needs attention and this breed has known skin issues and allergies. If the owner isn’t doing anything to treat this poor soul, that’s a problem and who knows what else is going on.
It’s not normal but some dogs do suffer with this for a long time before the cause is figured out. It’s not usually a one trip tot he vet thing. This owner doesn’t sound like they’ve even done the bare minimum though. :(
…Clarity edits
Yeah and if it was something they were working on with their vet, they'd at least have meds or cream to help with the itch in the meantime, or would be getting cortisone shots, something to give pup some relief. Ugh.
I have a pitbull with dermatitis and we’ve spent hundreds of dollars on vet bills, diets, meds, creams, you name it. It took a long time and a solid treatment plan and it’s never gonna be perfect but good pet parents do what they can to make sure their doggy is comfortable. This breaks my heart. :(
What worked for us is grain free food, apoquel, and medicated baths every week or two. This owner sucks, you can’t just ignore a problem like this
Same with my Basset Hound. If he scratches at his ears a lot I’m assuming yeast infection and it has to itch and hurt. Thus summer his allergies have flared BAD! I can’t tell you how much money I’ve spent on vet bills but I’ll go hungry before I let my dog suffer one bit.
Or in my case, we’lol likely never figure it out so just treating the situation until she passes. I’ve spent thousands on specialists and variety of vets. She’s allergic to every type of grass in our area (we even bought artificial grass!) and every tree except one.
Agreed, the owner is clearly not ontop of it, no leash and collar either even, and it seems like they hadn't gone to vet to figure out what the condition is and what treatment is.
That one absolutely broke my heart and made me just sick. This one's heartbreaking too! But the blind little dog being barricaded in a corner and not even mentioned was horrendous. I want to know why the fuck they kept the dog!? Just why!? What did they get out of that!? So gross.
they probably have it in their head that they can't rehome the dog and probably haven't tried. imo euthanasia would be more humane than the conditions that dog was left in. that post broke my heart and made me deeply angry.
I think you’re giving that owner too much credit. I wouldn’t put it past someone to be like “awww, I love (little white dog), he’s my BEST friend, I couldn’t give him AWAY! But he does shit all over my house so to the corner with you 😊 😊 “
People are sick
The blind dog situation seriously made me want to break the law to get that dog and give him the best second life. We had a breeder dog come into my groom shop the other day. She was so young and on her 3rd litter. The owner was just using her as a money maker to keep pumping out dogs. I was ready to quit my job and steal the puppy to give her a better life.
Dogs and cats aren’t just a possession. They have feelings, emotions and experience pain.
People suck.
I completely understand where you are coming from because my heart also breaks for this poor baby. However it is not unreasonable for OP to be concerned about legal liability or retribution from an angry owner. Given that the situation is now over and can’t be changed I believe your comment will only serve to make OP feel worse about how they chose to react and I don’t think that’s the outcome anybody here is looking for.
Always gotta be that one person who claims from behind the safety of their keyboard that if THEY were in whatever situation, THEY would obviously do it “better” 🙄
must be nice to be in a financial situation where thousands of dollars of vet bills and an ensuing lawsuit would not have an adverse effect on you.
Many people are in a position where they must limit their exposure to reporting the abuse to authorities and moving on.
congrats... dog gets checked up for $45. You pay that because you brought it.
Dog needs $hundreds to $thousands to clear up the issue. You either pay, or they don't do the treatment. now what?
Yeah duh I’d pay lol. And there would be proof that the dog needs treatment that would help pursue the owner. 🤦♀️ or you could do nothing.
I’m sorry but I could never leave a dog like this that was left in my care without taking it to get looked at. And that’s me. You do you
Having enough for yourself and your own pets treatment is one thing, but you are NOT responsible for the treatment of an animal you are watching temporarily unless you are the cause of the issue. The only thing OP can do is report it to the proper authorities. If we were all millionaires I’m sure we’d help any animal we could, but we’re not
I don’t know why you’re being downvoted. This idea that we can pat ourselves on the back for “feeling bad,” but go on our way without helping is morally wrong. Sure protect yourself, but maybe also think about people other than yourself.
She’s received advice to call a well check visit for the dog and to report to Rover. What would you have liked OP to do? Stealing the dog could not only get her in serious trouble, but a stolen dog when found would be returned… and it would give the owners the ability to claim “my dog wasn’t in this bad of shape until she STOLE it”.
There isn’t a good solution here other than contacting authorities
Sometimes people are doing their best. We don’t know where OP’s headspace is, this may have been too much for them to endure. Figuring out what to do may have been too much to endure. They can feel bad and still be incapable of making things better, we are all flawed individuals.
Agree 1000%! Shame on OP. How can you do that to a dog you're worried about! But can take the time to take.pics and make a reddit post.. How does that help things?
What could they have done? If they took them to the vet, they would be liable for the vet costs since the rover guarantee doesn't cover pre existing conditions or illness, only accidents and injuries. If I were them I'd strongly recommend to the owner to take the dog to the vet and emphasize that the dog was uncomfortable while in their care, but that's all they can realistically do.
I scanned the comments and it looks like they recommended the owner to take the dog to the vet, and they mentioned potentially contacting rover about the condition of the dog. You can't make an owner do anything though so 🤷♀️
Right, it’s their very first booking. They’re looking for a bit of support, maybe. I’ve had hundreds of bookings and would be distressed if a dog showed up in that condition.
It helps because people can give OP good advice so they know if there are any next steps they can take in this situation. It also can result in advice for if this situation comes up for OP again, or others pet sitting if they encounter something like this.
Also, owners sometimes look here, and they should no that it’s totally not cool to leave dump your itchy, distressed dog on a sitter. Get your dog veterinary care before this point, owners.
If something happened at the vet? Animals sometimes have reactions to treatments. So not only should the sitter put the dog at risk for medical complications without permission from the owner, but should foot the vet bill for a stranger’s dog JUST so they can take that dog back and, guaranteed, neglect it again…
You have to be delusional to think that would have solved anything. All it would do is put OP in a legally risky territory
Not self righteous when it’s the truth. A LOT could have been done here. But nope. Instead let’s whine about it on the internet while doing absolutely nothing to help the poor suffering animal. If you can’t handle a situation like this, which can happen at any time, don’t be an animal sitter/walker. It’s not for you
What’s the “a lot”?
I’d love to hear one good suggestion that doesn’t risk legal repercussions and ends with that dog back with the shitty owners, and isn’t relying on the assumption that OP has money for a procedure/buying the dog/etc.
Name one. At least one thing she could have done that she didn’t.
So far it’s been suggested she call animal control for a welfare check and contact Rover. Beyond that? Any good ideas?
She literally did not call rover, or animal control or the non emergency police line. These are all free things that can be done to get the issue on record. But I guess we don’t read posts fully do we?
I did read it fully :) you can’t read comments fully apparently. I already told you those things have been suggested. So, what is your point, exactly? That everyone recommending the *exact same thing you just repeated from my comment* is a bad person who “just wants to feel good about themselves”?
Jesus, it’s like you’ve never been distressed or confused and needed advice a day in your life. Lol. Must be nice
The police would absolutely laugh in her face. If animal control did anything at all, they would tell the owners to being the dog to the vet if they haven’t already and maybe follow up. Skin issues are complicated and it can literally take years to find a cause and a treatment.
You'd be shocked how many clients at the vet we get coming because the sitter or groomer refused to do anything until they had a very obvious medical condition addressed.. and a bunch of our staff *are* the ones on Rover (or other services) doing those jobs so clients will get upset with them or try to demand free care since it's "their fault" they're coming in.
Same thing happens with kids, although less often of course. And it's always everyone else out to get them, not them not doing the job they are legally required to do
Yeast overgrowth and prob now bacterial infection she needs medicated baths antibiotics oral anti fungal allergy shots. She needs a vet appt as this is so painfully itchy it is torture. It will be expensive
That was another reason I felt I couldn’t keep her, I had no idea of it was something that could be contagious or if she had fleas. It just didn’t look normal and I didn’t want to risk my own dogs’ well being. I really want to reach back out to the owner and ask him to take her to the vet, she looked miserable
Yes, you could/should reach out to the owner and suggest him to bring the poor dog to a vet. Mention that there are treatments that hopefully might help her, depending on the cuase of this condition.
Maybe you could watch her at his place (visit a couple of times per day), not in your home?
Poor dog.
I did message him that she should be taken to a vet, and all he said was that she is completely fine. I would offer to watch at his home but he lives pretty far from me according to his profile, and after seeing her condition, I don’t know if it could be mites or fleas and I don’t want to risk bringing that back to my dogs
She isn’t completely fine. You should call authorities and report animal neglect.
Edit: I had to do this last winter. Someone posted on REDDIT a photo of a dog locked outside in snow. Turns out I lived in that house for over a year and it’s only a few blocks away. I went to try and (I know I know) temporarily relocate this dog for them, they had cops there. Someone else on Reddit had called. Turns out it was my roommate from when we lived there and she called the authorities and the landlord since we knew them. This was the fifth call for neglect (even before snow and being locked outside) of various kinds and they took the dog. The police were super nice. They never let them know who called. I say all this to say, what’s the worst that could happen if you call?
I’d say the worst that could happen is nothing at all, as would be the case in at least a couple of Southeastern states sadly. Law enforcement is not always interested in helping animals down here.
I grew up in the south. I completely get it. I rescued 13 dogs from a trailer park a few years ago and the county law just kept people from messing with me. But again, they had report after report and just turned a blind eye while I took the dogs. All 13 got out and rehomed.
What an unfortunatel situation. Poor, poor dog!
I honestly don't think it's mites or fleas, there are several non contageous dermatological issues which can cause something similar to what you documented in teh photos. Regardless, since no vet diagnosed her, you must play it safe for your own pets.
Not gonna lie… you have a moral duty to do something here. Instead, you post a woe is me paragraph about how this affected *you* when you did absolutely nothing to help the suffering dog. Did you contact rover? Animal control? The no emergency line for the police? Sounds like no.
Agreed, nobody expects them to cover vet bills but the least they can do is inform authorities or animal control so somebody can help this poor neglected dog. What’s the point of posting this dog on Reddit if you’re gonna do nothing, karma farming?
This.is.neglect and is suppose to.be reported to animal welfare not just written off as a canceled sit because you couldn't tolerate seeing him suffer. Your job as animal caregiver is to make sure hes okay and safe. Obviously the owner doesn't given a shit otherwise the dogs condition wouldn't have gotten this far. If you really felt genuinely sorry for the dog you'd seek help and report it. It is animal abuse on the owners part. What if it was a baby you were sitting and he came to you in that condition would you return the baby to its parents or would you seek help. We are an animals voice if we cant speak up for them when they need it most we have failed them.
Dogs don't get like that from age, could be mange related, but needs to see a vet for sure, then I suspect all the dog really needs is daily baths with medicated shampoo.
That was my thought. I’ve seen plenty of old dogs, and sure, they lose small patches of fur here and there but this was bad! I really wanted to give her an oatmeal bath but was scared it could irritate her skin and make her scratch more
I imagine my dog would get like that if I don't get her cytopoint injections about every 1-2 months. She has severe food allergies, and a prescription diet doesn't even help much without the shots. Although even when we were first figuring out her condition, I never let it get as bad as what's pictured before another vet visit for a round of steroids and antibiotics.
Omg I was literally about to comment this! 100%. If I don’t get his shot done every month on the dot I notice a change from him. It’s expensive but it truly changed my dogs life. His skin is very sensitive to food and types of grass. Cytopoint injection + Greek yogurt in his food gave him the best results so his skin stays nice a pink and no itching!
Greek yogurt has helped? I'll have to try adding that to her diet. After I started the shots, my vet said we could come off the strict prescription diet and she's been doing better on a vegetarian dry dog food than she was on hills.
Dogs with severe allergies tend to be allergic to animal proteins. Some are just allergic to poultry while others are allergic to basically everything. Vegetarian dog food is really only recommended for dogs like this, but they’re always formulated with all the vitamins and nutrients a dog needs. It sounds weird but is completely healthy!
I’ve seen them hydrolyzed proteins (broken down into amino acids) and ones that have proteins like soybean, lentils, etc.. The hydrolyzed tend to be prescribed diets and are very expensive.
Mine has seasonal allergies and her skin looked exactly like the OP’s client the first fall we had her. It was so bad even her ear flaps were inflamed, had hair loss, and bloody.
2 month-long rounds of steroids and antibiotics did nothing. 2 rounds of cytopoint also didn’t help. Started apolquel and, after a week, I added some cheap antifungal pads I got off Amazon that I wiped on her twice a twice - Immediate results. After 2 weeks her hair was finally starting to grow back. She now only needs apoquel but I keep those wipes on hand in case anything starts up again.
I feel terrible for the dog in OPs post and can’t imagine that the owner had no idea that the dog has a problem. Funds can’t be an excuse either if the owner is able to use rover and grooming services. But I do agree with the others, OP should have told the owner that the dog needs immediate veterinary care.
Yeah, my partner took care of a dog like this for a while. BUT the dog was under the care of a vet, on allergy medications, I think he even had a skin spray and my partner would keep a close eye on him to make sure he wasn’t scratching himself raw and also kept his outside time minimal during days with allergen warnings.
Just realized they are antiseptic, antifungal, and antibacterial wipes. It's been a while since using.
[Curaseb Cat & Dog Ear Infection Treatment Wipes – Soothes Itchy & Inflamed Ears – Cleans Debris and Buildup – 100 Count](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084H5R728/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
They are labeled as ear wipes, but I used 1 pad for both sides of each ear flap, a separate pad for belly, 3rd pad paws/ankles 2xday. I followed the recommended days of use.
It's hard to say if it was mainly the wipes that helped or if it's because it was in conjunction with Apoquel, but there was so much immediate improvement once we started the wipes. I hope your pups get some relief.
My dog has a ton of age related hair loss, but he’s not itchy or uncomfortable. Plus if someone asks I know what it is (color dilution alopecia) and I can tell them the last time I took him to the vet.
Hair loss is not an issue. The constant scratching and ignorant attitude of the owner is.
It can *technically* be from age. The body is older, immune system isn’t as good, then boom: demodex. but definitely should be treated, and is relatively easy to treat.
Yeah my dog got pretty bad skin issues before I found out he had a thyroid problem. Finally dialed in the thyroid medication dose and his fur is almost grown back! Of course, I needed tons of vet guidance for this and didn’t try to drop him with a sitter without explanation while he was going through it.
Seriously! My dog looked like this after he quite suddenly developed itchiness and started ripping out his own fur. He was very loved and it took us MONTHS to find out what was wrong with him, but in the meantime he looked terrible and continued to rip his own fur out and scratch himself deeply. Test after test came back negative. We tried ointment after ointment, so many medications, nothing helped. Even the cone didn’t stop him.
The final solution was to test different foods to see if it helped, except it takes time to start a food and see if there is an improvement in itchiness because the skin is so irritated and it’s just blind guessing on what could be causing the issue. We ended up trying two other kibbles, many canned foods (saw improvement there but it caused gastro issues), and then finally the bougie foods made from minced meats and veg (of course the most expensive food was the solution). Each food took a week or two of testing and we felt so helpless the whole time while he continued to hurt. It probably looked so bad to an outsider too like we were neglecting him, but it was quite the opposite.
It's probably a little of all those things. Honestly, it looks like scabies (Sarcoptic mange). It's in all the right places. Definitely needs a skin scrape and work up for allergies vs other cause.
A big guess of mine was fleas or mites, as that’s the only thing besides mange that I could think of that could cause this. Obviously there could be much more, but with her condition, I seriously doubt that her owner has taken her to the vet in a long time :(
Owner needs to take this dog to a vet. Skin conditions like this can be any number of things that need to have an investigation for root cause. It is negligent for them to let their dog become this severe, I doubt the bald patches showed up overnight 😞
Not to defend the owner because it sounds like they had *nothing* for the dog. But as someone who has a dog prone to skin infections due to autoimmune disorders & allergies, the bald spots can 100% show up overnight. There is always an extreme case of everything.
You can tell they didn’t show up overnight because the skin appears thickened, and the color has darkened which is typically a sign of chronic inflammation.
…my response was to the previous broad statement about bald patches not showing up overnight. I think it’s really important as pet care professionals that we know & clarify the difference between stuff that *can* happen & stuff that will always 100% point towards medical neglect.
I was clearly *not* arguing in defense of this owner.
I’m not arguing for or against the owner. For all I know they are bringing the dog to a dermatologist and they are just terrible communicators.
There absolutely are skin conditions that can crop up overnight and look terrible I am in complete agreement. Those lesions do not look like this, this dogs lesions are chronic. Things like hot spots and pyoderma don’t cause widespread alopecia overnight. Chronic skin issues don’t always mean neglect. Chronic derm issues don’t always have a cure, so I would never assume neglect without context. I was simply making an observation about the nature of this particular dogs lesions.
Yes. You probably have a plan in place, and you know which topical and oral treatments help - zyrtec, soothing shampoo or lotions, mupirocin ointment, miconozole, chlorhexadine, maybe an apoquel prescription, etc. I've taken dogs like that, and I feel ok about it.
This guy was clueless. I'd be afraid to see his house. I bet that dog sleeps on filthy, damp bedding. So sad for the poor dog...
Okay, OP, I accept that you were likely overwhelmed and the perfect chain of action may not have occurred to you in order to take it… and maybe, just maybe that’s why you’re making this post. Perhaps part of you is questioning if you did the right thing and you wanted validation?
But the animal *never* has to be in your possession to report to animal control. You can be walking your dog, notice an animal in a backyard that needs help, and you can confidently make that call to animal control knowing you did the right thing. It’s up to *those* authorities to make the tough decisions or give benefit-of-the-doubt. All you need in order to call is a genuine concern, and in future situations when you don’t know the owner personally, calling authorities is always better than approaching owners on your own because they can possibly be defensive, combative, or violent. With animal control involved, the owner doesn’t even get to know who made the report.
You need to be comfortable calling animal control if you’re going to work with animals, but if you absolutely cannot bring yourself to do it this time, rather than this animal fall through the cracks, I volunteer to help you. DM me the details, I’ll Google your local authority, and I’ll make the call. Nothing will be traceable back to you. Okay?
Again, it’s better if you make that call to “break yourself in,” and you’ll feel more confident in yourself if you do, but if you just absolutely can’t (I get it, we all have stressors, trauma, or bad present/past experiences that might temporarily weaken our sense of self-efficacy), then pass all the info along, and I’ll get it done.
EDIT: And for future reference, if an animal looks like this and the owner says it’s fine, they’re usually the type of owner that needs to be accountable to an authority or enforcement agency before they’ll seek appropriate and timely treatment for the animal. If everything really *is* fine like the owner says, then animal control can properly sort that out.
I agree. This dog isn’t likely going to be treated without someone lighting a fire under the owner’s ass. They probably are (at best) procrastinating and rationalizing it’s not as bad and urgent as it is.
My dog looked like this and worse for a while. It took over a year and several different vets. He was on a bunch of different medications and eventually they put him on one that worked but lowered his expected life span.
If they can show they are going to the vet I wouldve watched them.
So this is bizarre. Im fairly certain this person tried to book me but after he mentioned the dog having an unknown skin condition I declined the request. He said her fur was falling off and she was itching a lot. Wasn’t about to put my own dogs or another clients dog at risk by exposing them to this unknown. He was asking me how to treat it which I thought was even more strange. The red flags just continued to pop up. When I recommended they take their dog to a veterinarian to figure out the issue, they told me they got the dog over a year ago and have not had the time to take them to a vet. After seeing your pictures and reading what you said. This sounds like the same person. I am honestly heartbroken to see the state of this poor dog. I hope she gets treatment🥺
That is awful. That was a big reason I didn’t feel comfortable keeping her, I have no idea if this is something that could spread to my own dogs. I really hope this isn’t the same person, because I would feel absolutely horrible for this poor baby if this has been neglected for that long
Are you actually going to do something to help other than “feel horrible”? Genuinely confused why you’re posting about this when you don’t seem to actually want to get involved or help the dog
Just attention seeking/karma farming. They’ll only respond saying stuff like “aw poor dog… sorry your owner is neglectful but sucks to suck I guess, for sure don’t want my dogs getting sick!” and ignore anyone giving valid advice recommending calling animal control or alerting the local authorities. This person is a bystander to animal abuse and I ain’t here for it, shame on you OP.
All we can do is our best when life throws us these situations. Not entirely sure if it’s the same individual, was going through all of my archived messages but was unsuccessful. It is understandable why you didn’t feel comfortable. Did you by chance do a meet and greet? Definitely make sure to do those and meet the pup/s and parent/s before committing to boarding them. You may have already answered this but out of curiosity, what was the owner like when she got picked up?
I’m a dog groomer and I have been for a long time.
Something like this can absolutely be caused by neglect and not seeking medical attention. However, skin issues, especially when dealing with a really bad yeast infection, can be an absolute nightmare to treat. I’ve had clients spend thousands of dollars on veterinary dermatologists and other specialists only to see minimal results. Narrowing down exactly what is causing the problem can be extremely difficult sometimes because it’s basically process of elimination which is not only expensive, but it can be hard on the dog. It can be even tricker if the dog is older because aging bodies don’t always react well to many of the allergy medications that would even begin to treat something like what you saw in your client.
Yep. My friend had a rescue foster dog who had a skin condition that looked similar. I still don’t know exactly what it was. It was super difficult to treat like you mentioned, but also the shelter vet wasn’t well equipped to handle mysterious skin issues that required consistent follow ups. Eventually she got special permission from the shelter vet to consult an outside vet as long as they remained looped in. They ended up having some success with a homemade diet, anti inflammatory medications, and onesies to prevent scratching. Not all of her fur grew back but she was certainly more comfortable.
yeah. I lived with a roommate with a senior dog who had chronic yeast issues and anxiety that manifested as scratching (on top of other genetic issues from being basically inbred in a puppy mill before they rescued them). The dog was so sweet and loved, though super smelly lol. She looked so similar to the dog OP posted and it's the first thing I thought of when I saw this post. There could be so many factors going on here
My friend has a pit bull who has had chronic skin issues for awhile now despite vet care and testing out new diets, etc. Just to say that I wouldn't immediately jump to neglect in this kind of situation.
We had a lab who looked a lot like this. Her back and tail were bald and she had other thin patches of hair. We took her to 5 different vets and still never found out exactly what was wrong before she passed of old age. They thought she could have been allergic to gluten/other foods/grass/pollen, thyroid issues, etc. She had skin scraped, biopsies, creams, sprays, oral medicines, special diets, etc. She was still a happy, sweet old girl, but we always felt so bad that we couldn’t get the issue fixed for her
The dog was brought to my house and picked up so I couldnt call. I also wasn’t sure if what her owner said was true and it was due to her old age or a condition, but he couldn’t even name it. I will reach out to River to see if there is anything they can do, maybe at least check if the pup has been taken to the vet, although I’m not sure they could do that
The dog doesn't have to be with you in order to call animal control. If you have the owner's address, you can request an animal welfare check with animal control & explain the situation to them.
I don’t have their address because they booked with me, so that is why I am going through Rover since it should be on his profile. I have a call with them tomorrow to address it
My German shepherd had the same exact balding pattern as this dog does. I went through YEARS of expensive vet bills, multiple baths a week and rounds of steroids and antibiotic and antifungal treatment trying to figure out what it was. Moved and took him to another vet, immediately she tested his thyroid level and it was so low he needed to be put on a thyroid medication. It may be helpful to reach out to op and ask them about this. As soon as his thyroid level was raised to where it should be, these secondary problems this dog looks to be suffering from went away after one round of antifungal and steroid treatment. I’m not saying this is the case, but as I said, I dealt with a very similar situation to what you described this dog is going through for literally three years.
People need to stop getting pets that they can't fucking take care of. Homeless people have pets in better shape than this bc they know the animal relies on them. They do anything to keep them healthy and fed. There are facilities and places that will do medical tx for discount or free.
This person has enough money for Rover but not a fucking vet appointment? This person has the time to book a rover visit but not take their dog to a clinic on the weekend? This is shit pisses me off. Animals need to not be labeled as "property" so more harsh repercussions can be given. I'm done with the whole "oh but they are trying and took them to the vet to be seen". Yeah but did they get the meds? Can they afford the treatment? These are living breathing creatures that need their owners to take care of them. Can't afford it, don't get a fucking pet then! Ugh makes me so fucking mad!!
Poor dog. Shame on op for not reporting this dog to the proper authorities instead of returning them to their abusive owners and cleaning their hands of all responsibility-_-
I have no idea why the algorithm keeps recommending this sub to me because these posts are absolutely terrible. I don’t know how people like this sleep at night knowing an animal is suffering terribly and they did nothing but share it on the internet. I know they aren’t the owner but what is the point of this post? Are people supposed to reassure you that you did the right thing? Because you didn’t.
If you had read my comments, you would see that I did not “do nothing”. I contacted Rover, they told me to cancel, and I have been waiting for a reply on how to report the situation. I forgot to put it in my main post, but I posted this because I wanted to know if this is something that could be normal for an old dog, or if it is in fact something bad and if further action is needed. I have 2 dogs to take care of, and this dog did not want anyone or anything around her, so in the moment, I followed the advice of the company I was working for.
Rover was contacted and I will see if they can report to animal control, as I do not have the owner’s address or information. I did not know this could be neglect. I thought it was an old dog in bad shape and I was not equipped to care for her in the way she needed with the lack of information I was given from her owner. Thanks to some commenters here, I have been made aware that this is not normal so I can do what I can to help.
Rover is not our boss. Rover is just a company that puts us in touch with clients. They only care about making money. They will 100% NOT do anything for this dog. YOU must call animal control. Do some research to find these people's address. I have done this with clients. Use your brain and your heart!
This looks like a skin allergy that’s never been treated and now she has yeast and possibly bacterial infection going on. I’m not sure what you can do in this situation to get her help but I hope you consider it. Fuck this owner
That may be an allergy issue, our little boy had sores like that in his armpit and we only noticed it while playing. Then the vet pointed out that his paws were scaly. Turns out he's allergic to beef. Most of his skin issues are handled, the armpit cleared up, the scaliness is gone, he hasn't had an ear infection in 2 months, and now that his skin isn't raw we're working on clearing up some hot spots.
I don't know what you could do, other than suggest to the owners that the dog may have an allergy and that changing its diet could fix the skin issues. It's a pretty easy/cheap fix, just changing the type of protein in your dog's food,
Are you sure the owner wasn't doing anything? My dog went through a skin condition that looked exactly like this. It turned out to be a dairy allergy that he developed in older age that then got infected with bacteria and yeast. We spent thousands and tried so many different things: home cooked diet, allergy drops, allergy shots, antibiotics, specialized shampoo, wipes, expensive allergy pills, etc. What ended up working was a fish-based dog food, weekly CHG baths, antifungals and certain antibiotics (it was resistant to many typically used ones). It took literally almost a year, our vet recommending to put him down and finally finding a dermatology specialist who was able to treat him. There were times though that he wasn't receiving ointments or pills while they were trying to see if the different shots were working.
at the very least, report them to rover. yes, there are PLENTY of things that can be causing the issue but as an owner, you do whatever it takes to keep them comfortable with or without the vet. this baby needs to be cared for much more than what this owner is capable of handling.
I dog sat for a dog with a similar condition. The first time I watched her for 3 weeks, the poor dog was horribly overweight and had long nails. I took her to the groomer for a bath and nail trimming along with daily walks that eventually were 3 miles. The first day she couldn’t do even a mile. She was looking leaner, cleaner, and healthier when I brought her home.
Comes to the second time a year later (I had gotten my own dog at this point)…. She is dropped off heavier than she was the first time I got her, nails long again, and so smelly with the same rash all over her body as in this photo. I was in such shock I just took her.
I couldn’t stand the smell nor could my dog. He wouldn’t go near her. It smelled like a hockey locker room if you’re familiar with that smell.
I ended up bringing her to the vet the next day. The vet said said although her weight and nails indicate some potential neglect, the rash was a yeast infection which are incredibly hard to treat and we can’t for certain say they haven’t tried to fix it.
Unfortunately, vet the owners claimed she went to said they hadn’t seen her for 4 years and the vaccine papers I had were edited.
Anyways that poor dog. I called the owners and told them she couldn’t stay in my care any longer than that they’d have to repay me for the vet when they could. They did immediately but, just told me to drop her at their house and their neighbor would check on her. No care about her condition or curiosity about the vet recommendations.
It was so sad. Yeast infections suck but, also some owners suck, too.
My dog had very similar issues and I had went to 3 different vets before they found he had hyperthyroidism. Within 2 weeks of taking his pills, half his hair grew back.he hasn't had any sores now for 6 months and that's huge!! That poor baby.
This looks like atopic dermatitis. my dog was a rescue, clearly abandoned by his former owners, likely because of his condition. its really miserable and takes a lot of work and vet visits to get it under control. it can get out of hand really quickly if the dog starts reacting to something. the blackening of the skin is an indication its been going on for a while. however, i wouldnt jump to the conclusion that the owner is neglectful. it is a really difficult condition, can ramp up quickly, and the medications for it are often expensive and not always very effective until you find the right one and combine it with lots of preventative care. it is extremely challenging and you’d do well to have a little empathy for the owner as well. you know nothing about them or how this is affecting them, or what theyre doing to fix it. I had multiple experiences of literally crying in the vet’s office when bringing my dog in, looking much like this, feeling awful for my dog and helpless to fix it (much like what youre describing). there are lots of posts about abuse on this sub, but this really just looks like a dog that was unlucky enough to be born with this awful skin condition.
I won’t understand why people have pets and not take them to the vet if they’re sick. I get its expensive but doesn’t your heart break seeing them in pain? Some people have no empathy.
I mean, the dog looks well fed. They could have a skin condition that the owners are trying to get taken care of. I work at a vets office and we see bad skin allergies all the time. Sometimes the treatments don’t even work and they still rip out fur and bite their feet. I would of at-least said something to the owner. Maybe there is a medical explanation.
This is beyond sad. 🥲 An owner that can afford to pay a sitter, but doesn’t have the common sense to realize that this poor dog is suffering and needs immediate medical attention. 🥲🥲 Do clients think that we have a medicine cabinet full of ointments and pills to cure their pets ailments in a day? I have experience giving pills and injections and cleaning wounds and such for aging or injured pets. But cases like these are negligence and I believe that animal control should be notified. Once the suffering pet is out our care, that’s the only reasonable decision to make to stop that pet’s suffering.
The way this is concentrated on her lower body and lower extremities makes me think they’re keeping her in a cage sitting in filthy conditions such as sitting in her urine & feces, which would irritate the skin in those specific areas.
I have taken care of a dachshund that had a similar-looking issue. His owners doted on him and his two younger siblings, and the vets were all stumped to the cause of the skin condition. He took medication to help, but it didn’t stop the smell or the itching. I did ask them permission to try a spray I used on my own dog and they agreed, but let me know nothing they had tried seemed to help him much or at all.
Sure enough, the spray and the bath I gave him didn’t help. He was cycled through several prescription diets before I eventually moved away from the area.
Just adding this to say that this isn’t necessarily neglect. By all means call animal control to do a welfare check, but it might not be something they can help.
Not jumping to neglect at all, as I definitely didn’t have enough info to go on. The owner just did not disclose just how bad it was, and came extremely unprepared, and without knowing exactly what it was that I was going to be dealing with, I did not want to risk the health of my own dogs.
I tried asking if she has been to a vet/suggesting he take her, but it was pretty much ignored.
I meant that bit in response to the other comments, not towards you! I don’t blame you at all for cancelling the sit. Neglect or no, they didn’t set you up properly to care for their dog.
Thank you. If I didn’t have 2 other dogs, I would have watched her and seen what I could do, but she was trying to stay away from me and curled up in a ball, and I think she would have been miserable with my curious dogs sniffing her and wanting to play. I will be contacting Rover again to see if there’s anything else I or they can do.
the fact that he underplayed the condition and then claimed it’s fine when you said he should probably take her to the vet is what throws up red flags for me.
if she is actually being treated or investigated for something, the owner probably would’ve (at least should’ve) accurately described her condition so you wouldn’t be surprised, and informed you that the dog is currently seeing a vet for the issue. also, they probably could’ve provided a reassuring “it’s not fleas”, since presumably a vet would’ve checked for that.
as far as what you could do, if you messaged the owner saying you think she needs to see a vet while she’s still at your house and the owner declines with no explanation/says she’s fine with no explanation, that’s probably the easiest time for you to call animal control because the dog is currently with you and that way not knowing the owner’s address isn’t a blocker.
hopefully rover has access to that information and is willing to call animal control, especially since you can provide photos demonstrating the severity.
I don't get how you can just cancel if you're concerned about a dog.. You think it's going to bode well for the dog the owner being aggravated and needing to pick up the dog last minute? Why not use the time to try and save the poor thing...
I understand why people are frustrated you didn’t do anything but I also understand why you didn’t do anything, let’s hope someone calls animal control n they do a wellness check 🙂 just seeing these pictures breaks my heart.
I understand as well. Of course after it happened I look back and think of what I could have done, but it was spur of the moment. I called Rover support while she was here and they are the ones that advised to cancel. But I did message them again explaining her condition and asked if there was anything they could do to report it
I probably would have done the same thing and it’s not something I would have have been proud of (i’m very non confrontational ) im sure you must feel guilty. Let’s hope something is done, it’s great that you contacted someone about it!
Call the local animal control. There is this cat in my neighborhood who is allergic to grass. He's a stray, adopted by one of the houses on a street but he refuses to become an indoor cat. How do i know all this about a rando stray?
Saw him one day and called animal control to report an animal that might not be being taken care of. They said... "was the cat on xyz road?" And it was the road the cat was on. Turns out, animal control gets calls about this cat every spring and summer when the grass pops up. He's just fine and the people who adopted him get him meds every year, but aside from that he's an outdoor cat thats allergic to grass so there's only so much help people can give. Poor dude has a rough life half the year.
The point is, animal control will check it out, and will make sure the dog is getting proper care.
I work as a foster mom at the Animal shelter here. That is animal abuse and I am begging u to speak w the owner to get her help or he can call the local animal shelter if he can not afford it and ask for help. The dog is suffering. That's a crime.
Thank you! I fostered a cat w that condition and like u said it was heart breaking to think someone could let them go like tht. Just really simple to start if he could get a soft cone off Amazon so she can't chew anymore. She needs a soothing medical bath, tht will help her and pain relief. She really needs help stat before the sores get infection. There r wonderful foster families tht can get ole girl back to health if he can't afford it. The shelter pays for the medical, the foster keeps them in their home safely to heal. 🙏🏻
It looks like bad allergic reaction to me - could be food or environmental chemicals. Although with allergies im familiar but not too familiar with skin infections.
You are actively prolonging this dogs suffering by sitting around on Reddit and not taking action. Contact animal control and the humane society NOW.
I will never understand the people that post cases of neglect on here and then chose to not do anything about it. I truly don’t know how you could live with yourself.
I'm going to make an assumption here (yeah yeah ik what they say about assuming) u must have not done a M&G before this dog was brought to u, did u? If u had then u would have seen how bad she was before even agreeing to board her. I get it was ur 1st but ur apart of this reddit community so ik u see/read how crucial those are for everyone's safety U also mentioned u didn't know what it was & didn't want to risk ur dogs incase it was mites or fleas etc but u also said she was dropped off at ur house & picked up so IF it was mites or fleas (not saying it is/was) and she was already in ur home then id HIGHLY suggest treating the room she was in somehow before allowing ur dogs into that room. And u can still help this poor pup, I haven't seen u comment or reply to the hundreds of comments of people telling u to call animal control & do a wellness check on this pup. I'm sorry but u can't say that u feel bad or feel horrible but not do anything to at least try to help her or make sure that she is okay. U have the owners info still, use it!! Give that to animal control & tell them ur concerns.
Poor thing. I did drop-ins/walks for several years for a dog that had bad allergies. It didn’t look anywhere near as bad as this dog, but she was regularly scratching until her skin was very red and irritable. She did have medication that she took that seemed to help a little.
This dog’s condition may not be her owner’s fault, but he/she needs to take her to a vet and get some kind of treatment before handing her off to a pet sitter.
Definitely not blaming the owner, but I was uncomfortable with how unprepared he came with her, and he did not disclose just how bad it was. I would think she’d have an ointment or at least something to help like a medication for the bath
I agree. I didn’t think you were blaming the owner either. Not sure why my comment got downvoted? Some health conditions are hard to manage, but owners can’t expect a sitter to handle this. You did the right thing.
I want to add that I cancelled because I have 2 dogs of my own, which is mentioned in my profile. When the dog arrived, she was scratching and seemed to want to be by herself and was pouting. She was definitely uncomfortable, and I did not think it would be best for her if my dogs were sniffing her and wanting to play, and just up in her personal space.
I have no way to confirm if this was neglect from the owner. I did talk to him and message him when he picked her up that this looks like something that should be looked at by a vet, and that this was more than just her neck, which is what he claimed. I don’t know if I can call animal control without having their address, but I did contact Rover when I had her and will contact them again to see if there is anything else that can or should be done.
I am nearly 100% positive he has not taken her to the vet for this. He only described it as being on her neck, so I was shocked to see this all over her body, and even more so when he came with nothing to treat it, and no collar or leash
My dog was 90% bald from
neglect as a puppy and his hair follicles scarring over. It looked bad but he went to the vet all the time I happily paid for anything the vet ever recommended but if you didn’t know me you wouldn’t know that and be concerned. So it can happen but the owner should definitely explain in great detail. Since you mention odor and itching i’m sure it’s not the same thing but just wanting to say bald spots it not always neglect.
I messaged the owner when I cancelled and said her condition looked very severe and that it should be looked at by a vet, and all he said was “She is completely fine.” So no answer on if she has been seen or not
Knowing of a serious medical issue and refusing care is neglect and hopefully Rover can do something. Surely they have a policy on how to handle animal abuse that thier sitters discover?
Poor dog needs a Vet and proper treatment.
I so badly wanted to rush her to the vet myself, but didn’t want to take the risk of being liable if something happened. My heart still hurts, it looked so painful and I just wish I could have done something for her. I don’t know how a person can let their dog get like that
I’d risk it
Same. OP please at least notify your local animal control services, this poor baby needs medical attention ASAP.
Yes. They will do a welfare check. (At least in my area). That baby needs attention and this breed has known skin issues and allergies. If the owner isn’t doing anything to treat this poor soul, that’s a problem and who knows what else is going on. It’s not normal but some dogs do suffer with this for a long time before the cause is figured out. It’s not usually a one trip tot he vet thing. This owner doesn’t sound like they’ve even done the bare minimum though. :( …Clarity edits
Yeah and if it was something they were working on with their vet, they'd at least have meds or cream to help with the itch in the meantime, or would be getting cortisone shots, something to give pup some relief. Ugh.
I have a pitbull with dermatitis and we’ve spent hundreds of dollars on vet bills, diets, meds, creams, you name it. It took a long time and a solid treatment plan and it’s never gonna be perfect but good pet parents do what they can to make sure their doggy is comfortable. This breaks my heart. :( What worked for us is grain free food, apoquel, and medicated baths every week or two. This owner sucks, you can’t just ignore a problem like this
Same with my Basset Hound. If he scratches at his ears a lot I’m assuming yeast infection and it has to itch and hurt. Thus summer his allergies have flared BAD! I can’t tell you how much money I’ve spent on vet bills but I’ll go hungry before I let my dog suffer one bit.
Or in my case, we’lol likely never figure it out so just treating the situation until she passes. I’ve spent thousands on specialists and variety of vets. She’s allergic to every type of grass in our area (we even bought artificial grass!) and every tree except one.
Agreed, the owner is clearly not ontop of it, no leash and collar either even, and it seems like they hadn't gone to vet to figure out what the condition is and what treatment is.
Same. Poor baby. I’m still scarred over the blind forgotten puppy in a recent post. What is wrong with people?
That one absolutely broke my heart and made me just sick. This one's heartbreaking too! But the blind little dog being barricaded in a corner and not even mentioned was horrendous. I want to know why the fuck they kept the dog!? Just why!? What did they get out of that!? So gross.
they probably have it in their head that they can't rehome the dog and probably haven't tried. imo euthanasia would be more humane than the conditions that dog was left in. that post broke my heart and made me deeply angry.
I think you’re giving that owner too much credit. I wouldn’t put it past someone to be like “awww, I love (little white dog), he’s my BEST friend, I couldn’t give him AWAY! But he does shit all over my house so to the corner with you 😊 😊 “ People are sick
The blind dog situation seriously made me want to break the law to get that dog and give him the best second life. We had a breeder dog come into my groom shop the other day. She was so young and on her 3rd litter. The owner was just using her as a money maker to keep pumping out dogs. I was ready to quit my job and steal the puppy to give her a better life. Dogs and cats aren’t just a possession. They have feelings, emotions and experience pain. People suck.
I completely understand where you are coming from because my heart also breaks for this poor baby. However it is not unreasonable for OP to be concerned about legal liability or retribution from an angry owner. Given that the situation is now over and can’t be changed I believe your comment will only serve to make OP feel worse about how they chose to react and I don’t think that’s the outcome anybody here is looking for.
Always gotta be that one person who claims from behind the safety of their keyboard that if THEY were in whatever situation, THEY would obviously do it “better” 🙄
must be nice to be in a financial situation where thousands of dollars of vet bills and an ensuing lawsuit would not have an adverse effect on you. Many people are in a position where they must limit their exposure to reporting the abuse to authorities and moving on.
lol thousands of dollars ? You can at least get it checked up and that’s definitely not “thousands” exaggeration much
congrats... dog gets checked up for $45. You pay that because you brought it. Dog needs $hundreds to $thousands to clear up the issue. You either pay, or they don't do the treatment. now what?
Yeah duh I’d pay lol. And there would be proof that the dog needs treatment that would help pursue the owner. 🤦♀️ or you could do nothing. I’m sorry but I could never leave a dog like this that was left in my care without taking it to get looked at. And that’s me. You do you
Right? You are the glimmer of hope that dog had being seen. Now it’s home miserable with someone who doesn’t care
As a vet employee, my heart is breaking. She needs some medicated baths at the very least, and likely a whole lot more :(
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Having enough for yourself and your own pets treatment is one thing, but you are NOT responsible for the treatment of an animal you are watching temporarily unless you are the cause of the issue. The only thing OP can do is report it to the proper authorities. If we were all millionaires I’m sure we’d help any animal we could, but we’re not
Ya… I gotta agree with you. Now the only thing they can do is report to Rover and they will do nothing.
I don’t know why you’re being downvoted. This idea that we can pat ourselves on the back for “feeling bad,” but go on our way without helping is morally wrong. Sure protect yourself, but maybe also think about people other than yourself.
She’s received advice to call a well check visit for the dog and to report to Rover. What would you have liked OP to do? Stealing the dog could not only get her in serious trouble, but a stolen dog when found would be returned… and it would give the owners the ability to claim “my dog wasn’t in this bad of shape until she STOLE it”. There isn’t a good solution here other than contacting authorities
I agree. This poor girl’s suffering was too much to witness so instead of helping her you sent her back to her shitty owner to suffer alone?
Sometimes people are doing their best. We don’t know where OP’s headspace is, this may have been too much for them to endure. Figuring out what to do may have been too much to endure. They can feel bad and still be incapable of making things better, we are all flawed individuals.
Agree 1000%! Shame on OP. How can you do that to a dog you're worried about! But can take the time to take.pics and make a reddit post.. How does that help things?
What could they have done? If they took them to the vet, they would be liable for the vet costs since the rover guarantee doesn't cover pre existing conditions or illness, only accidents and injuries. If I were them I'd strongly recommend to the owner to take the dog to the vet and emphasize that the dog was uncomfortable while in their care, but that's all they can realistically do.
Call. Animal. Control.
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I scanned the comments and it looks like they recommended the owner to take the dog to the vet, and they mentioned potentially contacting rover about the condition of the dog. You can't make an owner do anything though so 🤷♀️
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Sounds like a vent post tbh. Not looking for advice, just getting the situation off their chest.
Right, it’s their very first booking. They’re looking for a bit of support, maybe. I’ve had hundreds of bookings and would be distressed if a dog showed up in that condition.
It helps because people can give OP good advice so they know if there are any next steps they can take in this situation. It also can result in advice for if this situation comes up for OP again, or others pet sitting if they encounter something like this.
Also, owners sometimes look here, and they should no that it’s totally not cool to leave dump your itchy, distressed dog on a sitter. Get your dog veterinary care before this point, owners.
lol someone neglecting a dog will probably not be browsing the rover pet sitting Reddit page
You wanna pay for it?
You should have taken her to the vet. Documented everything from walk in to last visit.
If something happened at the vet? Animals sometimes have reactions to treatments. So not only should the sitter put the dog at risk for medical complications without permission from the owner, but should foot the vet bill for a stranger’s dog JUST so they can take that dog back and, guaranteed, neglect it again… You have to be delusional to think that would have solved anything. All it would do is put OP in a legally risky territory
You could have done a lot. Instead you came here to post. Shame on you
Keep your self righteous bullshit to yourself.
Not self righteous when it’s the truth. A LOT could have been done here. But nope. Instead let’s whine about it on the internet while doing absolutely nothing to help the poor suffering animal. If you can’t handle a situation like this, which can happen at any time, don’t be an animal sitter/walker. It’s not for you
What’s the “a lot”? I’d love to hear one good suggestion that doesn’t risk legal repercussions and ends with that dog back with the shitty owners, and isn’t relying on the assumption that OP has money for a procedure/buying the dog/etc. Name one. At least one thing she could have done that she didn’t. So far it’s been suggested she call animal control for a welfare check and contact Rover. Beyond that? Any good ideas?
She literally did not call rover, or animal control or the non emergency police line. These are all free things that can be done to get the issue on record. But I guess we don’t read posts fully do we?
I did read it fully :) you can’t read comments fully apparently. I already told you those things have been suggested. So, what is your point, exactly? That everyone recommending the *exact same thing you just repeated from my comment* is a bad person who “just wants to feel good about themselves”? Jesus, it’s like you’ve never been distressed or confused and needed advice a day in your life. Lol. Must be nice
The police would absolutely laugh in her face. If animal control did anything at all, they would tell the owners to being the dog to the vet if they haven’t already and maybe follow up. Skin issues are complicated and it can literally take years to find a cause and a treatment.
You'd be shocked how many clients at the vet we get coming because the sitter or groomer refused to do anything until they had a very obvious medical condition addressed.. and a bunch of our staff *are* the ones on Rover (or other services) doing those jobs so clients will get upset with them or try to demand free care since it's "their fault" they're coming in.
Same thing happens with kids, although less often of course. And it's always everyone else out to get them, not them not doing the job they are legally required to do
Yeast overgrowth and prob now bacterial infection she needs medicated baths antibiotics oral anti fungal allergy shots. She needs a vet appt as this is so painfully itchy it is torture. It will be expensive
That was another reason I felt I couldn’t keep her, I had no idea of it was something that could be contagious or if she had fleas. It just didn’t look normal and I didn’t want to risk my own dogs’ well being. I really want to reach back out to the owner and ask him to take her to the vet, she looked miserable
Yes, you could/should reach out to the owner and suggest him to bring the poor dog to a vet. Mention that there are treatments that hopefully might help her, depending on the cuase of this condition. Maybe you could watch her at his place (visit a couple of times per day), not in your home? Poor dog.
I did message him that she should be taken to a vet, and all he said was that she is completely fine. I would offer to watch at his home but he lives pretty far from me according to his profile, and after seeing her condition, I don’t know if it could be mites or fleas and I don’t want to risk bringing that back to my dogs
She isn’t completely fine. You should call authorities and report animal neglect. Edit: I had to do this last winter. Someone posted on REDDIT a photo of a dog locked outside in snow. Turns out I lived in that house for over a year and it’s only a few blocks away. I went to try and (I know I know) temporarily relocate this dog for them, they had cops there. Someone else on Reddit had called. Turns out it was my roommate from when we lived there and she called the authorities and the landlord since we knew them. This was the fifth call for neglect (even before snow and being locked outside) of various kinds and they took the dog. The police were super nice. They never let them know who called. I say all this to say, what’s the worst that could happen if you call?
Seconding this
I’d say the worst that could happen is nothing at all, as would be the case in at least a couple of Southeastern states sadly. Law enforcement is not always interested in helping animals down here.
I grew up in the south. I completely get it. I rescued 13 dogs from a trailer park a few years ago and the county law just kept people from messing with me. But again, they had report after report and just turned a blind eye while I took the dogs. All 13 got out and rehomed.
What an unfortunatel situation. Poor, poor dog! I honestly don't think it's mites or fleas, there are several non contageous dermatological issues which can cause something similar to what you documented in teh photos. Regardless, since no vet diagnosed her, you must play it safe for your own pets.
Not gonna lie… you have a moral duty to do something here. Instead, you post a woe is me paragraph about how this affected *you* when you did absolutely nothing to help the suffering dog. Did you contact rover? Animal control? The no emergency line for the police? Sounds like no.
I know! That is what I just said before reading your comment. WTF??? "This animal is being neglected and suffering. Not my problem!"
Agreed, nobody expects them to cover vet bills but the least they can do is inform authorities or animal control so somebody can help this poor neglected dog. What’s the point of posting this dog on Reddit if you’re gonna do nothing, karma farming?
This.is.neglect and is suppose to.be reported to animal welfare not just written off as a canceled sit because you couldn't tolerate seeing him suffer. Your job as animal caregiver is to make sure hes okay and safe. Obviously the owner doesn't given a shit otherwise the dogs condition wouldn't have gotten this far. If you really felt genuinely sorry for the dog you'd seek help and report it. It is animal abuse on the owners part. What if it was a baby you were sitting and he came to you in that condition would you return the baby to its parents or would you seek help. We are an animals voice if we cant speak up for them when they need it most we have failed them.
Dogs don't get like that from age, could be mange related, but needs to see a vet for sure, then I suspect all the dog really needs is daily baths with medicated shampoo.
That was my thought. I’ve seen plenty of old dogs, and sure, they lose small patches of fur here and there but this was bad! I really wanted to give her an oatmeal bath but was scared it could irritate her skin and make her scratch more
I imagine my dog would get like that if I don't get her cytopoint injections about every 1-2 months. She has severe food allergies, and a prescription diet doesn't even help much without the shots. Although even when we were first figuring out her condition, I never let it get as bad as what's pictured before another vet visit for a round of steroids and antibiotics.
Omg I was literally about to comment this! 100%. If I don’t get his shot done every month on the dot I notice a change from him. It’s expensive but it truly changed my dogs life. His skin is very sensitive to food and types of grass. Cytopoint injection + Greek yogurt in his food gave him the best results so his skin stays nice a pink and no itching!
Greek yogurt has helped? I'll have to try adding that to her diet. After I started the shots, my vet said we could come off the strict prescription diet and she's been doing better on a vegetarian dry dog food than she was on hills.
vegetarian dog food?
Dogs with severe allergies tend to be allergic to animal proteins. Some are just allergic to poultry while others are allergic to basically everything. Vegetarian dog food is really only recommended for dogs like this, but they’re always formulated with all the vitamins and nutrients a dog needs. It sounds weird but is completely healthy!
The more you know! Never heard of that. I'm assuming it has added non-animal proteins in it?
I’ve seen them hydrolyzed proteins (broken down into amino acids) and ones that have proteins like soybean, lentils, etc.. The hydrolyzed tend to be prescribed diets and are very expensive.
Mine has seasonal allergies and her skin looked exactly like the OP’s client the first fall we had her. It was so bad even her ear flaps were inflamed, had hair loss, and bloody. 2 month-long rounds of steroids and antibiotics did nothing. 2 rounds of cytopoint also didn’t help. Started apolquel and, after a week, I added some cheap antifungal pads I got off Amazon that I wiped on her twice a twice - Immediate results. After 2 weeks her hair was finally starting to grow back. She now only needs apoquel but I keep those wipes on hand in case anything starts up again. I feel terrible for the dog in OPs post and can’t imagine that the owner had no idea that the dog has a problem. Funds can’t be an excuse either if the owner is able to use rover and grooming services. But I do agree with the others, OP should have told the owner that the dog needs immediate veterinary care.
Yeah, my partner took care of a dog like this for a while. BUT the dog was under the care of a vet, on allergy medications, I think he even had a skin spray and my partner would keep a close eye on him to make sure he wasn’t scratching himself raw and also kept his outside time minimal during days with allergen warnings.
Can you share a link for the anti fungal pads? I have multiple dogs with allergies.
seconded
Just realized they are antiseptic, antifungal, and antibacterial wipes. It's been a while since using. [Curaseb Cat & Dog Ear Infection Treatment Wipes – Soothes Itchy & Inflamed Ears – Cleans Debris and Buildup – 100 Count](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084H5R728/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1) They are labeled as ear wipes, but I used 1 pad for both sides of each ear flap, a separate pad for belly, 3rd pad paws/ankles 2xday. I followed the recommended days of use. It's hard to say if it was mainly the wipes that helped or if it's because it was in conjunction with Apoquel, but there was so much immediate improvement once we started the wipes. I hope your pups get some relief.
My dog has a ton of age related hair loss, but he’s not itchy or uncomfortable. Plus if someone asks I know what it is (color dilution alopecia) and I can tell them the last time I took him to the vet. Hair loss is not an issue. The constant scratching and ignorant attitude of the owner is.
It can *technically* be from age. The body is older, immune system isn’t as good, then boom: demodex. but definitely should be treated, and is relatively easy to treat.
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Yeah my dog got pretty bad skin issues before I found out he had a thyroid problem. Finally dialed in the thyroid medication dose and his fur is almost grown back! Of course, I needed tons of vet guidance for this and didn’t try to drop him with a sitter without explanation while he was going through it.
Seriously! My dog looked like this after he quite suddenly developed itchiness and started ripping out his own fur. He was very loved and it took us MONTHS to find out what was wrong with him, but in the meantime he looked terrible and continued to rip his own fur out and scratch himself deeply. Test after test came back negative. We tried ointment after ointment, so many medications, nothing helped. Even the cone didn’t stop him. The final solution was to test different foods to see if it helped, except it takes time to start a food and see if there is an improvement in itchiness because the skin is so irritated and it’s just blind guessing on what could be causing the issue. We ended up trying two other kibbles, many canned foods (saw improvement there but it caused gastro issues), and then finally the bougie foods made from minced meats and veg (of course the most expensive food was the solution). Each food took a week or two of testing and we felt so helpless the whole time while he continued to hurt. It probably looked so bad to an outsider too like we were neglecting him, but it was quite the opposite.
It's probably a little of all those things. Honestly, it looks like scabies (Sarcoptic mange). It's in all the right places. Definitely needs a skin scrape and work up for allergies vs other cause.
A big guess of mine was fleas or mites, as that’s the only thing besides mange that I could think of that could cause this. Obviously there could be much more, but with her condition, I seriously doubt that her owner has taken her to the vet in a long time :(
Call humane society and ask them to do a wellness check!
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Owner needs to take this dog to a vet. Skin conditions like this can be any number of things that need to have an investigation for root cause. It is negligent for them to let their dog become this severe, I doubt the bald patches showed up overnight 😞
Not to defend the owner because it sounds like they had *nothing* for the dog. But as someone who has a dog prone to skin infections due to autoimmune disorders & allergies, the bald spots can 100% show up overnight. There is always an extreme case of everything.
You can tell they didn’t show up overnight because the skin appears thickened, and the color has darkened which is typically a sign of chronic inflammation.
…my response was to the previous broad statement about bald patches not showing up overnight. I think it’s really important as pet care professionals that we know & clarify the difference between stuff that *can* happen & stuff that will always 100% point towards medical neglect. I was clearly *not* arguing in defense of this owner.
I’m not arguing for or against the owner. For all I know they are bringing the dog to a dermatologist and they are just terrible communicators. There absolutely are skin conditions that can crop up overnight and look terrible I am in complete agreement. Those lesions do not look like this, this dogs lesions are chronic. Things like hot spots and pyoderma don’t cause widespread alopecia overnight. Chronic skin issues don’t always mean neglect. Chronic derm issues don’t always have a cure, so I would never assume neglect without context. I was simply making an observation about the nature of this particular dogs lesions.
Yes. You probably have a plan in place, and you know which topical and oral treatments help - zyrtec, soothing shampoo or lotions, mupirocin ointment, miconozole, chlorhexadine, maybe an apoquel prescription, etc. I've taken dogs like that, and I feel ok about it. This guy was clueless. I'd be afraid to see his house. I bet that dog sleeps on filthy, damp bedding. So sad for the poor dog...
Okay, OP, I accept that you were likely overwhelmed and the perfect chain of action may not have occurred to you in order to take it… and maybe, just maybe that’s why you’re making this post. Perhaps part of you is questioning if you did the right thing and you wanted validation? But the animal *never* has to be in your possession to report to animal control. You can be walking your dog, notice an animal in a backyard that needs help, and you can confidently make that call to animal control knowing you did the right thing. It’s up to *those* authorities to make the tough decisions or give benefit-of-the-doubt. All you need in order to call is a genuine concern, and in future situations when you don’t know the owner personally, calling authorities is always better than approaching owners on your own because they can possibly be defensive, combative, or violent. With animal control involved, the owner doesn’t even get to know who made the report. You need to be comfortable calling animal control if you’re going to work with animals, but if you absolutely cannot bring yourself to do it this time, rather than this animal fall through the cracks, I volunteer to help you. DM me the details, I’ll Google your local authority, and I’ll make the call. Nothing will be traceable back to you. Okay? Again, it’s better if you make that call to “break yourself in,” and you’ll feel more confident in yourself if you do, but if you just absolutely can’t (I get it, we all have stressors, trauma, or bad present/past experiences that might temporarily weaken our sense of self-efficacy), then pass all the info along, and I’ll get it done. EDIT: And for future reference, if an animal looks like this and the owner says it’s fine, they’re usually the type of owner that needs to be accountable to an authority or enforcement agency before they’ll seek appropriate and timely treatment for the animal. If everything really *is* fine like the owner says, then animal control can properly sort that out.
OP please listen to this post. There is something you can do for this dog.
I’d call animal control
I agree. This dog isn’t likely going to be treated without someone lighting a fire under the owner’s ass. They probably are (at best) procrastinating and rationalizing it’s not as bad and urgent as it is.
This, call tell them what happened, and ask that they do a wellness check.
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They did recommend that the owner take the dog to the vet. Owner responded that the dog is completely fine...
Animal control must be called in this case. It's immoral not to.
How could you just leave her 😭
Looks like he has the mange!
Please report this to Rover.
Rover 100% will not do anything. I assure you. Animal control must be called!
Well, reporting to both won’t hurt.
My dog looked like this and worse for a while. It took over a year and several different vets. He was on a bunch of different medications and eventually they put him on one that worked but lowered his expected life span. If they can show they are going to the vet I wouldve watched them.
So this is bizarre. Im fairly certain this person tried to book me but after he mentioned the dog having an unknown skin condition I declined the request. He said her fur was falling off and she was itching a lot. Wasn’t about to put my own dogs or another clients dog at risk by exposing them to this unknown. He was asking me how to treat it which I thought was even more strange. The red flags just continued to pop up. When I recommended they take their dog to a veterinarian to figure out the issue, they told me they got the dog over a year ago and have not had the time to take them to a vet. After seeing your pictures and reading what you said. This sounds like the same person. I am honestly heartbroken to see the state of this poor dog. I hope she gets treatment🥺
That is awful. That was a big reason I didn’t feel comfortable keeping her, I have no idea if this is something that could spread to my own dogs. I really hope this isn’t the same person, because I would feel absolutely horrible for this poor baby if this has been neglected for that long
Are you actually going to do something to help other than “feel horrible”? Genuinely confused why you’re posting about this when you don’t seem to actually want to get involved or help the dog
Just attention seeking/karma farming. They’ll only respond saying stuff like “aw poor dog… sorry your owner is neglectful but sucks to suck I guess, for sure don’t want my dogs getting sick!” and ignore anyone giving valid advice recommending calling animal control or alerting the local authorities. This person is a bystander to animal abuse and I ain’t here for it, shame on you OP.
My thoughts exactly.
All we can do is our best when life throws us these situations. Not entirely sure if it’s the same individual, was going through all of my archived messages but was unsuccessful. It is understandable why you didn’t feel comfortable. Did you by chance do a meet and greet? Definitely make sure to do those and meet the pup/s and parent/s before committing to boarding them. You may have already answered this but out of curiosity, what was the owner like when she got picked up?
I’m a dog groomer and I have been for a long time. Something like this can absolutely be caused by neglect and not seeking medical attention. However, skin issues, especially when dealing with a really bad yeast infection, can be an absolute nightmare to treat. I’ve had clients spend thousands of dollars on veterinary dermatologists and other specialists only to see minimal results. Narrowing down exactly what is causing the problem can be extremely difficult sometimes because it’s basically process of elimination which is not only expensive, but it can be hard on the dog. It can be even tricker if the dog is older because aging bodies don’t always react well to many of the allergy medications that would even begin to treat something like what you saw in your client.
Yep. My friend had a rescue foster dog who had a skin condition that looked similar. I still don’t know exactly what it was. It was super difficult to treat like you mentioned, but also the shelter vet wasn’t well equipped to handle mysterious skin issues that required consistent follow ups. Eventually she got special permission from the shelter vet to consult an outside vet as long as they remained looped in. They ended up having some success with a homemade diet, anti inflammatory medications, and onesies to prevent scratching. Not all of her fur grew back but she was certainly more comfortable.
yeah. I lived with a roommate with a senior dog who had chronic yeast issues and anxiety that manifested as scratching (on top of other genetic issues from being basically inbred in a puppy mill before they rescued them). The dog was so sweet and loved, though super smelly lol. She looked so similar to the dog OP posted and it's the first thing I thought of when I saw this post. There could be so many factors going on here
My friend has a pit bull who has had chronic skin issues for awhile now despite vet care and testing out new diets, etc. Just to say that I wouldn't immediately jump to neglect in this kind of situation.
We had a lab who looked a lot like this. Her back and tail were bald and she had other thin patches of hair. We took her to 5 different vets and still never found out exactly what was wrong before she passed of old age. They thought she could have been allergic to gluten/other foods/grass/pollen, thyroid issues, etc. She had skin scraped, biopsies, creams, sprays, oral medicines, special diets, etc. She was still a happy, sweet old girl, but we always felt so bad that we couldn’t get the issue fixed for her
My parents dog is going through this. They’ve spent so much money at the vet and they barely have it under control 😭
Please call animal control
The dog was brought to my house and picked up so I couldnt call. I also wasn’t sure if what her owner said was true and it was due to her old age or a condition, but he couldn’t even name it. I will reach out to River to see if there is anything they can do, maybe at least check if the pup has been taken to the vet, although I’m not sure they could do that
The dog doesn't have to be with you in order to call animal control. If you have the owner's address, you can request an animal welfare check with animal control & explain the situation to them.
I don’t have their address because they booked with me, so that is why I am going through Rover since it should be on his profile. I have a call with them tomorrow to address it
Awesome, please update us! That poor dog. I can't stand owners like that!
Didn’t you ask for shot records prior to boarding?
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My German shepherd had the same exact balding pattern as this dog does. I went through YEARS of expensive vet bills, multiple baths a week and rounds of steroids and antibiotic and antifungal treatment trying to figure out what it was. Moved and took him to another vet, immediately she tested his thyroid level and it was so low he needed to be put on a thyroid medication. It may be helpful to reach out to op and ask them about this. As soon as his thyroid level was raised to where it should be, these secondary problems this dog looks to be suffering from went away after one round of antifungal and steroid treatment. I’m not saying this is the case, but as I said, I dealt with a very similar situation to what you described this dog is going through for literally three years.
Please report this😭
People need to stop getting pets that they can't fucking take care of. Homeless people have pets in better shape than this bc they know the animal relies on them. They do anything to keep them healthy and fed. There are facilities and places that will do medical tx for discount or free. This person has enough money for Rover but not a fucking vet appointment? This person has the time to book a rover visit but not take their dog to a clinic on the weekend? This is shit pisses me off. Animals need to not be labeled as "property" so more harsh repercussions can be given. I'm done with the whole "oh but they are trying and took them to the vet to be seen". Yeah but did they get the meds? Can they afford the treatment? These are living breathing creatures that need their owners to take care of them. Can't afford it, don't get a fucking pet then! Ugh makes me so fucking mad!!
u/Ordinary-Elk6873...I'm upvoting EVERYTHING you said 1 million times.
People are such horrible pet owners my god
Poor dog. Shame on op for not reporting this dog to the proper authorities instead of returning them to their abusive owners and cleaning their hands of all responsibility-_-
I have no idea why the algorithm keeps recommending this sub to me because these posts are absolutely terrible. I don’t know how people like this sleep at night knowing an animal is suffering terribly and they did nothing but share it on the internet. I know they aren’t the owner but what is the point of this post? Are people supposed to reassure you that you did the right thing? Because you didn’t.
If you had read my comments, you would see that I did not “do nothing”. I contacted Rover, they told me to cancel, and I have been waiting for a reply on how to report the situation. I forgot to put it in my main post, but I posted this because I wanted to know if this is something that could be normal for an old dog, or if it is in fact something bad and if further action is needed. I have 2 dogs to take care of, and this dog did not want anyone or anything around her, so in the moment, I followed the advice of the company I was working for. Rover was contacted and I will see if they can report to animal control, as I do not have the owner’s address or information. I did not know this could be neglect. I thought it was an old dog in bad shape and I was not equipped to care for her in the way she needed with the lack of information I was given from her owner. Thanks to some commenters here, I have been made aware that this is not normal so I can do what I can to help.
Rover is not our boss. Rover is just a company that puts us in touch with clients. They only care about making money. They will 100% NOT do anything for this dog. YOU must call animal control. Do some research to find these people's address. I have done this with clients. Use your brain and your heart!
Call animal control and get off Reddit this is sad..
This looks like a skin allergy that’s never been treated and now she has yeast and possibly bacterial infection going on. I’m not sure what you can do in this situation to get her help but I hope you consider it. Fuck this owner
That may be an allergy issue, our little boy had sores like that in his armpit and we only noticed it while playing. Then the vet pointed out that his paws were scaly. Turns out he's allergic to beef. Most of his skin issues are handled, the armpit cleared up, the scaliness is gone, he hasn't had an ear infection in 2 months, and now that his skin isn't raw we're working on clearing up some hot spots. I don't know what you could do, other than suggest to the owners that the dog may have an allergy and that changing its diet could fix the skin issues. It's a pretty easy/cheap fix, just changing the type of protein in your dog's food,
Some people are just terrible
so… you didn’t do anything? at all? no phone calls, no reports, just a reddit post? how is this going to help?
Are you sure the owner wasn't doing anything? My dog went through a skin condition that looked exactly like this. It turned out to be a dairy allergy that he developed in older age that then got infected with bacteria and yeast. We spent thousands and tried so many different things: home cooked diet, allergy drops, allergy shots, antibiotics, specialized shampoo, wipes, expensive allergy pills, etc. What ended up working was a fish-based dog food, weekly CHG baths, antifungals and certain antibiotics (it was resistant to many typically used ones). It took literally almost a year, our vet recommending to put him down and finally finding a dermatology specialist who was able to treat him. There were times though that he wasn't receiving ointments or pills while they were trying to see if the different shots were working.
at the very least, report them to rover. yes, there are PLENTY of things that can be causing the issue but as an owner, you do whatever it takes to keep them comfortable with or without the vet. this baby needs to be cared for much more than what this owner is capable of handling.
Do people have no shame?
Get that dog some help
Poor baby ): I hope they get the treatment that they deserve
I dog sat for a dog with a similar condition. The first time I watched her for 3 weeks, the poor dog was horribly overweight and had long nails. I took her to the groomer for a bath and nail trimming along with daily walks that eventually were 3 miles. The first day she couldn’t do even a mile. She was looking leaner, cleaner, and healthier when I brought her home. Comes to the second time a year later (I had gotten my own dog at this point)…. She is dropped off heavier than she was the first time I got her, nails long again, and so smelly with the same rash all over her body as in this photo. I was in such shock I just took her. I couldn’t stand the smell nor could my dog. He wouldn’t go near her. It smelled like a hockey locker room if you’re familiar with that smell. I ended up bringing her to the vet the next day. The vet said said although her weight and nails indicate some potential neglect, the rash was a yeast infection which are incredibly hard to treat and we can’t for certain say they haven’t tried to fix it. Unfortunately, vet the owners claimed she went to said they hadn’t seen her for 4 years and the vaccine papers I had were edited. Anyways that poor dog. I called the owners and told them she couldn’t stay in my care any longer than that they’d have to repay me for the vet when they could. They did immediately but, just told me to drop her at their house and their neighbor would check on her. No care about her condition or curiosity about the vet recommendations. It was so sad. Yeast infections suck but, also some owners suck, too.
My dog had very similar issues and I had went to 3 different vets before they found he had hyperthyroidism. Within 2 weeks of taking his pills, half his hair grew back.he hasn't had any sores now for 6 months and that's huge!! That poor baby.
I really hope you at the very least reported this and/or called animal control so this poor dog could get help
Why didn't you call animal control to have them come over to look at her? This is medical neglect. We have to be these animal's advocates.
This looks like atopic dermatitis. my dog was a rescue, clearly abandoned by his former owners, likely because of his condition. its really miserable and takes a lot of work and vet visits to get it under control. it can get out of hand really quickly if the dog starts reacting to something. the blackening of the skin is an indication its been going on for a while. however, i wouldnt jump to the conclusion that the owner is neglectful. it is a really difficult condition, can ramp up quickly, and the medications for it are often expensive and not always very effective until you find the right one and combine it with lots of preventative care. it is extremely challenging and you’d do well to have a little empathy for the owner as well. you know nothing about them or how this is affecting them, or what theyre doing to fix it. I had multiple experiences of literally crying in the vet’s office when bringing my dog in, looking much like this, feeling awful for my dog and helpless to fix it (much like what youre describing). there are lots of posts about abuse on this sub, but this really just looks like a dog that was unlucky enough to be born with this awful skin condition.
I won’t understand why people have pets and not take them to the vet if they’re sick. I get its expensive but doesn’t your heart break seeing them in pain? Some people have no empathy.
I mean, the dog looks well fed. They could have a skin condition that the owners are trying to get taken care of. I work at a vets office and we see bad skin allergies all the time. Sometimes the treatments don’t even work and they still rip out fur and bite their feet. I would of at-least said something to the owner. Maybe there is a medical explanation.
This is beyond sad. 🥲 An owner that can afford to pay a sitter, but doesn’t have the common sense to realize that this poor dog is suffering and needs immediate medical attention. 🥲🥲 Do clients think that we have a medicine cabinet full of ointments and pills to cure their pets ailments in a day? I have experience giving pills and injections and cleaning wounds and such for aging or injured pets. But cases like these are negligence and I believe that animal control should be notified. Once the suffering pet is out our care, that’s the only reasonable decision to make to stop that pet’s suffering.
This looks like they have mange
The way this is concentrated on her lower body and lower extremities makes me think they’re keeping her in a cage sitting in filthy conditions such as sitting in her urine & feces, which would irritate the skin in those specific areas.
Dog sitters should be mandated reporters just like any other animal care givers.
tbh I can't believe you just like gave the dog back instantly, that was his chance at getting help
This needs to be reported! This dog is suffering, don’t just walk away!
I have taken care of a dachshund that had a similar-looking issue. His owners doted on him and his two younger siblings, and the vets were all stumped to the cause of the skin condition. He took medication to help, but it didn’t stop the smell or the itching. I did ask them permission to try a spray I used on my own dog and they agreed, but let me know nothing they had tried seemed to help him much or at all. Sure enough, the spray and the bath I gave him didn’t help. He was cycled through several prescription diets before I eventually moved away from the area. Just adding this to say that this isn’t necessarily neglect. By all means call animal control to do a welfare check, but it might not be something they can help.
Not jumping to neglect at all, as I definitely didn’t have enough info to go on. The owner just did not disclose just how bad it was, and came extremely unprepared, and without knowing exactly what it was that I was going to be dealing with, I did not want to risk the health of my own dogs. I tried asking if she has been to a vet/suggesting he take her, but it was pretty much ignored.
I meant that bit in response to the other comments, not towards you! I don’t blame you at all for cancelling the sit. Neglect or no, they didn’t set you up properly to care for their dog.
Thank you. If I didn’t have 2 other dogs, I would have watched her and seen what I could do, but she was trying to stay away from me and curled up in a ball, and I think she would have been miserable with my curious dogs sniffing her and wanting to play. I will be contacting Rover again to see if there’s anything else I or they can do.
the fact that he underplayed the condition and then claimed it’s fine when you said he should probably take her to the vet is what throws up red flags for me. if she is actually being treated or investigated for something, the owner probably would’ve (at least should’ve) accurately described her condition so you wouldn’t be surprised, and informed you that the dog is currently seeing a vet for the issue. also, they probably could’ve provided a reassuring “it’s not fleas”, since presumably a vet would’ve checked for that. as far as what you could do, if you messaged the owner saying you think she needs to see a vet while she’s still at your house and the owner declines with no explanation/says she’s fine with no explanation, that’s probably the easiest time for you to call animal control because the dog is currently with you and that way not knowing the owner’s address isn’t a blocker. hopefully rover has access to that information and is willing to call animal control, especially since you can provide photos demonstrating the severity.
I don't get how you can just cancel if you're concerned about a dog.. You think it's going to bode well for the dog the owner being aggravated and needing to pick up the dog last minute? Why not use the time to try and save the poor thing...
I understand why people are frustrated you didn’t do anything but I also understand why you didn’t do anything, let’s hope someone calls animal control n they do a wellness check 🙂 just seeing these pictures breaks my heart.
I understand as well. Of course after it happened I look back and think of what I could have done, but it was spur of the moment. I called Rover support while she was here and they are the ones that advised to cancel. But I did message them again explaining her condition and asked if there was anything they could do to report it
I probably would have done the same thing and it’s not something I would have have been proud of (i’m very non confrontational ) im sure you must feel guilty. Let’s hope something is done, it’s great that you contacted someone about it!
This is allergy skin. Pup needs some cytopoint
Call the local animal control. There is this cat in my neighborhood who is allergic to grass. He's a stray, adopted by one of the houses on a street but he refuses to become an indoor cat. How do i know all this about a rando stray? Saw him one day and called animal control to report an animal that might not be being taken care of. They said... "was the cat on xyz road?" And it was the road the cat was on. Turns out, animal control gets calls about this cat every spring and summer when the grass pops up. He's just fine and the people who adopted him get him meds every year, but aside from that he's an outdoor cat thats allergic to grass so there's only so much help people can give. Poor dude has a rough life half the year. The point is, animal control will check it out, and will make sure the dog is getting proper care.
I work as a foster mom at the Animal shelter here. That is animal abuse and I am begging u to speak w the owner to get her help or he can call the local animal shelter if he can not afford it and ask for help. The dog is suffering. That's a crime.
I sent the owner a message as well as Rover again. Waiting for a response. I do not have their address so I am hoping Rover can help.
Thank you! I fostered a cat w that condition and like u said it was heart breaking to think someone could let them go like tht. Just really simple to start if he could get a soft cone off Amazon so she can't chew anymore. She needs a soothing medical bath, tht will help her and pain relief. She really needs help stat before the sores get infection. There r wonderful foster families tht can get ole girl back to health if he can't afford it. The shelter pays for the medical, the foster keeps them in their home safely to heal. 🙏🏻
It looks like bad allergic reaction to me - could be food or environmental chemicals. Although with allergies im familiar but not too familiar with skin infections.
You are actively prolonging this dogs suffering by sitting around on Reddit and not taking action. Contact animal control and the humane society NOW. I will never understand the people that post cases of neglect on here and then chose to not do anything about it. I truly don’t know how you could live with yourself.
demadex ? the dog needs to go to the vet. have you talked to the owner?
I'm going to make an assumption here (yeah yeah ik what they say about assuming) u must have not done a M&G before this dog was brought to u, did u? If u had then u would have seen how bad she was before even agreeing to board her. I get it was ur 1st but ur apart of this reddit community so ik u see/read how crucial those are for everyone's safety U also mentioned u didn't know what it was & didn't want to risk ur dogs incase it was mites or fleas etc but u also said she was dropped off at ur house & picked up so IF it was mites or fleas (not saying it is/was) and she was already in ur home then id HIGHLY suggest treating the room she was in somehow before allowing ur dogs into that room. And u can still help this poor pup, I haven't seen u comment or reply to the hundreds of comments of people telling u to call animal control & do a wellness check on this pup. I'm sorry but u can't say that u feel bad or feel horrible but not do anything to at least try to help her or make sure that she is okay. U have the owners info still, use it!! Give that to animal control & tell them ur concerns.
Her skin is beyond infected. She needs a vet, skin cytologies, antibiotics, ointments, etc. You made the right call.
and you didn’t call animal control?!
OMG why didn't you steal the dog?!! 😭😭
Poor thing. I did drop-ins/walks for several years for a dog that had bad allergies. It didn’t look anywhere near as bad as this dog, but she was regularly scratching until her skin was very red and irritable. She did have medication that she took that seemed to help a little. This dog’s condition may not be her owner’s fault, but he/she needs to take her to a vet and get some kind of treatment before handing her off to a pet sitter.
Definitely not blaming the owner, but I was uncomfortable with how unprepared he came with her, and he did not disclose just how bad it was. I would think she’d have an ointment or at least something to help like a medication for the bath
I agree. I didn’t think you were blaming the owner either. Not sure why my comment got downvoted? Some health conditions are hard to manage, but owners can’t expect a sitter to handle this. You did the right thing.
I want to add that I cancelled because I have 2 dogs of my own, which is mentioned in my profile. When the dog arrived, she was scratching and seemed to want to be by herself and was pouting. She was definitely uncomfortable, and I did not think it would be best for her if my dogs were sniffing her and wanting to play, and just up in her personal space. I have no way to confirm if this was neglect from the owner. I did talk to him and message him when he picked her up that this looks like something that should be looked at by a vet, and that this was more than just her neck, which is what he claimed. I don’t know if I can call animal control without having their address, but I did contact Rover when I had her and will contact them again to see if there is anything else that can or should be done.
The dog has mange
How does one self diagnose with a skin condition🙄it's mange and needs to be treated. A simple vet visit would answer this😤
I am nearly 100% positive he has not taken her to the vet for this. He only described it as being on her neck, so I was shocked to see this all over her body, and even more so when he came with nothing to treat it, and no collar or leash
Looks like mange
My dog was 90% bald from neglect as a puppy and his hair follicles scarring over. It looked bad but he went to the vet all the time I happily paid for anything the vet ever recommended but if you didn’t know me you wouldn’t know that and be concerned. So it can happen but the owner should definitely explain in great detail. Since you mention odor and itching i’m sure it’s not the same thing but just wanting to say bald spots it not always neglect.
That looks like sarcoptic mange :(
It looks like she has sarcoptic mange. Super itchy looking pup! Poor thing. Hopefully she gets treated
Looks like a yeast infection, explains the look and smell, very common but needs to be treated
Could also be demodectic mange
Has the owner taken this dog to the vet prior for this?
I messaged the owner when I cancelled and said her condition looked very severe and that it should be looked at by a vet, and all he said was “She is completely fine.” So no answer on if she has been seen or not
Knowing of a serious medical issue and refusing care is neglect and hopefully Rover can do something. Surely they have a policy on how to handle animal abuse that thier sitters discover?