The Happy Hound                  

This is Annabelle the Pug on July 19, 2009.  Her face is grey because she has NO FUR on it.  

It took us a while, but here are SOME of the steps we went through to heal Annabelle (there were a lot...but we took the long view):

 1.  Thyroid Test  (and Complete Blood Profile) from Dr. Jean Dodds at  Hemopet (yes, Annabelle’s thyroid was out of whack)

2.  Put Annabelle on good kibble from Dizzy’s Dog Wash.

3.  Bought Annabelle a Comfy Cone, so she couldn’t scratch herself bloody. 

4.  Wiped Annabelle down after every trip outside with a washcloth saturated with 50% apple cider vinegar & 50% water.

5.  Rubbed Annabelle’s sore spots with Restore by Farm Dog

6.  Had Annabelle tested for both food and environmental allergies (we should’ve done this earlier, but….)—worked with Dr. Brummet at The Ark Veterinary Clinic in Mt. Juliet.

7.  Switched Annabelle to Sojo’s Complete.

8.  Switched Annabelle to Primal Grind with selected vegetables, Solid Gold Flax Seed oil, and Azmira MegaPet Daily vitamins

9.  Put her on a regimen of Bioessence 1-2-3.  These are Chinese herbs that calm an overwrought immune system.  

This is Annabelle on March 22, 2010.  Once we started getting the food figured out and the best way to boost her immune system, everything else fell into place (and her hair grew back!!!)

After every step, things got better and then plateaued.  We would tolerate the plateau for awhile, until we were really sure things weren’t getting better, and then we’d take another step.  

She was very itchy, and scratched herself bloody all the time. 

 This is an improvement over when she first came to Music City Pug Rescue in March of 2008!!!

Annabelle was an owner surrender to MCPR.  Her people had spent $4,000 on veterinary care--and finally their vet suggested that, rather than continue to watch Annabelle suffer, they choose to euthanize her.

They called MCPR instead.  We decided to accept Annabelle and see if with good nutrition and a different perspective on veterinary care, we could save her.