On September 13th, H.O.T. received a telephone call from a young lady who said they had a Greyhound which was found dumped near their home and would our group take and help it. Without hesitation, we said yes. She told me the Greyhound was a male, in really bad shape, not able to walk, and time was of the essence, since the manager at her complex had called Animal Control to pick him up. She was told that a H.O.T. representative would come immediately.

This is the story this young lady told. Some kids were playing in a drainage ditch near their home. They saw a black plastic bag, which seemed to be moving. The boys opened the bag and found a dog. They ran up to the manager's office, saw this young lady's husband, who immediately went and got the dog. Thinking it was a Ridgeback, they called Ridgeback Rescue first. Ridgeback rescue realized the dog wasn't a Ridgeback, but probably a Greyhound. That is when H.O.T. entered the picture.

Upon returning home with the Greyhound, the H.O.T. representative called me in tears. The following is a brief synopsis of the Greyhound's condition, at that point: flea infested, and so thin and weak he could not stand on his own. The Greyhound was bathed and bedded down with food and water until he could be picked up that afternoon.

That afternoon, my husband and I went to pick up this old guy. When he was brought out, this is what we saw:  a Greyhound who was grossly underweight, still filthy and flea infested (even after receiving one bath), and in overall poor condition with sores on his body and rotted teeth. We took him home with us.

Due to the filth and fleas, immediately upon arriving home, we bathed the Greyhound a total of four times (during which he fell asleep, enjoying the attention and warm water), before the water would run clear. He was fed a small meal and he found himself a soft, dog bed to spend the night on. Not knowing the identity of this special guy, we decided to call him "Old Fella".

The next day, Old Fella was taken to the H.O.T. vet for evaluation. Physically, Old Fella was in very bad shape. On the vet's scale of body condition with 10 being best and 1 being worst, Old Fella was given a "1". Given his bone structure, Old Fella should weigh between 75 to 80 pounds; upon arriving at H.O.T., he weighed 54.6 pounds. According to the vet, Old Fella was not just positive for hookworms, but infested with hookworms. Most of his teeth are rotted out, and he had such a bad infection in his mouth, it hurt him to open his mouth or for us to touch it. He had multiple sores on his body, and it is evident that his tail had been broken (and not set or cared for after being broke) in several places. Surprisingly enough, Old Fella tested negative for heartworms and erhlichia, but the vet recommends rerunning the tests again in a couple of months, which we will do. A report with the local police department and animal cruelty division was also filed. (To date, we have not been contacted by either authority.)

When Old Fella first arrived, he was being fed four tiny meals a day, since he did not have the strength to eat nor was able to stay awake to finish a meal. Additionally, the vet said his tummy had shrunk and was tiny and sore from not being fed regularly for an extended period and/or starvation. Old Fella is now eating twice a day with several treats between the feedings. He can only eat very soft treats and canned food or kibble which has been presoftened because of the condition of his mouth.

Within ten days of arriving at H.O.T., Old Fella had gained almost four pounds, weighing in at 58.6 pounds. Everyone who saw him before and they see him now says he looks so much better. He's on long-term antibiotics (750 mgs twice daily) to help the infections on his body and in his mouth. We've done one round of Panacur for the hooks, and will do another round shortly. He has been treated for tapeworms twice. He was severely anemic, so senior blood panel is on hold for a while. Old Fella is 13 years old, probably close to blind and deaf, but considering he couldn't stand when he first came to us, we think he is doing greyt!

No other area adoption group has claimed this poor guy. H.O.T. has traced his ear tattoos through the NGA, and discovered his racing name is Waycross Country. The original NGA registered owner of Old Fella has, at this point, transferred ownership over to H.O.T.

Old Fella spends the majority of his time sleeping in front of a fan. When the rest of the H.O.T. Hounds go outside, he follows along. Old Fella is now doing stairs by himself, trotting around the yard, wagging his tail, and sniffing butts with the best of the guys! Even though it is evident that Old Fella had not seen the inside of a home for a very long time, he has been an absolute perfect gentleman - not having one accident.

Old Fella has come a long way in a very short time, but he still has a long way to go. In his near future is total dental extraction of his remaining teeth, senior blood panel, rerun of his heartworm and erhlichia test (and treatment if necessary), retesting for hookworms, and any other work which our vet recommends. His ribs, although still visible, now show evidence of having a few groceries on them. Thanks to The Greyhound Gang's "Get Up and Go" Glucosamine, his rear legs are becoming increasingly more steady. He also gets 500 IUD of Vitamin E daily, and his coat is beginning to soften.

If you would like to make a donation to assist with Old Fella's care, or the care of any of H.O.T.'s Advanced Aged Seniors, it would be appreciated.