Help with sick dog?

Question

A large, stray dog has been hanging about my house for a couple of months. I called the humane society twice to come and get him, but they never showed. So... out of pity I began putting food and water out for him daily. Today, he is very lethargic and seems to have some ataxia of his hind legs- they sort of 'give out' on him a bit. From his teeth, I can tell he is still quite young. Does ataxia usually indicate poisoning? He's had no diarhrea or vomiting, that I can tell.

Answer 1

Please take him to the vet.

Do not take him to the local pound. If he is sick, they will euthanize him as unadoptable, especially if he is a large mixed breed dog. Take him to the vet as a good samaritan. If you have a mud room, screen porch, etc he can stay in if you can't bring him in the house or to quarantine him away from your pets while he is sick, do it.

If the dog is a specific breed, call the breed rescue for that breed and explain what is going on. The dog could be rescued.

Go on petfinder and look for local, nokill rescue groups. They may help you as well. Because this dog needs a warm bed and a good chance at life.

Also do a search for "dogs deserve better" they are a group that can give you a referral and the concentrate on dogs who are left cruelly chained or are living outside only

Answer 2

Actually, ataxia is an extremely generalised symptom, anything could be wrong with him, but something certainly is. It's just a general sign of weakness through illness. It's not impossible for him to have arthritis or hip dysplasia even if he's young.

I would find a shelter that does not put to sleep healthy (or fixable) animals, put a leash on him and take him there myself. Actually, being me I'd probably pay for veterinary treatment, but I don't expect everyone to do that!

Chalice

Answer 3

Could mean all kinds of things. Could be an inherited problem, could be something the dog got into, could be an injury, could be lyme disease.. Could be cancer, The list is far too long.. I suspect that's probably why the dog is a stray.. Health problems that someone didn't want to deal with and just let the dog go.. You should call the shelter, they'll take the dog and determine what the problem is and will make the decision what should be done.

Answer 4

Call your local animal shelter to have them come pick up the animal. You never know what's going on there - could be anything and you don't want a rabid or diseased dog hanging around your house.

Speak with the authorities and have the dog kennelled. Then they can give it the vet care it seems like it needs.

I'm sorry the humane society didn't do their job, maybe take the dog in your car to their facility? then they'll have no choice.

Answer 5

It is very rare these days for a domesticated dog to have Rabies, HOWEVER not impossible either. If this is a younger pup based upon his teeth, he could be showing signs of Parvo. If he starts having loose bowls that have a mucus and an awful stinch. Chances are he has Parvo...which is EXTERMELY contagious.

The best thing you can do for this poor creature is take him to the animal shelter where they will provide his the vet care he needs. Or if you are interested in saving him yourself...take him to your local vet, but advise the vet he is sick so that you can be quarantined from other animals as not to infect them.

Thanks for thinking of him and feeding him, I am sure he is appreciative of that in his homeless time.

Answer 6

There's two types of ataxia: cerebral and hereditary. He would need to be checked out by a vet to find out which one he has if he indeed has this.

Maybe there are privately run animal welfare or rescue agencies in your area that could help you with him. If he's lethargic and having problems walking, he sounds like he's a sick pup and needs medical attention immediately.

Try looking under petfinder.com to see if you can't find someone in your area to call.

Answer 7

It relies upon on the area. If the canines is whelping a clutter of puppies or a cat has slightly diarhhea then the 1st decision could be to preserve it at homestead to verify if the area gets extra useful. And jointly as waiting human beings can ask different puppy vendors in the event that they have any concepts on the thank you to attend to the difficulty and ask for everyday suggestion. If it does not get extra useful then the subsequent decision is the vet. some human beings do have some hum dingers at here, yet for the main area the questions are stable, valid ones.

Answer 8

There are many things it could be, and it could be contagious to your pets, if you have any.

Call animal control and tell them the condition of the dog, how long it has been hanging out there, and how long the dog has been showing these signs.

I'd be worried the dog got into some antifreeze. Read here and see if it fits the symptoms:
http://www.petshealth.com/dr_library/antifreeze.html

That article goes on to explain the "stages" of antifreeze poisoning as well.

Good luck, I hope he gets some treatment soon!

Answer 9

Do you have a local rescue? If so, contact them (instead of the humane society). If nothing else, they may be able to help with the costs of getting this stray to the vet!

You can also bring the dog to the vet yourself, mainly to get scanned for potential microchip (it's worth a shot!) and to get an opinion from them.

Answer 10

hhm...Go to a vet and take him. let him smell you first to make sure he will not bite ya. My cat died from that leg prob:( do not be surprised if he dies. I hope he does not!!! Also try calling animal control. They come 1 day after you call. Try feeding the dog meat, insted or dry food. He is probably used to meat. Hope this helps! bye!!!