Barrister was surrendered to the New-Pen-Del Newfoundland Club in July, 2005. He had severe seborrhea and yeast hypersensitivity; elephant skin; alopecia; Lyme disease; broken teeth; and infections of the skin, eyes, and ears and was 30 percent underweight. He was recovering from two breaks in his right foreleg, after being hit by a truck three months prior to his surrender.
Barrister was medically boarded for two weeks, and then my husband and I decided to provide his foster care. We were not sure if he would survive. Barrister was the first Newfoundland that my husband and I had ever fostered. He was surrendered when I had just become a new Rescue Chair.
My husband bathed him every day at first and then every other day with Malaseb shampoo. His odor was so strong that our two other Newfs stayed on a different floor of the house to avoid him. The vet advised, “He doesn’t have calories to spare to scratch himself.”
Five months after his surrender, when he was finally strong enough to walk one city block and back, we knew Barrister was here to stay.
Barrister’s recovery has been a long process. He still requires frequent medicated baths, twice weekly ear cleanings, ear drops, eye ointment, oral medications for the yeast hypersensitivity, a weekly injection for dust mite allergy, and quarterly blood work for the dermatologist’s review. He has poor vision, possibly due to being malnourished.
The New-Pen-Del Newfoundland Club thanks Christy Mara for counseling Barrister’s former owners to surrender him. Christy provided temporary foster care and contributed financially toward his vet care.
The club also thanks the Westfield Veterinary Group in Westfield, New Jersey, for giving a discount on Barrister’s vet costs and providing excellent care from the entire staff.
Barrister now weighs in at 181 pounds. As I write this article, he is asleep at my feet, snoring loudly. Barrister is a certified therapy dog. When his skin is calm, he visits a nearby children’s hospital where he gets a lot of attention from the kids and staff alike. He is a rock star on a leash.
Barrister changed my life.
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