When Stray Rescue of St. Louis first saw Lycan, they instantly could tell he had suffered severe neglect. The Siberian Husky pup had “wandered up to some Good Samaritans, shocking them with his tortured appearance.”
Did someone say I’m going to Stray Rescue to get all better? Photo: Todd Whiteaker
“He’s lost nearly every hair on his little body, rendering his skin into something that resembles stone,” the animal rescue wrote on Facebook. The reason poor Lycan was bald was because of scabies mites. They were simply at a loss for words.
“It’s mind blowing to fathom how long it would take for a beautiful, full-coated Husky to slowly be stripped of his fur by pests. It’s even more mind blowing to think that someone may have known he was going through this pain all along and chose to do nothing. Our veterinarian says this took ‘months’.”
For months, Lycan has been suffering from extreme itching and contant pain. When they began giving him a bath, he couldn’t stop shaking like a leaf, he was so scared. He wailed out in pain during his bath because “those awful sores making water feel like burning.” But once he got dried off with a big, fluffy towel, he calmed down and he sought out their attention.
“He is miserable and can’t stop scratching at himself, at all those little teeth that are invisible to the eye continually feed on him. He yearns to be touched, to be near us. He wants to be rubbed, petted, and – you guessed it – he’s a leaner,” Stray Rescue of St. Louis wrote.
His caregivers can’t deny him the attention and don gloves to give him “long overdue” belly rubs.
They revealed, “He melts into every loving touch, ensuring you can feel his genuine gratitude when he leans in with all his body weight, begging for the love not to stop. He should never have been so lonely, so hopeless, for so long.”
Stray Rescue of St. Louis
Scabies is very contagious to people and to other dogs so Lycan will need to remain isolated for at least two weeks. Sadly, Lycan also has ringworm and pyoderma (a cutaneous infection with bacteria.) But Lycan’s rescuers say that he is looking at them with trust “like he knows that we are doing this to make him better.”
Stray Rescue of St. Louis know he will start feeling better soon saying, “He is such a sweet guy and deserves the whole entire world. We know he can beat this infection and heal. He has a wonderful attitude and disposition.”
To contribute to Lycan’s care visit Strayrescue.org/Lycan
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