Oliver

Profile

3/3/06: Oliver is a 5 month-old Golden Retriever (Mom) and Black Lab (father) mix. He came from the Hurricane Katrina area where he was found at a garbage dump. His mother, father and sibling were deceased. We were told that the Red Cross was feeding left over people food to Oliver and some other dogs at the dump. That's probably why he is in much better shape than I expected.

Oliver came to our house this past week. He is a very sweet puppy. Oliver visited the vet on Wednesday and was found to have demodectic mange. The vet gave us some ointment to put on the few spots on his face and we are to watch them to make sure they don't spread. This is a mange that is not spread from animal to animal so I don't have to worry about my dog or cats getting it.

A common skin disease of dogs, demodectic mange (canine demodecosis) is caused by the mite Demodex canis. This mite is found as a normal resident in the hair follicles of all dogs. Mites are naturally transmitted from nursing mothers to their puppies within the first few days of life. Signs of disease appear only when mites reproduce unchecked and occur in unnaturally high numbers.

Oliver also got his rabies shot and is being treated for roundworms and hookworms.

Oliver loves to carry around the stuffed squeaky toys. He usually has a pile of them wherever he lays down. When he comes to greet you he will almost always have a stuffed toy in his mouth. So far, Oliver has not had any accidents in the house, nor has he chewed anything that he shouldn't have. Oliver loves to sit quietly while you pet him. We trimmed his nails the first night and he just laid in my husband's lap while I did all four paws. What a super good boy he is. He sleeps in his crate at nigh,t at least until we see if he really is housebroken or not. I have left him for short periods gated in the kitchen and there have been no messes when I came home.

I think this puppy is one easy going guy and would love to have a family of his own. No longer will he have to worry about being left at a garbage dump to fend for himself. If you're an approved app and would like to meet Oliver, who looks like a Black Lab on the outside and has a Golden personality on the inside, email [email protected]. If you're not yet approved, please fill out an online application.