Rescued dog gets new life in Atlanta

Jennifer Leslie with 11Alive News reports on one of the 62 dogs that arrived in Atlanta from an abandoned animal shelter in Mississippi:

Flapjack gets a facelift

ATLANTA — “Flapjack” didn’t realize he was different when he was rescued from an abandoned animal shelter in Mississippi and brought to the Atlanta Humane Society in late January.

He didn’t know that it was hard to look at him, and he couldn’t tell anyone what happened to the skin under his jaw.

Humane society workers named him “Jack” but began calling him “Flapjack” because of the piece of skin hanging down from his jaw like a flap.

The flap didn’t seem to bother him, but Humane Society vets were worried about the possibility of infection.

So they drove him to the University of Georgia for special surgery last week. It was a first for the vets there. The surgery was a success.

Flapjack is one of 62 dogs that arrived in Atlanta from a shelter in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on January 26. They had been living in miserable conditions.

“Most of these dogs were living outside,” said Cathy Sleva, Vice President of Development for the Atlanta Humane Society. “They had very limited access to food and water. They obviously had no medical treatment. So they were fending for themselves more or less.”

The owner of the shelter had walked away. She left behind hundreds of animals in a shelter built for a few dozen.

“She had good intentions. She didn’t want to euthanize anymore animals than she had to. None of us do,” Sleva said. “But when you have 400 animals living in a space for 60, you can’t care those animals in the way they need to be cared for.”

All of the dogs were exposed to Scabies, and most of them tested positive for heartworm.

On Feb. 1, an Atlanta family donated $15,000 to the Atlanta Humane Society to help pay for the dog’s medical care.

The donors saw a story about the plight of the dogs on 11Alive News on a Sunday night and made the donation the next day. They’ve asked to remain anonymous.

Flapjack’s surgery alone will cost about $1500. The Atlanta Humane Society is still accepting donations to pay for the entire bill for the medical costs associated with the Mississippi shelter rescue.

You can sponsor one of the dogs by going to www.atlantahumane.org or clicking here.

After spending a couple of weeks in an animal foster home, Flapjack will be ready for adoption.