Meet Caera. When Caera was found by the Humane Society she was covered in mud and matted all over. They called her Matti (she would later be renamed Caera by her new dad) and after doing a quick check for major issues they set her up for adoption.
Alex happened to be visiting the adoption centre a day after she was brought in. He saw her in a cage at the entrance of the room leading to the small dogs. Alex saw that she was “overstimulated and freaking out from all the activity.”
He didn’t have the room in his home for a big dog, so he walked by to look at the room filled with small toy breeds and Dachshunds. But he kept on going back to Matti and eventually asked to meet her.
That was 30 days ago (on April 24, 2015). Alex graciously shared Caera’s story with Reshareworthy.com, which charts her progress from the moment he met her at the shelter to 30 days later settled at his home.
Alex first saw Caera in a cage. She had been brought into the shelter just the day before.
He asked to meet her. “The moment I took her outside, she calmed down, explored a little, and let me scratch her under the chin,” he describes. “I made up my mind on the spot.”
Matti/Caera was on stray hold for a week. But Alex paid the adoption fee up front and put her on hold.
“By our best guess, she was a cattle dog mix, at least 10 years old based on the severity of her arthritis,” writes Alex.
He stopped by a few days later to say “hello” and spent some time hanging out with her. “She settled down enough to decide I wasn’t completely awful, and stayed at arms length so I could pet her.”
“This was the first chance I had to really get a look at her. She had a badly infected wart on her head, and her fur was a complete mess. Even after a bath, she had mats and knots every couple inches, and a pretty nasty skin infection to boot.”
No one came to claim her, so Alex could take her home. On her freedom ride he noticed that her hips were bad, so he helped her get into the car and she laid right down. “Probably the first peace and quiet she’s had in a long time,” Alex said. He named her Caera, which is Irish for ‘Beloved Friend’.
“She took her time looking around the apartment. She wasn’t sure what to make of me until i gave her some peanut butter. She promptly gave me a huge grin, flopped down on the floor…”
“…and collapsed on a blanket.”
Alex spent 90 minutes combing out the knots in her fur and clipping out the ones he couldn’t fix. She was very patient the entire time. “I can only imagine how much better she felt,” Alex comments.
“After her haircut. Still not sure what to make of me, but slowly starting to settle in.”
“I pulled the blanket over her and she promptly passed out. Skin still a mess, but fur looking much better.”
“A week and change in, she’s still coming to terms with the fact that she’s not going to get in trouble for relaxing.”
Alex’s mom bought her a dog bed.
“She decided it was a good thing.”
Alex started to notice a change in Caera a couple of weeks later. “She’s perked up and gotten her bearings. I’m keeping the walks short. Her arthritis is really bad, we walk at her pace or not at all, and we take plenty of breaks.”
“She obviously had an owner at some point. She’s completely housetrained and walks to heel, but she didn’t understand the idea of treats or toys. Still working on the latter.”
“After a vet visit. The Doctor had me get her on a better flea medication, fish oil for her fur, an anti-inflammatory for her arthritis, and daily medicated baths for her skin. This is two baths in. I have a very forgiving dog.”
“A month later, I took her out to the beach. I took her off the leash and we went for a nice long walk. She met a couple fishermen, got to smell a dead shark, decided the water was entirely too cold, and got to eat part of a sub sandwich for lunch.”
“We still have some work to do. She needs a comprehensive teeth cleaning, a bad tooth and a wart removed, a full blood panel, and a biopsy for a small lump, but she’s responding well to the arthritis and skin medication, and meets me at the door after work with her tail wagging,” says Alex. “She’s old, creaky, and sheds like it’s going out of style, but she’s mine.”
Photos republished on Reshareworthy.com with permission from Alex.
Caera looks like an entirely new dog! She looks so happy! Share her wonderful transformation with your friends and family!
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