Delaney became an American Bulldog Rescue foster from a Georgia shelter. Whatever rough life she had until then, 2013 ended for her on a high note when she scored her first foster home in Georgia. In mid-January she took a trip to Maryland where she’s been fostered since with two doggie foster siblings and two foster kitty siblings.

From what we can piece together, Delaney was probably fending for herself for quite some time, either chained up and neglected or entirely on her own. She’s likely had a few litters, and whatever her environment, she chewed something enough to wear many of her teeth down to the gum line.

Delaney in Georgia

You can see by the pictures from the beginning that Delaney was not looking too good. We’ve been working to get her adoptable and she’s come a long way but she has required more vet care and testing than we anticipated. She’s been through two ultrasounds, which discovered inflammation in her small intestine and inflamed lymph nodes. That lead to cytology of the lymph nodes. She’s been an x-ray regular, having her mouth x-rayed and chest x-rayed twice. She’s undergone many blood tests to rule out fungal infections, heartworm, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, and other possible complications. We’ve changed her food to a limited ingredient diet, she’s undergoing a second deworming, she’s gone through a round of steroids, and multiple rounds of antibiotics. 

At this point we are hoping her issues are tied to a long-term parasitic infection. Time will tell.

Her bills, even with generous vet discounting, are over $1800. And there will be more to come for her.

She is, no doubt, much better than she was in December. All said she’s added about 12 pounds to her dainty frame and has come out of her shell, especially with her foster siblings. Whatever she experienced as a stray haunts her some. She is a skittish girl who is very reluctant to approach you for affection. The slightest unexpected noise will send her scampering for safety or jumping high into the air. If you’re lucky, you get to see that same high jump when you come home and she dances around completely overjoyed to see you.

 NO RIBS!

She is a sweet soul who deserves comfort, love, safety, and to feel better! Her transformation may not be dramatic in pictures but as her foster mom, I can tell you she is a completely different dog than when she first got here. She’s gone from trying to isolate herself as much as possible to being the life of the dog party, wearing out the younger dogs.   

We want to continue this girl down this path of feeling better and looking healthier, but we really need your help to make that happen.