We met Little Bear just as he was being surrendered by his owner at the shelter, bleeding and oozing out of too many severe puncture wounds to count. He had been badly mauled, and the unfortunate reality is that his family had no money to pay for his care, and saw the shelter as the only way to get him help. The only problem is that the shelter does not accept injured surrenders.Luckily for Little Bear, Marley's Mutts walked in the door at the same time the pup was brought in, and we were able to get him to the brilliant staff at San Joaquin Veterinary Hospital to get to work saving his life! Little Bear has many puncture wounds and his entire body is bruised, swollen and lacerated. He had lost a lot of blood and was severely swollen but he was coherent and surprisingly even keeled -- even had it in him to wag his little puppy tail.

Little Bear was neutered, and had a thorough flushing and cleansing of his wounds. But the treatment for his wounds had to be revised, because the docs realized that the lacerations were much older then they had originally thought. Many of them were severely infected and beginning to close, which made stitching or stapling them up unadvisable. On top of everything else, Little Bear’s liver values have been elevated. The amazing staff at SJVH is keeping Bear’s injuries protected with topical cleansers, and his body protected with high-powered antibiotics. Furthermore, much of his skin tissue is necrotic (dead) and has just been removed. This has left Little Bear with a HUGE patch of tissue-less muscle, exposed and desperate to heal. The vet can't do a skin graft at this point, and it may not be possible at all; time will tell. We have reached out to specialists in Kern County and beyond, and are ready to shuttle Lil' Bear to the emergency hospital in Los Angeles if need be. We will keep everyone posted as we learn more!

On the upside, Bear's X-rays look good, which is a huge relief as we thought he might have some internal damage due to being shaken.

Our little puppy-cub has a very long road to recovery stretched out in front of him. Many more surgeries are in his future, and he will need our support all along the way! Because of the great cost of Little Bear’s extensive medical treatment, Marley’s Mutts will need continued financial support in order to help this boy. So if you are able to assist financially in addition to offering prayer, we would be so grateful! Also, please share this sweet puppy’s harrowing tale with everyone you know, so that we can get him all the help he needs. And get exposure to his story as we watch him heal and get stronger! He is one inspiring little guy!

Please send BIG prayers to LITTLE BEAR! 

Thank you Mutt Militia!!!

Love,

All of us at Marley's Mutts Dog Rescue