We recently brought you the saga of Halo, a sweet dog who’s known nothing but severe neglect and discomfort up until August when she was taken in by Trio Animal Foundation after being found on the street, eating garbage. After months of getting her healthy, a family has now been found to give her the wonderful life she has always deserved.
TAF shared the happy update just days ago:
BY FAR, ONE OF THE BEST SAVES OF ALL TIMES… NOT A DRY EYE IN THE ROOM
On 8/19/16, some concerned Chicago police officers reached out for help after they saw a horrifically abused dog eating out of a garbage bag on the south side of Chicago. They tried to catch the dog but had no luck. It would take a torrential downpour for the pup to finally seek shelter underneath a porch so that she could be cornered and caught.
Halo was immediately brought to the emergency vet where her emaciated state put her in critical condition. At that point, all of her organs could have started to shut down due to starvation and severe dehydration. Different specialists were called in to see what medical conditions to address first.
Halo had double eye entropian (Entropion is an abnormality of the eyelids in which the eyelid rolls inward. This inward rolling often causes the hair on the surface of the eyelid to rub against the cornea resulting in pain, corneal ulcers or corneal erosions), demodectic mange and advanced skin infections that covered her entire body. Most of her fur was missing and black, leather-like skin remained in its place. In addition to this, Halo’s ears were so infected and full of yeast that they exponentially increased her misery. There wasn’t a square inch of her body that hadn’t been affected by abuse.
When it was finally time for Halo’s medical team to bring her back for testing, Halo was no longer strong enough to stand on her own. At that point we are just had to wait and pray.
It would take weeks of hospitalization before Halo was strong enough to undergo treatment for mange. Once Halo’s mange started to clear up, she would undergo two separate surgeries to correct her eyelids. Before this, Halo could barely open her eyelids and the pain was constant.
In retrospect, we can’t believe that Halo survived the abuse that she endured. At the time, we did everything in our power not to get emotional and stay focused so that we could properly care for Halo. Admittedly, it is rougher to see these photos and watch her video today than it was in August. I guess that’s just self-preservation.
With that being said, we couldn’t be happier that Halo has made a full recovery and has found her forever family. It truly takes a village, and Halo had an army of people supporting her from day one. Between the generous donors that enabled TAF to provide Halo with the best medical care possible and those that rallied for her, there was no way that she could fail.
When Halo first came to us, we lovingly called her our baby elephant. She weighed in at 47 pounds and would go on to gain 40 more. Even in discomfort and pain, Halo’s unwavering spirit kept her going… with such a loving heart, she may very well have had wings.
If you would like to make sure that Trio Animal Foundation can continue saving the lives of dogs like Halo, please click here to donate.
