It's A Dogs Life

At The Mayhew Animal Home, all the animals that come in through our doors get given the best second chance at life. Although they may have been abandoned, abused and neglected before they reach us, at The Mayhew we do everything we can to rehabilitate them both physically and emotionally – no matter how deep the scars and no matter how long it takes.

Take Cabbage the Boxer. At just three-months-old she was found abandoned in a park. Her ears had been cut off and her tail had a deep wound where her attackers had also tried to slice though it. She was also emaciated and a prolonged period of malnutrition had left her front legs seriously malformed. The sorts of wounds and neglect Cabbage was suffering from could indicate that she was going to be used as bait in dog-fighting - the animal used to train fighting dogs to leap at and bite. Fortunately, Cabbage was found by a passer-by who brought her into The Mayhew.

The Mayhew’s veterinary team immediately did what they could to alleviate Cabbage’s pain and to clean up her wounds, sewing up the injuries on her ears and saving what they could of her tail. Then the long-term work began on Cabbage’s future quality of life: her front legs were put in casts and she was put on a regime of bed rest and good food for several weeks. Cabbage, despite her previous ordeal, was the perfect patient and at length her bones strengthened and grew into normal shaped legs. Now Cabbage is a happy, healthy seven-month-old who loves her toys and her food and – perhaps most amazingly – she adores human company. The Mayhew will care for Cabbage while we find her the perfect new family where she can put the past behind her and will spend many happy years to come.

Marley, a four-year-old Mastiff, also came in to The Mayhew earlier this summer with injuries that needed long-term attention. As well as being severely emaciated - at just half the weight a healthy Mastiff should be – Marley also had a deep wound on his back leg that was very infected. On further investigation, the vets at The Mayhew saw that Marley’s leg had been pinned inside in a botched previous attempt to set fractured bones. The pin had broken inside the leg and was scratching against his joints, causing extreme pain. The leg had then got infected, leaving Marley with an open sore. Poor Marley was also terrified of people and would cower when anyone came close.

The staff at The Mayhew first healed Marley’s leg, cleaning and reapplying dressings daily to combat the infection, as well as giving him pain relief for the scratchy pin that will be removed in due course by the vets here at The Mayhew. Gradually, with lots of care and attention, Marley’s trust in humans started to recover – he learned to greet the people caring for him with a lick and a wag of the tail. After time, Marley was well enough to leave The Mayhew, and we found him a loving new family where he is enjoying the finer side of life with lots of walks and games.

Marley and Cabbage were lucky that they were brought into The Mayhew when they were, but there are still many animals out there in desperate need of our help. We will always strive to be there for the animals that need us, whatever the circumstances, but we are a small charity without government or lottery aid and it is only due to the generosity of our supporters that we are able to continue. Please help us to tackle the animal welfare crisis from every possible angle and assist us in continuing our vital work.

 

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you can post a donation to:

The Mayhew Animal Home
It's A Dogs Life Appeal
Trenmar Gardens
London NW10 6BJ
United Kingdom