MIAMI, FL......Bentley is a wonderful 2 year old BOXER / SHAR-PEI Mix that has been burned all across the top of his back.  This is now a Criminal Investigation and the person has now been charged with animal cruelty.  We do not know if this was intentional or if it is a reaction to a substance to treat fleas and ticks.  Whatever it was, it was extremely caustic and burned right through several layers of skin.  Poor Bentley has 2nd and 3rd degree burns all across the top of his back. 

We rescued this sweet boy after being sent hundreds of pleads to step up and save him.  We followed all of the links and felt certain another rescue would step up a lot closer than we are.  He was picked up by Animal Control of Miami-Dade a week ago after someone called to report seeing a burned dog in their neighborhood.  He was given pain meds, treated and  evaluated while they were waiting for a rescue to step up for him.  His days were soon going to be numbered if he was not rescued soon and no one had put a hold on him yet.  We contacted rescues that we work with in the area and they made arrangements to get him for us.  We immediately had him taken to the most wonderful vet, Dr. Matthew Cooper at Sky Lake Animal Hospital in Miami. He was treated there until we could pick him up.  We immediately put a Vet Tech on the road to drive all through the night to pick our dear boy up the next morning and then drive him to us and an Emergency Care Hospital we use.  Before Bentley left Florida, all of the doctors that had been treating him noticed a rigidity in his face and body that was very abnormal.  He was showing significant neurological impairment.  As you can see from the eyes of the picture above, his third eyelids in each eye are very visible and his eyes are going in opposite directions.  We knew before we offered to take him that he had a lot more going on than being burned.    Being burned was traumatic and excruciating enough for him but we began to suspect that he had also contacted TETANUS.  Bentley we felt had something that could kill him if we did not act quickly.  Our biggest fears were confirmed right after he arrived.  He has TETANUS.  The doctors have determined the source of the Tetanus is from an old dog bite he has on his leg.  It is not from the severe burns he has.  For those of you that are not familiar with Tetanus, I have enclosed a link to explain exactly what can happen and how Life-Threatening it is if left untreated and even then, the animal may not survive.  http://marvistavet.com/html/tetanus_in_pets.html.  Dogs are usually very resistant to Tetanus and can fight it off but those that can’t are in for a fight for their life.  They must get immediate medical care to survive.  We are very fortunate that we have a doctor that has seen and treated a lot of Tetanus.  Bentley has already been started on the antitoxin and given lots of other medicine to counteract his reaction to the bacteria.  Our dear sweet boy has a lot on his plate to be dealing with and only time will tell the outcome.  We feel good about his prognosis or we would not be posting for him.  He is comfortable and getting 24 hour care to make sure we are on top of the Tetanus and the infection he has from his burns. 

We need all the help we can get for this wonderful boy.  We don’t know what his life was like before this ordeal happened but we do know he is as sweet as can be and has been in the worst kind of pain you could imagine and still gives everyone lots of kisses.

Sweet Bentley is slowly improving from all that he has been through.  The burns on his back are the least of his worries at this moment.  We have treated them and he is now very comfortable without taking pain meds for the discomfort.  We now believe that he was burned when he had an allergic reaction to a flea and tick product that was put on his back as was described by the person that had him.  He should have been taken immediately to a doctor once he realized what was happening.  We do not know what product was used but will post as soon as we find out.   The main medical issues we have been treating that are at the top of our list is the Tetanus. We discovered he got the Tetanus from an old dog bite on his leg. That area was flooded with the Tetanus serum.  We have stopped the progression of the Tetanus in Bentley’s system with the injections.  We are now having to treat him for the neurological symptoms he developed before we got him.  He is being evaluated and closely monitored all the time to make sure he has received enough serum to get his normal neurological function back.  The best news is that we are making progress.  It is going to be about a month before we feel like Bentley will be back to normal.  The rigidity in his body has lessoned over the last few days which we are glad to see.  Each day that should improve.  His tail has finally begun to relax and his eyes and facial expression are showing signs of improving.  One of the big issues we are dealing with is eye sensitivity to any form of light.  It causes him to be in lots of pain.  We have been keeping big sunglasses on him which he seems to love and wants them on all the time.  Unfortunately, they are not there for fun or a joke.  They are there for medical reasons only.  As his eyes go back to normal, then we will be able to remove them. 

Thanks for all the help with this wonderful boy.  He has certainly been to Hell and back with all he is dealing with.  He will be in the hospital for as long as it takes to get him through this.   Thanks for caring.

Bentley is doing incredible. We cannot believe the difference 4 weeks has made with this incredible boy.  He still has some Tetanus but that is just going to take time for it to get out of his system.  He does not any new treatment for it.  The serum he received is still working and will be until all of his symptoms are gone.  He has very little rigidity left in his body and his facial and body muscles have finally begun to relax.  Look how different his face looks from when we rescued him.  He is a sweet happy boy that loves everyone and is great with other dogs.  His burns have healed almost all the way.  He will have some scarring on his back but it does not take away from his beauty at all.  If anything, it adds to it.  He will be at the vet for another two weeks and then will be placed in a wonderful home where he will be cherished for the incredible dog that he is.  We all love this sweet boy and are so glad to see him run around and play without any pain.  Thanks for caring about him and sharing his story with the world.

Our sweet boy is doing wonderful.  He is over the worst of the Tetanus and now it is just a matter of time before is is gone for good.  He does not have any symptoms left from it.  His rigidity is completely gone.  The burns on his back are also healing beautifully.  He is the sweetest boy. 

BENTLEY is the sweetest dog and is waiting for his perfect family to come along.  He gets along with everyone but small dogs and cats.  He loves to chase  them and we don’t want anything to happen so they are off limits.  He is a sweetheart that has been through so much and has come out the other side.  He has the softest face.  It is like rubbing on velvet.  We love this wonderful boy.