Demi & Dex Pictures

August, 2014. While my wife was in Mexico for two weeks for work the timing was right to take on two very stinky little puppies. Pete and Pricilla, who I quickly dubbed Demi and Dex, were afflicted with a bad case of demodex mange. They looked and smelled like something from The Walking Dead. No fur, lots of scabs and that unmistakable mangy smell.

Behavior-wise Demi and Dex quickly proved to be just normal puppies. And as puppies go actually pretty well behaved. They loved their daily trips to the backyard, which was good since they weren't going to be allowed on the carpet or even kitchen because of their smelliness.

They needed to take some liquid meds twice a day, as well as have some eye cream applied for a week. They hated the eye cream of course, but Dex decided he liked the meds while Demi decided she did not. Ah puppies.

Fortunately for my wife the smell was largely gone by the time she returned. The use of newspapers and frequent washings of their bed and toys seemed to keep the smell from lingering.

It took three weeks but their fur eventually grew back, giving them a dramatically different look. These pups loved to play with each other and probably set a record for most time in the backyard.

By the end of four weeks their weight had almost doubled and their fur had grown in enough that you'd never have guessed they had ever had the mange.

They were healthy and adorable enough to go back to the shelter to get spayed and neutered, as well as have some operations for some minor eye issues.

That same day the actress Linda Blair was at the shelter giving a talk so little Dex got have some celebrity enhanced pictures taken. I showed up to see how their operation had gone and there she was holding him in the front yard. It felt good to shake her hand and be thanked for fostering them.

Dex got adopted very quickly and Demi a few days later. Happy trails puppies. So glad to see you looking so much better.