Foundling puppy

[diamondsoul]

I got up this morning to discover a whining puppy huddled against my front door. I investigated and he appears to be an approximately 3-4 month old Pit Bull pup. He has an injury to his right front leg, the skin seems to have been stripped from the surface and a strip of it is still attached but hanging from his leg. He is very cold and clearly malnourished. My intent is to turn him over to a local rescue group but it's the middle of the night and he isn't in danger of dying in the next few hours. I have both canned food and kibble I feed my own dog but I know there can be digestive trouble in a malnourished animal I need some advice on exactly what to feed the poor thing and how much I should give him. Really hoping someone experienced is awake and reading forums right now!

[lindapalm]

That poor little guy didn't have a chance.  I can only hope that whoever got rid of him will get paid back somehow for all the pain they put him through.  Thank you for trying.

[diamondsoul]

Thank you both for the support and kind comments. I finally managed to make contact with a local rescue group specializing in hard to treat/place animals. Unfortunately, help came too late for this little guy.  He was taken to a vet Monday morning who determined that his condition was so severe he was unlikely to even survive all the treatment he needed. He developed small white blisters on his feet and legs Sunday which was a sign the infection from his leg had spread through his system despite the antibiotics. The rescue coordinator who saw him Sunday and decided to make the attempt said he thoght he smelled the odor that signals Parvo infection on top of everything else. He was dehydrated and malnourished so badly that his skin wouldn't spring back at all until Monday morning, and that took 4 days of adding broth to his food ad feeding him several small meals a day. The ve and rescue workers made the determination the best thing we could do was put the poor thing out of his suffering, so that's what we did.
The good news in all of this is I now know to call my soon to be former landlady when I run across animals like that little baby. They seem to come to me a lot for whatever reason so it's a good thing to have contacts when the next one appears. :)

[Ghilly]

Aw, bless his little heart!  And God Bless YOU for helping him and for sticking with him!  I hope everything works out for you!  I have a list somewhere of organizations that will help with catastrophic pet medical bills, let me find the link and I will post it for you.  Maybe one of them will be willing to contribute to his care!  It can't hurt to apply and ask.  :)

Ghilly

[lindapalm]

You are a very special person, and I'm sure will be rewarded in some way for the good you are trying to do.  I hope you get the funds you need so he will finally  have the loving home he deserves.  Good Luck.

[diamondsoul]

Thank to those who posted and here's an update for you' I did take him to a local vet. The estimate for the treatment he needs is at least $1500. I can come up with a small portion of it and have been checking with some of the charities that help with emergency veterinary care expenses. I applied to RedRover and set up a donation page on my Facebook page. If I can scrape together the funds I'll keep him myself. His right front foreleg is crushed and possibly broken. We didn't do x-rays on Friday due to lack of funds. The flesh is open and already infected and the vet thinks it will have to be amputated, hence the hgih cost of treatment. For the moment I am buying him some time with wound care and antibiotic treatment while I try to gather the resources to have the leg removed.
Everyone close to me thnks I'm crazy to try so hard, but he's such a tough little guy I just can't quit on him. He's sweet and in spite of his suffering he just wants to be loved and cuddled and even play at times. He's eating but won't drink water so I'm trying adding it to his food and maybe adding some bouillion to his regular water supply. He's still dehydrated so I need to get him to take in more fluids.

[lindapalm]

I wouldn't be surprised if he was thrown out of a car by the way the injury sounds.  Thank you for taking care of him, hopefully he will be adopted.

[Ghilly]

Feed him just a few mouthfuls of food, maybe a cup.  Mix it with a tablespoon or two of canned food just to make it a bit yummier for him and put a bit of hot water over it so that it makes a kind of "gravy".  This will be enough to get something into his system but it won't be enough to overburden it.  You don't want to put a full bowl of food in front of him but unless he is totally emaciated, it's OK to give him a small meal now, wait a few hours to see how he does, and then give him more a little later.  At his age you're past the stage where it's dangerous to feed a cold puppy, this is a concern in nursing puppies.  I would crate him with some old towels or blankets for him to nestle in to warm up so that he can't run around and hurt that leg any more and, as you planned to do, take him to the local rescue group as soon as you can in the morning.

Please post back tomorrow and let us know how you fared with him.  Good luck!  And thanks for being the little guy's guardian angel!

Ghilly