We often discuss how we meet so many animals that are treated so poorly by their families and endure such cruelty and neglect, yet they are still so incredibly loving, pleasant and trusting. Such is the case with our new friend Emily.

Emily walked through our doors on painful paws that were the result of being incredibly neglected by her owner. She was found as a stray, and being picked up by our Animal Control was probably the best thing that's ever happened to Emily because now, she will finally get the help that she has desperately needed for so long. We have named her Emily after some other dogs that you might remember, Emma and Leo. Both dogs suffered severe neglect at the hands of careless owners and in the end, both dogs made a full recovery, which is what we hope for Emily.

It's quite obvious that Emily was a discarded pet that was likely left in a backyard by herself, never given any attention or the good care that our pets deserve. Most of her hair has fallen out from a severe skin infection that was never treated and her skin is as coarse as sandpaper. There are several areas where her skin is bleeding and raw, and other areas where the skin is just black and dead.

Her eyes are so badly infected that as soon as you clean them, they immediately begin to fill back up with sickness, and her ear canals are so inflamed and infected that she cried and screamed the moment they were touched. Emily has several broken and infected teeth that will need to be removed as well.

Throughout Emily's lengthy exam by our veterinarian, she truly could not be any nicer. It was obvious that she was grateful to finally get some help and through it all, she rested her head on the arm of a staff member who pet her and let her know that everything would be alright from now on. Emily is on a variety of medications and will also need a lengthy, medicated bath every single day to help her severely damaged skin. She had her first spa day today and was so happy to have the warm water running over her painful body, and she immediately felt some relief when it was all done.

Her medical treatment will be extensive and we are once again asking for your help. Please consider making a donation to our Res-Q Fund which enables us to treat these sad and desperate animals such as Emily, or text HumaneHelp to 41444

Emily has a long road to recovery ahead of her but we are very hopeful that one day, she will be feeling like a brand new girl again. In the meantime, we appreciate your support of our work and will update again soon on our darling friend, Emily. Updates will be posted here on our website and our Facebook page: Associated Humane Popcorn Park Shelter. For more information on Emily, contact AHS-Lacey at 609-693-1900.