Animal drama

Shepherd dog “Enzo” was just a heap of misery

The poor dog(Bild: Pfotenhilfe)

"Enzo was a pitiful heap of misery and we had to help him urgently." This is how Pfotenhilfe boss Johanna Stadler describes what she thought when she first saw the sick and neglected German shepherd. An animal drama that didn't have to be.

An attentive animal lover had approached a man in Braunau with a very thin, limping German shepherd dog full of eczema and hardly any fur, saying that it urgently needed to see a vet. However, the man only replied that she should leave him alone. She followed him to the car and photographed the dog and the license plate, reports dei Pfotenhilfe.

That's how bad the skin disease is(Bild: Pfotenhilfe)

Still left in the lurch
The animal welfare authorities alerted by Pfotenhilfe then imposed conditions for urgent medical treatment of the German shepherd named Enzo. However, the owner continued to abandon the dog despite his pain, according to the animal welfare organization. He was therefore ordered by the authorities to immediately hand over the seven-year-old male shepherd to the Pfotenhilfe animal shelter. After a short period of resistance, Enzo was then taken over on site under official supervision.

"Very emaciated and weakened"
Pfotenhilfe boss Johanna Stadler had tears in her eyes when Enzo arrived: "In addition to the massive loss of fur, he was already very emaciated and weakened. His severely inflamed skin was so itchy that he was constantly scratching himself. Enzo was a pitiful heap of misery and we had to help him urgently." The vet determined that it was the painful, inflammatory skin disease demodicosis, which is caused by mites.

Enzo's fur is already sprouting again and he looks much better. But I can't understand how a family member can suffer like this for such a long time. And I also don't understand why nobody reported it earlier!

Tierschützerin Johanna Stadler

Enzo has to be treated regularly with miticide and washed with special shampoo. The animal keepers try to slowly increase his weight with high-energy food. The German shepherd also suffers from severe osteoarthritis due to his breeding and is constantly being treated for this.