Carlton’s Story

Categories: Pet Spotlight, Ways to help ADL

Carlton was brought to the Animal Defense League through our partnership with Animal Care Services (ACS) on Jan 25th. Carlton is only one years old and he had one of the worst facial injuries our hospital staff had seen in a while. It was heartbreaking and shocking to see him in the condition he arrived in. The skin on the left side of his face was completely gone, exposing his facial muscles and even some bone. Carlton’s eye was severely damaged and his front left leg also had a gash.

Our veterinarian and hospital staff quickly aided Carlton and examined his overall health. We’re not certain how his injuries occurred but judging from his wounds, our veterinarians suspect he may have been hit by a vehicle and dragged causing his skin to scrape off. Although Carlton was in obvious pain, he remained surprisingly calm and was incredibly trusting of everyone that aided him. He was even eating normally like any healthy dog would.

Carlton’s photos are not easy to look at but it proves how strong this loving little guy is!

Our veterinarian team immediately began treating his wounds using a honey/sugar wrap to prevent infection and to speed up the healing process. Every other day, his bandages were replaced, his wounds were thoroughly cleaned, and the honey/sugar was reapplied. Sweet Carlton didn’t enjoy being restricted to the cone-of-shame and being bandaged. However, he still remained strong! Every week his condition improved immensely and his skin started to heal.

After one month, his skin looked so much better and it was now time for his badly damaged eye to be removed. Our veterinarian performed the surgery to remove his eye and Carlton did well through the surgery!

Carlton is a delight to be around! Despite the fact he has been through so much, he is still full of life and so much energy. This playful pup loves to go outside for walks and happily wags his tail when he greets you. Carlton is still healing but is so close to a full recovery and will soon be available for adoption!

The amazing support of our staff, volunteers, and donors allows us to help pets like Carlton. As Carlton was fighting hard to survive, other cats and dogs in our hospital were going through extra medical care too.

In 2017 alone, ADL provided 3,213 non-routine special surgeries similar to Carlton’s. ADL does everything from tumor removal to stomach surgeries and everything in between.

With your help, we are able to continue helping the many pets in our shelter that need extra care. You can help us save more lives and send more pets to their forever homes with a donation.

Consider making a donation today to help the next Carlton make the journey home!