A few months ago, when Spike was only 8 weeks old two men came into the Shelter with Spike asking us what was wrong with his skin. At this point the infection was only on his ears. We told them it was Demodex mange and they would need to take him to the vets for treatment. Over the weeks we saw them walking Spike and we noticed he was getting worse. They had not taken him to the vets. One Sunday a member of staff followed them to an address on Bradford Road. We were going to report them to the RSPCA as by this time the infection had spread to his legs and head. Then on Saturday the 3rd December the same two men came into the Shelter, handed Spike over and said they had found him on the Street.

He was in an appalling condition, he was near to death. The Manager promptly told them she knew it was their dog and told them where they lived, they never replied to this, they just hung their heads in shame.

We told them we were going to report them to the RSPCA and then asked them to leave the Shelter. We then took Spike to Regan's vets. Iona, the vet on call was horrified at his condition, she said he is very poorly and he might not make it over the weekend. He was given pain relief and fluids and on Monday the 5th December Iona rang us to say he had improved and we could take him back to the Shelter. We were so happy Spike was going to recover, he deserved the best of care and he got it.

For the last 5 weeks Spike has had a weekly bath in Aludex, this helps kill the mites in his skin. He has antibiotics, vitamin E cream and capsules every day, and of course 3 meals a day.