By Riley, age 14
Medical alert! Is your dog itching more than normal? Are their eyes all puffy and crusty?
Watch out! Your dog could have mange.
At Player Development, one of the seven stray dogs we care for and feed has come down with mange. But what is mange?
Mange is a bug. It seems to go into the skin of the animal and bury itself – that has got to hurt; so that is why so much scratching!
As soon as we notice the dog’s eyes look dirty, we get some medicine and special soap. Our coach squirts a cupful of medicine down the poor dog’s throat. It does not seem to taste good – but I guess medicine never does. Anyway, then we give the dog daily baths in the special soap. And after just a few days, it’s much better!
Mange can be spread to other dogs and even people, so you have to be careful! You have to wash our hands really well after you pet a dog. Now I don’t mind washing my hands before I eat lunch – but to pet a dog? Come on. But then again, I don’t want to catch mange!
Anyway, the good news is after the mange is cleared, the dog is happy and his skin is getting soft again. And the other dogs looked like they didn’t catch mange either! So just as a warning to check your dog – and at the first sign of the eyes getting puffy or crusty, make an appointment to see the vet and get the special soap and medicine.
Take good care of your dog and he will love you for a long time.
