Retrieved and Rescued: Sebastian Recovers

Itchy Skin, Underweight

When Sebastian, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever mix, was found abandoned in the woods of Western Washington, he weighed in at a dangerously low 70 lbs, had ear mites, an injured leg, and severe demodectic mange resulting in scabs, scratches and very little hair. After finding a forever home with his humans Samantha and Dave and their dog Bella, Sebastian became a beloved member of their family immediately. While maintaining his medicine regimen for mange, Samantha and Dave began to put their energies into getting him to a healthy weight. Since then, Sebastian has become an avid nature-lover, joining his family for hiking trips in the Cascades, running at the local dog parks, and chasing ducks at a local pond. He loves to cuddle with his people and wrestle with his sister, Bella. He does all the things a happy and well-loved dog should do. Below, Samantha has shared her experiences with Mud Bay about what has worked for Sebastian.

Mud Bay: How old (approximately) is Sebastian, and how long have you had him?

Samantha: Because of Sebastian’s deteriorated state of health when found, initial reports by veterinarian's estimated him at 5-6 years. Now that he is so much healthier, our veterinarian has aged him at around 2 years old! We have had Sebastian since October 2007; he was found in September 2007.

Mud Bay: What kind of dog is Sebastian?

Samantha: Sebastian is most definitely a Chesapeake Bay Retriever mixed with… something! Best guesses are Mastiff or Great Dane.

Mud Bay: Please describe the health problems that Sebastian was experiencing

Samantha: When he was found Sebastian was dangerously underweight at 70lbs. He suffered from severe demodectic mange which left him with little hair and lots of scabs and scratches. He also had ear mites, and limped on his back leg.

Mud Bay: What supplements and foods helped Sebastian? Samantha: Sebastian eats Natures Variety Instinct dry food and Canidae canned food. To mix things up, he occasionally gets Pinnacle or Avoderm canned food or frozen raw food (Nature’s Variety). He also gets Essential Oil, K-9 Liquid Health Glucosamine & Chondroitin oil daily and we add raw egg yolk twice a week to his food… Biscuits from the bulk bins at Mud Bay and our own homemade ones, and of course Sebastian also has his regimen of medicines from his veterinarian. We think it is a combo of all of that, plus lots of TLC that has helped him!

Mud Bay: What sort of things didn’t seem to help? Samantha: It’s hard to say what hasn’t worked. We have another dog and had starting learning a lot about proper nutrition in taking care of her so we sort of applied those lessons as a starting point for Sebastian. That meant we didn’t have to start on the bottom, so to speak. We knew what foods/supplements/medicines to avoid.

Mud Bay: What is Sebastian’s favorite thing to do?

Samantha: Sebastian loves to cuddle with his people and wrestle with his sister, Bella. His absolute favorite toy is his mint flavored rubber soccer ball (that we bought from Mud Bay).

If you would like to read more about Sebastian and his story, please visit his blog, The Sebastian Chronicles. http://sebastianchronicles.weebly.com/index.html