Saving Elmer & Treat

HAYDEN — “I need to give you this dog.”

With that, a man walked in after-hours at the Kootenai Humane Society and handed a chihuahua to staff meeting in the lobby. He had found it on the streets of Coeur d’Alene, he told them. It needed more help than he could offer.

Chihuahuas are small, sure. But this one was beyond small. Skin and bones.

“His stomach was no bigger than my wrist,” said Vicky Nelson, KHS development director. “He was so thin, his bones were sticking out. He was in such pain.”

Nelson placed the hurting dog in a kennel with food, water and blanket.

It drank water, refused to eat, and curled up and went to sleep.

They let him rest.

The next morning, to the surprise of some, the white chihuahua with brown spots was still breathing.

A vet looked him over. Here’s how the dog, which weighed no more than 3 pounds, was described in the report:

Skinny.

Weak.

Won’t eat.

Thirsty.

Painful.

Infected.

Stinky.

Flea infested.

Nelson said his condition was such that they doubted he could recover.

The animal was in agony.

“It was so bad, we thought, ‘let’s put him out of his misery,’” she said.

They took him to a room for euthanization.

But the little dog with huge eyes made them rethink it. They looked at him and thought, ‘Wait, perhaps we can save him.’”

Fast forward 11 days.

The 5-year-old dog they named Elmer is in a kennel in a room with a view of the field outside. He's wearing a cone around his head. His back end is bandaged due to surgery. He has gained weight and his ribs no longer protrude against his skin. He displays energy.

He eyes a strange man warily and growls. But he looks up excitedly when KHS employee Mary Powell checks on him. Elmer stands and takes a few steps as she opens his kennel door, and puts his paws on her.

“He’s a good boy,” Powell said as Elmer licked her face.

His comeback was considered miraculous.

Powell thought angels might take him home in the night.

He fought to stay alive.

“He had fleas just eating him,” she said.

Even after treatment, the fleas were so many that they were dying off two days later.

“I’m pretty sure he was weak from that,” Powell said.

Elmer’s battle isn’t over.

While dramatically improved in a short time, his recovery continues from his infections and injuries that might have been caused by being roughly handled.

He won’t be up for adoption until his health has returned. Meantime, he’s in good hands.

“Look at that face,” Powell said, smiling at Elmer.

Elmer’s story isn’t the only one of abused, mistreated animals being dropped off at KHS.

Several months ago, staff arrived in the morning to find two carriers taped together and left outside the gate.

Inside were eight cats with severe respiratory infections, ringworm, horrific eye infections and fleas. It was heartbreaking, Nelson said.

“It was a gruesome sight, all of them,” said Lauren Moreno, KHS cat tech. “They were all very sick.”

One of the cats, its eyes eaten away, died. Six others were treated and adopted.

One of those cats they named "Treat" remains and is up for adoption. The black cat, despite its ordeal, is calm as it peers around the cat room it shares with another. Both of its eyes, badly scarred, are much better, though still impaired.

“He can see,” Moreno said. "His eyes look a lot better than they did.”

Animals in all breeds and ages keep coming to KHS.

Last year, people surrendered more than 500 pets to KHS. Another 608 were rescued, 610 were strays and 233 were claimed by animal control.

KHS found homes for more than 1,500 animals last year.

So far this year, it has adopted out 255 animals.

But it has even greater challenges still ahead.

On Sunday, The Press will update the KHS capital campaign to pay for the new shelter being built on Atlas Road.