Dog With Serious Skin Condition Needs Your Help

STAMFORD, CT — Meet Tuck, a Shar Pei mix who was found by Stamford Animal Control on Feb. 6 in "horrible condition," with a bacteria infection all over his body. According to Animal Control Manager Tilford Cobb, Tuck was incredibly sweet and loving despite being in "rough shape" during his time at their care center.

Though it did not affect his precious personality, they made an effort to determine what was causing Tuck's skin condition.

"He had gone to a couple different doctors here," Cobb said. "He was on antibiotics and on special medications. Then he went to Cornell [University] to a specialist, and they ran some tests and determined it was like…an antibiotic-resistant disease, and he has some autoimmune deficiencies, so that's probably why the bacteria is resistant to the antibiotics; his body is not fighting it."

In early April, Tuck was picked up by Project Precious Rescue, a Stamford-based non-profit organization dedicated to animal rescue, who brought him to a foster family to heal.

Though he received regular vet visits and medication and his skin began to see some improvements, it was not the way Animal Control had hoped. According to a June 25 post on the Stamford Animal Control & Care Center Facebook page, Tuck needed to receive skin biopsies this week to " find out what is actually going on" with it. The post also noted he was "doing great in his foster home" and was very happy there.

PPR also provided an update on Tuck's condition through their Facebook page on June 24, in which they said he "still has sores and ulcerations" despite constant medicated baths and sprays, daily medications and specially compounded creams.

"The next step for Tuck is to have skin biopsies done, and the samples sent to a dermatopathologist at Cornell University in Ithaca. We will also be sending a deep aerobic/anaerobic/fungal culture," the post reads. "Tuck's quality of life depends on these results as we want to make sure we get to the bottom of his issue and give him some relief. Nothing we have tried has worked well enough thus far."

As PPR is non-for profit, the rising cost of Tuck's medical bills can be expensive for the organization. Anyone who wishes to donate to PPR and help pay for Tuck's medical expenses can do so at their website.

"He's a sweet dog; a very loving dog," Cobb said. "He was great when he was here. He let us handle him and poke and prod and all the things that we had to do, and he was really good."