For months, this “werewolf” stood by the side of the road. His skin was rough and scaly, and his tail was jagged and broken. His black fur was tattered and hung straight up around his neck.
The dog hadn’t had a proper meal in weeks and could barely walk.
Nobody knew anything about the strange creature except that he had spent a long time hanging out in an orchard in Madera Ranchos, California.
Nobody dared to approach the frightening and dangerous animal.
People nicknamed the poor dog “Werewolf” because no one knew what kind of animal he was. They were too scared to approach close enough to find out.
Then, at the end of March, a passerby noticed him and posted a quick Facebook update about him from her car.
The woman then waited near the dog until help arrived. Megan Bowe, another animal hero, quickly arrived on the scene.
“I was about ready to cry when I saw how bad off he was,” Megan Bowe, founder of Bowe’s Adoptable Rescued Pup, tells The Dodo. “He was really on his last leg. He was depressed and could barely even stand up.”
Megan immediately recognized this “werewolf” for what it was: a sick and neglected German shepherd mix.
She gave him the name “King.” She then drove him to an emergency veterinary clinic in her car.
King appeared relieved to finally have assistance, and he willingly accompanied Megan.
The veterinarian discovered that King had a number of diseases and injuries. His most serious ailments were scabies, a broken pelvis, and a broken tail.
King was only a year old, despite his appearance.
“My vet thinks he got hit by a car, and that would explain how his tail was so messed up, too,” Megan Bowe says. “That injury happened months ago, because by the time I got him it had already started to heal incorrectly. And with such a damaged pelvis, he wasn’t able to get around very far on his own to look for food so he was extremely skinny and dehydrated.”
Megan set up a quarantine area in her garage because King’s diseases were contagious, so he could heal without infecting the other animals she cared for.
She started King on small portions and gradually increased them to help him regain his weight and strength at a healthy rate.
Before his pelvis and tail were operated on, King needed all the strength he could get.
Even though he was weak and injured, he was clearly grateful.
”He’s a super loving dog,” Megan says.
King leans his head on Megan as she sits, as if he wants to hug her.
“He has been so calm and relaxed through everything,” Megan says.
King’s condition began to improve about a month into his treatment. His mange had vanished, and he had regained his strength.
He was finally well enough a few weeks ago to have surgery on his pelvis and tail.
And the operations went off without a hitch!
On the advice of his veterinarian, King now goes for daily walks to strengthen his leg.
King will return to the veterinarian at the end of the month to see how he is healing and to have his stitches removed. After he recovers from the first surgeries, he may require surgery on his other hip as well.
It’s been a long road for King, but his progress has made the situation appear much brighter than it was a few months ago.
Today, there is a significant difference between King and the feared “werewolf.”
Megan estimates that King will be fully recovered in a few months. He’ll then be available for adoption.
Until then, King is enjoying every aspect of his new life, including eating doggie ice cream, going for walks, and riding in the car with the windows down!
“He is happier than ever now,” Megan says.
She can’t believe people let him die on the side of the road, sick and malnourished.
“It’s hard to think that all those cars passed him by and never stopped. No one wanted to bring him home or help him because he looked so bad… But all it took was one person,” Megan says.