Many people have written me to ask about Muffin's progress since I brought her back from New Orleans in October.  The first great news is she has gained 3 whole pounds . . . yippeee Muffin! 

People can not believe that she is the same dog that came back from New Orleans.  Not only is Muffin filling out a bit (she is still quite skinny, but no longer emaciated) - her hair has grown back and she is so pretty and silky and soft!  Muffin knows her name and when you say it, she tilts her head and her ears perk up.  At the sound of my voice, her little stubby tail wags back and forth.  Progress happened when the fur grew back on the top of her head and her ears - but then we had a set back in December, when she was itching and scratching and biting herself all over. 

 She lost all the fur from the sides of her face and her entire neck (hard to see in these pics).  She was scratching her face so much that open sores began to bleed.  The vet determined she had now developed Demodax Mange (not the contagious type, but mange that is developed from a low immune system).   So for two months now, Muffin has been having to get Mitoban dips (chemicals to kill the Demodax Mites).  It has been a really rough two months and at one point, I just felt so helpless because I wasn't sure if Muffin was actually suffering because she literally couldn't even sleep at night from the furious itching and scratching.   She would just cry because it was so uncomfortable for her to be in her own skin.  About two weeks ago, early February, it seems Muffin turned a corner and is on an upswing in her recovery.  She is still itching, but now it is a moderate amount and she is usually able to sleep through most of the night.  (I spray her with a mixture of fifty percent Listerine and fifty percent water to cool off her skin, which gets really hot from the itching, something I learned from another rescuer).  I looked at her skin closely today and it appears that there is the teeniest of tiniest hair stubble beginning to grow on her face and neck (where she has been basically bald for the last two months). 
Here is a picture of Muffin laying next to one of my other dogs, Sugar.  All of us who have seen Muffin through this transition of gaining weight and seeing the return of her little personality, all say the same thing.  We are beginning to wonder if she is a much younger dog that we originally thought (even the vet says so) and also, she seems to have the appearance of being a bigger dog.  She has only gained three pounds and is still very skinny, but there is something about the way she is carrying her head up higher (we never could see her eyes or her face because she was always hanging it down low) and she now walks with more confidence.  I don't think she has gotten taller, she just has gotten a little pep in her step!  
 And you will be happy to know that Muffin now sleeps through the night, very peacefully.  Sometimes, when she hears the rest of us get up in the morning, she lifts her head up and listens  . . . then goes back to sleep for another hour or so.  She is not so concerned anymore about being abandoned - and she seems to feel safe now that she has a sense of familiarity and routine.  I do believe she enjoys the other doggies being around and being part of our doggie family.  But most of all, Muffin is just such an amazing model to me of what hope and spirit can do to get you through seemingly hopeless times.   Whenever I think I'm having a bad day or a bad week . . . I need to try to follow Muffin's example and have a little hope that something better is coming around the corner and to not give up.  That is why I call Muffin, the little dog with a lot of Hope!   I cannot thank you enough to all of the people who have sent positive wishes and little prayers for Muffin.  That kind of energy has helped to support her through her recovery process.  May you all have a little hope in your own lives!