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BY MATTHEW VAN DUSEN
mvandusen@nwitimes.com
219.462.5151 | Monday, July 17, 2006 | (No comments posted.)
Wendy Piatec doesn't need to see the mange-ridden dogs at the Porter County Animal Shelter to know they can be saved.
The Avon, Ind., resident specializes in foster care for dogs with special needs and felt she had to act when her mother-in-law, a Valparaiso resident, told her about the five dogs with mange that were abandoned in recent weeks.
"They just need about three to four weeks of treatment and they're going to be somebody's pet," said Piatec, who will take three of the dogs.
Animal control officials have found 12 dogs in similar conditions in or near Union Township since May. Veterinarian Mary Ann Sheller said the mange, a contagious mite that causes hair loss, was advanced and the dogs, which probably shared the same owner, had been neglected for months.
Officials have put six dogs to sleep so far, since the disease is highly contagious and costly to treat.
A local veterinarian has put up a $500 reward for information leading to the identification of the owner.
Piatec said she often does foster care for dogs for a White Cloud, Mich.-based group called Peke A Tzu Rescue, which specializes in small dogs with that are blind or have other health problems.
She expects that veterinary care for the three Porter County dogs will cost $1,000, which she will pay with money from her not-for-profit organization dedicated to saving animals in crisis.
Piatec added she was surprised that no Porter County group wanted to rescue the dogs.
Of two remaining dogs with mange, one is large and likely will be put to sleep, she said, while the other should recover enough to be adoptable in Porter County.
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