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Humane Society of Greater Rochester

UPDATED 6/21/2017

We wanted everyone to know that Toby is making a miraculous recovery. He’s gaining weight and his fur is growing in.  Most importantly though, he’s becoming a playful pup! Toby is currently still staying with his foster family. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported his journey from a starving puppy to a happy dog!

Watch Toby’s Video

It was Thursday, April 13th, when Lollypop Farm’s Humane Law Enforcement received the call regarding an abandoned dog. The little puppy, named Toby, was starving and missing most of his fur. As animal lovers, we know it can be hard to imagine this happening in our own backyard, but it’s a battle you help us fight in our community every day.

Our investigator immediately brought Toby back to the shelter. Despite the late hour of his arrival, Toby was met by our dedicated veterinary team led by Dr. Cristina Cadavieco, medical director at Lollypop Farm. Treatment began right away.

Toby was brought immediately to Lollypop Farm where the veterinary team began treatment right away.

Poor Toby was covered with mites. Dr. Cadavieco said that the sample taken contained more mites than she had ever seen before on a single dog, and she sees thousands of animals every year. Because Toby is so skinny, reintroducing nutritious food to his system is a delicate process that will take time. At the time of his arrival, he could only be given a quarter of a can of prescription food, but he eagerly ate and began to relax in our comforting care.

Nutritious food will need to be reintroduced to Toby’s system slowly. Giving him too much, too quickly could cause more harm than good.

A month later, Toby is still being cared for in the veterinary clinic at Lollypop Farm. Here, the dedicated veterinary team continues to monitor his progress. They have Toby on a plan to steadily introduce more and more nutritious food. Toby’s skin continues to improve and a little peach fuzz is beginning to grow! He has already gained a couple of pounds and he has more energy every day for play the way a puppy should.

Toby’s road to recovery will not be easy, but thanks to support from animal lovers like you Toby has a fighting chance.

The road to recovery will be long and hard for Toby, and the investigation to bring his abuser to justice will take time. It will be months before he will be well, but with compassionate care and support from animal lovers like you, he has a fighting chance. Gifts from the community fund the Humane Law Enforcement Department that investigates cases of animal cruelty. Donations provide Toby the veterinary care he so desperately needs.

So from all of us at Lollypop Farm, and all the pets like Toby…. thank you.  You really make a difference for pets in need.