June 5, 2021 – It is with broken hearts and wounded souls that we share the news that Ziana has found her wings and left her struggles in this world behind. For 6 months we have fought to save her life. Six months of setbacks, little gains and more set backs. Her veterinary team did everything they could, her SCARS family did as well, but we were fighting an untreatable infection that was stronger than Little Zee. Even the most intensive treatments did not work, so we made the only decision that we could, to let her go.
She was a comical, quirky spirit, who was into everything and unafraid to live her life at full speed ahead. Maybe she knew her days were limited so she filled each one she had with as much mischief and activity that she could. She adored food, playing soccer, chasing after anything that moved, sniffing out every inch of the ground on walks, and digging. Oh how she loved to excavate giant holes. Her spirit roams free today without the burden of disease and discomfort. Hoping she has an endless supply of peanut butter and birds to chase and holes to dig. So sorry we could not save you.

Her story…

My name is Ziana. On December 13th, I won the lottery of my life. I became a SCARS dog! It was a long day with hours of driving, but I made it from northern Alberta to the safety of my new foster home. As you can see, my rescue did not come a moment too soon. I am terribly thin and battling a severe skin infection, among other issues.

I got to see the vet right away. My poor condition and malnutrition combined with parasites are the root cause of my problem and a secondary bacterial infection set in on top of that. I have a fair bit of healing to do but I am on the road to recovery.

It is not all good news though. Unfortunately, I am deaf. I do not react to any kind of sound at all. I know this might be a challenge for me, but clearly, I am a brave girl, so I am pretty sure I am going to be just fine.

I got my first bath on December 17. They told me I was a certified good dog about it! I have a long way to go until I am ready for adoption, but I am starting to feel so much better.

It’s now January 8th and I would check in with you on my progress. It has been about a month since I made it to SCARS. Have I gained weight? … you bet! I’m up about 9 pounds. How is my skin you ask? Well making progress, but sure not healed yet. I had a check back with Dr. Sven Pohl this week. I got some different meds and he is happy with my progress. The itching is finally under control enough so I don’t have to wear a cone anymore. Before without a cone I would bite myself till I bled. It is just going to take more time I guess. My puppy immune system combined with trying to grow and a severe skin infection is a lot for my body to manage. My new pictures are fresh from my latest weekly bath. It is like a spa vacation for dogs at my foster home, food, light exercise, play time and spa treatments. Life is good.
April 2021 – ZIANA UPDATE!
I know, I know it has been months since you heard from me. Sorry about that, but everything has gone sideways for me and I am in a really tough situation.
If you recall I came in to SCARS in December with a terrible case of demodex as well as fungal and bacterial skin infections. We followed a normal treatment protocol and everything was going wonderful, I gained weight, we got rid of the demodex, the skin infection was clearing up and I was growing a beautiful coat of fur. Then things went terribly wrong. I developed an antibiotic resistant Staph infection in my skin. It has literally run wild and knocked me off my feet. This is a nasty and potentially deadly infection.
My skin has gone backwards and is once again in terrible condition and I have lost just about all the wonderful fur I grew back. I know my vet team and my foster mom are really worried. I can’t hear a word they say, but I see it in their faces when they talk about me. There is no stone that they have left unturned in the search for a solution for me, I do know that.
I have been under intensive treatment for months and nothing has been working. Consults with specialists, biopsies, vet visit after vet visit, different antibiotics and I just kept getting worse. We are unfortunately down to likely our last chance at curing this. I am on an antibiotic that is reserved for special cases only. The antibiotics themselves are extremely potent and have the potential to do liver damage, but without them I am lost. I have daily baths with the strongest shampoos, as well as a chlorine skin treatment. We saw some small hints at progress over the last week, so here’s to hoping it is the start of a return to health. I will let you know how it goes, I have a major milestone at the end of this round of antibiotics, I will give you an update then. Wags (my tail never stops wagging) Little Zee (Ziana). ❤️ You can help Ziana directly by donating here at www.scarscare.ca/donate or,
May 15, 2021 update… Little Zee here, I just wanted to give you an update. As many of you know I have been battling an antibiotic resistant skin infection since before Christmas. We have tried everything and I do mean everything. It is kind of a good news and bad news situation at the moment. If you look at my pictures from before, until now you will see a lot of improvement. That is the good news. The bad news I still have hot spots that this stubborn infection lingers. We are adjusting my treatments again and I still have to have daily baths, but my team is not giving up. I wish I could tell you I was all better, but looks like I have another mountain to climb on this journey.