Foster or forever home wanted, Meet Leo. Leo's story is one we are sadly hearing more and more often. The overcrowding at the shelter has consequences for these poor animals that one would never think of. The shelters are forced to put more dogs in one kennel space which often times leads to attacks. A puppy the size and age of Leo is no contest for larger dogs or in his case multiple dogs.

Leo entered the San Jacinto shelter on February 7th as a stray. On February 10th, he was attacked in his kennel. After the attack, he appeared very ataxic, wobbling back and forth, exhibiting a loss of balance. There were no physical wounds seen. However, on February 12th, they observed his right front leg was swollen. They tested for parvo and giardia, both tests were negative, so they just continued to monitor. Ultimately, two days later when they retested for giardia, it was positive, so they started meds to treat that parasite.

On February 18th, Leo started showing signs of an upper respiratory infection with coughing and nasal discharge. The shelter started antibiotics right away to fight the infection. Leo still shows sign of imbalance, seems to be bumping into things. The shelter started to wonder if perhaps he could be visually impaired. At this point a plea went out to rescue groups to exit Leo from the shelter so he can get more specialized care than what the shelter is equipped to offer. 

We picked Leo up on February 22nd and he is currently hospitalized undergoing some further testing. Through all of this, Leo's appetite is great, and he is just your regular happy-go-lucky young pup. We will update Leo's bio once his other test results are returned. At some point, he will be able to leave the hospital.   We would like to get him into a home to continue his recovery and socialization so he does not sit in boarding. 

If you would like to meet Leo, please fill out an application at labradorsandfriends.org. Leo is located in Southern California.