Every day, homeless pets facing desperate situations arrive at our doors. Some arrive only needing basic vaccines, general flea/tick treatments, spay/neuter surgery and are then ready for adoption. Others arrive with bigger medical issues and with heartbreaking backstories.

Fancy was found abandoned in the back of a truck in Williamsburg in October 2019. The Williamsburg Police found Fancy and brought her to Heritage Humane Society. When she arrived she was missing all of her hair, had scabs on her head and body, and was in desperate need of medical treatment. It was determined that Fancy was approximately 6-months-old and had Demodex Mange, which is a skin infection caused by parasitic mites. The mites will burrow through the skin causing intense itching and irritation. The scratching that results from mange is what causes the majority of the animal’s hair to fall out. The critical state that Fancy was in when she arrived at the shelter did not happen overnight. She had most likely been battling with mange for a while. Our dedicated staff and veterinarian quickly went into action to provide Fancy with around the clock care. Gradually over many weeks, Fancy slowly started showing signs of improvement. Her hair slowly started growing back and the staff starting to see her tail wagging a little more each day.

Dr. Andrew MacDougall, a previous contract veterinarian of Heritage Humane Society, fell in love with Fancy and decided to take her home to foster and continue her treatment. Having an experienced veterinarian continue to provide critical care and socialization did wonders! Her hair continued to grow back and she started showing her sweet personality. Oftentimes, she was a bit itchy during her recovery. However, the creative (and adorable) solution was to get her pajamas and sweaters galore! Today Fancy is now called Ellie and Dr. MacDougall has officially adopted her. She still has a long road to recovery ahead of her, but thanks to our community support she has a very bright future.