Donate to the Shyla Fund—Meet Shyla

When I visited Shyla at her foster home, I wasn't sure what to expect.

I knew that she was a sick dog with lots of problems, so I tried to prepare myself to see a depressed and weak little dog. Fortunately, Shyla's condition hasn't affected the way she sees the world.

Shyla sees the world as if she has to make friends with everyone she meets. She barked at me only once and sniffed my hand when I offered it to her, and then it was all about love and kisses. She seems to be a jolly little girl who does lots of tail wagging and would be even more energetic if it wasn't for her sickness.

She arrived at TAGS in terrible shape—she was almost bald, and her nails were all curled up. Her foster parents and TAGS tried everything to bring life back into this loving dog, but we ultimately realized there was more to her condition than just unkemptness. It turned out that she was suffering from allergic reactions. We had lots of tests done, but to this day, we are still not sure what she is allergic to.

Her allergies have become an everyday part of her life. She has to wear a cone and boots most of the time. This is the only way to prevent her scratching herself until she's bleeding. When I was there, she showed admirable self-control when it came to scratching, but sometimes she just couldn't help herself and was trying to relieve her discomfort by rubbing against the furniture or the floor. Imagine how hard it must be for a dog to resist when we humans sometimes can't.

On top of her allergy issues, lumps were discovered in Shyla's tummy not long ago, and she had to have surgery to remove them. During my visit, she was still a little bit tired from her surgery. The good news is that the lumps turned out to be benign. Her post-operation healing, though, has been really hard on her. She was throwing up a lot and felt very weak. By the time I visited her, she was a little bit better and livelier. It seems that the only barrier between Shyla and a good, full life is her consistent allergies.

With your donations to the Shyla Fund, we can continue doing tests on her and, hopefully, end her suffering as soon as possible and, ultimately, get this little girl a forever home!

Click here to watch a video of Shyla.