When an 18 month-old Japanese Spitz was found wandering the streets of Brent at night, a concerned member of the public brought him straight to Mayhew.

Poor little Fox had raw looking patches on his legs and neck that were clearly causing him pain, but with without a collar or microchip, we had no way of knowing where he came from or what might have happened to him.

Aside from his obvious injuries, Fox seemed clean and well groomed – it was hard to believe he was a stray, and the mystery continued at his first general health check. Thinking that his sore rashes were perhaps a sign of a skin infection, our Animal Welfare Officers took a series of swabs and asked our Vet team to take a look. Surprisingly, the results all came back clear – no traces of  infection.

We therefore chose to treat Fox with medicated baths to see if the inflammation and redness went down, and admitted him to our isolation unit until we could work out what was wrong.

Unfortunately, the medicated baths seemed to irritate Fox’s wounds even more. After stopping them, we monitored Fox’s skin to see if it would improve, and see if we could find some further clues as to the cause of the irritation. We gave Fox a buster collar to prevent him scratching and opening up the wounds, and made him as comfortable as possible in his cabin.

After a few days of careful observation, the rashes appeared to be calming down and looking less raw. Fox’s general health check came back with no concerns, so we continued to care for him as best we could.

Soon enough, the irritation all but disappeared, and Fox’s skin could be looked at again. The exposed skin was now shiny and hairless, and no longer seemed to be causing Fox any pain or discomfort.

We strongly believe that Fox’s condition was likely to be the result of an old trauma, possibly a burn, which had flared up again after being exposed to an unknown irritant on the streets. After being kept clean and well cared for, the inflammation has reduced dramatically and Fox is now showing show his true colours – as a friendly, happy, and bouncy dog!

We won’t ever know the beginning of Fox’s story, but we are determined to give him a happy ending. This brave dog is now on the hunt for his forever home! If you’re looking for a fun and active companion, Fox might be the dog for you.