Title: A New Day, A New Life
Artist: Lea Ann Smith
Medium: Ink
Dimensions: 11" x 14"
Animal Depicted: Effie Lee

In late September, we had quite a day in rescue. Not one, but two dogs arrived with severe cases of demodex mange. And we had a third on his way from southeast Missouri. They have been miserable and neglected for so long. No one helped them. Tiny, microscopic mites infested their skin, causing them to lose their hair, suffer from constant and intense itchiness, and of course infection. When the first one arrived, we named her Effie Lee.

You would have thought she was elderly, but she was just a pup at two years old. Her skin was extremely painful and warm to the touch. She had mucus discharge from both eyes, and we could see live fleas climbing all over her skin. After a skin scrape, we also saw the mites. Demodex Mange is not directly fatal, but severe infection can become life-threatening. She was in for a fight despite her exhaustion and weakened immune system.

She was so shut down and tried to hide from us, but we promised her that we saw her, and we were going to make her world so much better.

As she spent more time with us, we realized she was so afraid of people. Having feral tendencies and shying away from us made her healing journey take a little longer, but she eventually came around. She found safety and comfort in the doctors and vet techs, and she very slowly started to open up. She also started to make a few dog friends, and that's when she really started to shine.

Effie Lee went to a foster home where she began to thrive. After several months with her foster family, she found her forever family. She will never have to endure that kind of suffering again.

Status: Adopted

Shipping Available:
*If you are the winning bidder and are not in attendance to pick up your item(s) the night of the event at the Four Seasons Hotel, artwork will be available for pick up from the Pine Street Shelter starting Wednesday, August 19th through Thursday, September 3rd. Artwork will NOT be available to pick up before this (unless you are notified otherwise via email). If you are not local to the St. Louis Area, shipping is available for this item upon request (for an additional cost which will be calculated for each piece individually). All winning bidders will receive an email with more information once the auction has closed.