Marshall finds a new, happy home

Lynn Atkins/The Weekly Vista Marshall came into the Bella Vista Animal Shelter with a severe case of mange last summer. He looked and smelled bad, but the shelter staff knew they could help. A few weeks later (when this photo was taken), with medication and medicated baths, Marshall was feeling better, but still looked bad.
Lynn Atkins/The Weekly Vista Marshall came into the Bella Vista Animal Shelter with a severe case of mange last summer. He looked and smelled bad, but the shelter staff knew they could help. A few weeks later (when this photo was taken), with medication and medicated baths, Marshall was feeling better, but still looked bad.

When Rebekah Cole and her husband decided it was time to add a dog to their growing family, she knew what kind of dog she wanted.

"I grew up with German shepherds," she said. "We're a German shepherd family."

She assumed finding a full-blooded German shepherd would mean going to a breeder, but her first step was to check out the Internet. That's when she saw Marshall at the Bella Vista Animal Shelter.

Marshall is not just any German shepherd: He came into the shelter with a severe case of mange and had to be isolated and treated for about five months. The treatment included medicated baths, extra brushing and extra food, as well as a prescription flea treatment, according to shelter staff. Marshall spent those months alone in one of the old pens attached to the original shelter building that is now used just for storage.

In a July story in The Weekly Vista, a shelter worker described him this way: "He looked and smelled as bad as he felt."

Once in the Cole household, he had to adjust to new surroundings.

"He was a little skittish at first," Cole said, "and after everything he went through, the shelter was really particular about who he went to."

The Cole family passed the test.

"We have a 5-year-old who has fallen in love with him and he's attached to her, too," she said.

They worked with him on behavior issues, which Cole said were the result of him being nervous around other dogs. They introduced him slowly to her parents' dwarf German shepherd and to other friendly dogs. Now they can bring him to the dog park without worrying.

"As long as he feels safe, he's fine," she said. They were even able to leave him with her parents when they took a vacation.

Marshall may always have some skin issues, so there may be more vet visits than an average dog and they'll have to watch for hot spots this summer, but the Coles don't mind now that he's part of their family.

Last week, Marshall took a big step when the Coles added another family member, a cat.

"He was curious at first," she reported, "but did really well. He's adjusting."

Marshall is now a member of a happy, interbreed family, and everyone is living happily ever after.

General News on 04/19/2017