A little dog was left fighting for her life after her irresponsible owner used human hair dye to dye her purple.
Violet was brought to horrified vets at an animal rescue centre in Florida and is still recovering three months later.
The Maltese mix, described as a ‘little five pound ball of attitude’, suffered severe chemical burns because of the dye, and was nearly blinded.
In a post on Facebook by Pinellas County Animal Services, workers describe Violet’s traumatic experience as ‘a tale of caution, extreme pain, incredible strength and love’.
The post reads:
Violet’s eyes were swollen shut, she was limp and listless, she had obvious burns to her skin – we gave fluids, pain meds and we gently washed as much of the chemical dye off as we could, we bandaged her up.
Then we waited – Violet went home with our veterinarian and we waited. And she came in the next morning and we were amazed that she had made it through the night. But still we waited. She wasn’t out of the woods but she was alert and freely offering kisses. Good news but the journey had just begun. We began the arduous process of shaving off her hair to really measure the damage.
Good thing Violet was peacefully anaesthetised. It was so much worse than we initially thought – how would this little dog make it through?
Three months later, and after a lot of pain medication, antibiotics, IV fluids, honey treatments, scab removal, anaesthetising, bandage changes, sleepless nights, worrying, and hope – the vets finally found a ‘silver lining’.
The post reads:
Violet began to tell us what to do – it started with a little noise; not really a bark, not really a cry. But then she found her voice and she never, ever, EVER stopped.
She began to walk the halls, visiting each office requesting treats or hugs or gentle pats, always in the lead with our veterinarian in tow. It was clear – Violet was on the mend and she wanted everyone to know it.
It continued:
Still, we worried – did she have permanent blindness? Would there be infection? Would her hair ever grow back? Was there anything we were missing? When the final bandages came off we breathed a collective sigh of relief – Violet was beautiful. She will always have her own individual style and that’s just fine with her new owners, who specialise in beautifying pets.
So as you dry up those tears please take one thing away from Violet’s journey – only use products specifically meant for pets or you could be putting your pet’s life on the line.
Pinellas County Animal Services also wanted to make sure this message was relayed:
Pet makeovers are wonderful – they come out smiling after a new haircut, nail trim, maybe a little bow or bandana. They smell so good, they feel so soft and they prance around showing off. Great stuff, right!
We do our own hair – funky styles and colours are on the rise. Express yourself, but please do not use hair dye intended for humans to express your pet’s style.
Let’s all say that together – Do NOT, under any circumstances, use hair colour intended for humans on your pets. Chemicals in hair dye are TOXIC causing a wide array of external injury to your pet – possible burns, blindness and because an animal’s first instinct is to lick, it can cause poisoning or internal burns. Just don’t.
Do you want the good news? Little Violet has found a new home and has a ‘new Dad’:
Hopefully Violet goes on to make a full recovery.
