SkarFace, Coatesville, PA

Hello, friends! 🙂 My name is SkarFace, I was born in the beautiful countryside of Chester County, PA, on Jan. 12, 2009. My doggie parents were young and the gentleman who had us pups took good care of us, even bottle-fed us when our mom didn’t nurse us. When he decided to give us  away, I was the first one chosen, “pick of the litter” as they say. The nice lady across the road took my sister home as a reward for helping care for us pups.

A couple of weeks into my life, the lady noticed some bumps on my face and took me to a vet. They didn’t make much of the bumps until it got much worse a few days later, and a second opinion revealed I had Juvenile Cellulitis, aka puppy strangles. This is a disease that strikes a puppy’s immune system and is often fatal.

I was a sad-looking pup. When the lady who had my sister saw me she broke down in tears. My face was swollen beyond recognition with stuff oozing all over it. I had to be isolated so I didn’t  infect the other pups, and the people who had chosen me didn’t want me anymore. I felt so rejected & lonely at the time, even the man who’d cared for me didn’t know what to do me. My vet bills were piling up and I was headed to the SPCA.

When the lady next door found out what was happening, she marched right over and took me home with her. She became my mamma and did everything necessary to speed up my recovery. At first it was tough, I had to take many medications and I couldn’t play with the others. My eyes and ears swelled shut so I was blind and deaf for some time; it even hurt to go potty. The warm compresses were painful and I’d whimper, but I didn’t try to get away or bite because I knew it was helping.

In time the swelling went down and the scabs healed. I got bigger, stronger and became the happiest pup on the planet! I love my pack but played mostly with my sister Cleopatra because we were the same size. We’d run across the field and body slam each other, play hide & seek, and chase raindrops. Cleo & I were inseparable and life was great!

On Nov. 12, 2010, Cleo woke up completely paralyzed—she couldn’t move anything but her eyes. A trip to ER revealed severe inflammation as a result of an old neck sprain from when she was small. No one knew she was ever hurt as Cleo was the life of the house and never showed a sign of discomfort. By the evening, she was struggling to breathe so mom held her close & kissed her as she crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Everyone was crushed, especially me. I looked for her everywhere —I’d even go out in the middle of the field and bark for her in frustration, but she never came.

Thanks to my brothers Adonis & Texas, sister Eden, and mom Nina, I got though it all and I’m one of the most loved dogs in the world! My face still has scars but you can hardly see them. Thousands of friends on Facebook keep me feeling the love. Some can’t get themselves to call me Skar or The Dog No One Wanted (my page name), so we came up with my FB nickname, Balentino.

Contrary to popular belief, I don’t drool much or snore, nor am I aggressive. I am extremely gentle, smart and loyal. I love everyone & everything that makes up our planet. I especially like to eat, sleep talk, play ball, run, make silly faces and bite my nails. I sometimes help my mom raise funds for animals, you can learn more about that by visiting Love Me Love My Pets.

Parent: Nina