Giving Lexi a home

Five pounds is a lot for a dog to put on in just a week – the kind of gain that would send out an alert to put a lid on the puppy chow in most homes.

But for Stacy and Joey Sanders, learning that Lexi was up to 43 pounds was the best news they’d had all week.

Days before the young couple agreed to take in Lexi, the 7-year-old boxer had been eating rocks and gravel to stay alive.

Now Lexi is getting high-calorie puppy food and weight-gain supplements to pack on the pounds she lost when her former family quit feeding her. If this dog could talk, her story would surely be a heartbreaking one – though protruding ribs, tattered ears and a filthy coat covering numerous bumps and abrasions tell a pretty sad story on their own.

Lexi arrived in Sioux Falls in early February weighing just 38 pounds, a good 20 pounds below what a female boxer typically weighs. She had been nearly starved to death before her owners surrendered her in late January, explaining they couldn’t afford to feed her now that they had a new puppy.

Lexi was originally surrendered to a rescue group in northern Iowa, which didn’t have room to take her in. They contacted Northern Plains Boxer Rescue — a non-profit that rescues boxers and serves South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa — which contacted the Sanders.

Though the young Harrisburg couple had only been involved with the boxer rescue six months, they quickly agreed to take Lexi. The pictures taken by the rescue group in Iowa didn’t prepare Stacy for the sight of Lexi’s emaciated carriage and rows of protruding ribs.

“I was going, ‘How is she walking, how is she moving?’” Stacy said. “I pretty much had to drag her out of the car. She was too weak to even get out.”

When they first got Lexi home, she jumped up on Joey but quickly dropped down, too exhausted to maintain the position more than a few seconds.

In addition to the obvious signs of starvation, Lexi’s skin was covered with sores and pieces of her ears were actually falling off, perhaps due to frostbite. Even NPBR foster home coordinator Heidi Valer, who has seen several extreme cases of neglect in the two years she has worked with the boxer rescue, admitted to being taken aback.

“She’s the worst case that I’ve ever seen,” Valer said. “I was furious. I did not realize how bad it was. You couldn’t until you saw her.”

Valer didn’t know if the Iowa rescue group to which Lexi was first surrendered, People for Pets, would try to bring charges against the family that stopped feeding her, though she thought the group planned to initiate a well-check visit on the family’s children and new puppy.

Sadly, situations like Lexi’s are more common than ever as rescues and animal shelters across the country report record numbers of pet surrenders.

The nationwide recession seems to be somewhat to blame. A survey in the “Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association” recently revealed the financial situation of nearly half of pet owners surveyed worsened in 2008, while a third of veterinarians surveyed reported a decline in visits.

The Sioux Falls Area Humane Society is also seeing a steady stream of animal surrenders – over 300 last month alone.

“There are definitely more animals coming in than going out,” said Aldijana Mustic, SFAHS customer service manager. “I know three-and-a-half years ago (when I started), it was not as bad. Kids have to come first. Paying the rent has to come first.”

Mustic said home foreclosures force some to downsize to apartments. Many apartments don’t accept pets. This is the primary reason pets are surrendered.

To Stacy and Joey Sanders, who both grew up with rescue dogs as pets, the idea of dropping a dog on the side of the road to die or refusing to feed it is both baffling and heart-breaking.

The Sanderses are what is laughingly known as “foster failures,” meaning the temporary home they agreed to provide an animal became its “forever home.”

Last summer the couple agreed it was time to try fostering their first pet and found the boxer breed to be the perfect compromise.

“She (Stacy) wanted a lap dog and I wanted a big, sloppy dog, so naturally the only dog that falls into that category is a boxer,” Joey said, gesturing to the 60-pound Lola napping peacefully on his leg.

After six months Lola is still with them and has played a big role in Lexi’s rehabilitation. Lexi has been slowly easing into family life by taking a few cues from her housemate, like how to be petted or letting your masters know you need to go outside.

But at the center of Lexi’s recovery has been getting her weight and strength up. The Sanderses have been feeding her four small meals a day of high-calorie puppy mix, canned food and weight gain supplements. They estimate Lexi’s food runs nearly $100 a week and adds up to about twice the amount Lola eats.

Lexi’s recovery has been steady, with only a small hiccup: tumors found on her underside a few weeks ago. Tests have indicated the spots are cancerous, but the Sanderses have not yet learned if the condition is terminal. As a result of the cancer, Lexi is not necessarily up for adoption. If the cancer can be treated, the Sanderses and Northern Plains Boxer Rescue volunteers are hopeful that Lexi will make a complete recovery.

“This whole thing has really broke my heart,” Valer said. “She seems like she’s very forgiving for whatever happened to her.”

To make a donation toward Lexi’s recovery, visit www.everyboxercounts.com or contact the rescue at npbr@everyboxercounts.com.

Top and banner photo: Lexi cuddles up against her foster mom, Stacy Sanders, for an afternoon nap. Sanders and her husband, Joey, have tackled the task of nursing the boxer back to health after Lexi was surrendered by her owners and nearly starved to death last month. (Jamie Gibson/The Post)

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