Rescue Group Wasn't Transparent About New Dog's History

I just adopted a 7 year old terrier mix from a rescue group. He has an ulcer on one cornea and folliculitis. Initially I wasn't at all concerned, as they provided the medication needed to continue his treatment and assured me that after completing the medication everything should clear up. However, after bringing him home and seeing his vet records, it looks like he has had conjunctivitis in the same eye previously and was prescribed antibiotics for skin issues from July-December of last year.

I'm terrified that the rescue group might have been minimizing his health issues and that I've just gotten in over my head. Anyone else have experience with an older dog with eye & skin problems?

My 11 year old Alaskan Malamute cross has folliculitis. It is quite a difficult thing to treat and there are various options. We find the cheapest is to bath him every 2 weeks in a special shampoo which we get from the vet. This keeps the scratching under control and helps to stop hot spots developing. There is a new drug available called Apoquel which is very expensive but quite effective. We don't use it because there are some significant side-effects which may or may not affect your dog. With Ben, because he is a wolf mix, we chose not to try Apoquel. With your dog only being small, it is an easy and fairly cheap option for you to bath him regularly in the special shampoo. Hth.

Did the recue centre give you the vet's records?

They did. I did not realize until getting them home and doing Internet searches for the types of medications he had been prescribed what they meant, though. The rescue group did not tell us that he had skin issues in the past (I directly asked them about his current issue and was told it should clear up by the time he finishes his meds) but his vet records show he was prescribed simplicef from July-Dec. I googled it and it seems to be an antibiotic for skin infections. We have an appointment with our vet on Tuesday so I'm hoping to get a better idea of the issue then.

Terrible. But my point is that they passed on his record so you can hardly blme them for withholding information.

Sure, they may not have explained his conditions in great detail but for the most part they are not vets and not qualified to give vetrinary opinions or prognosis.

I'm sorry that your dog has problems and that I can't offer anything better.

I wish you luck.