Abandoned outside, Mufasa the dog continues road to recovery

(FOX 9) - Mufasa, a mastiff mix, was found Feb. 22 outside a Maplewood apartment building. He was starving and sick, with no place to go.

Now, he’s on a slow road to recovery.

“At the time, he wasn’t very mobile. He could still walk around, but his feet had open sores all over them. He also didn’t have much muscle mass and he had open sores on his backside, so he wasn’t moving around,” said Liz Gigler with Rescued Pets Are Wonderful.

But that was just the beginning; Musafa got even sicker - very critically and very fast.

“We didn’t have a history. We didn’t know how long he was sick for. We didn’t know if this was something that had been going on for years or is it something that happened in a very short period of time?” said Dr. Krista Steffenhagen with Blaine Family Veterinary Hospital.

After IV fluids, three blood transfusions and a feeding tube, Mufasa could have just given up. But, he didn’t.  

“If he had no desire to live or fight, we wouldn’t have put him through this. But, he never gave me that sign that he didn’t want to be around or fight,” Gigler said. 

This past weekend, the group became more hopeful that Mufasa might make it.

“He was eager to eat, he was showing interest. He was able to sit up, the color of his gum tissue and the light in his eyes was starting to come back. So, it was just a huge change for him, a physical change,” Dr. Steffenhagen said.

Meanwhile, “Team Mufasa” was closely following every step of the dog’s journey. The Facebook page has taken off and Mufasa is so popular now, he even gets “Mu mail.”

“When he stood up one day, that was huge for all of his followers. When he ate his first hard food, that was a big thing,” Gigler said.

Now, an outside group is selling Mu t-shirts and Mu buttons. He’s got a long way to go, but Gigler believes one day, with Mu's will and his team behind him, he’ll be healthy enough to get to his forever home.

“I think he’s really gonna be that stoic, sweet boy; I haven’t seen any aggression. He does think everyone is here to give him treats, though,” Gigler said.

If you're interested in following Mufasa's story, go to the Facebook page "Team Mufasa."