Abandoned English Bulldog Mix Puppy On The Mend

BOSTON (CBS) -- They're calling her "Sheba" and she's an absolute sweetheart.

"She 's so sweet. She's just the nicest little puppy," MSPCA-Angell's Alyssa Krieger said.

"Sheba" is a four month old English bulldog mix on the mend, her fur entirely eaten away by the worst case of mange her caretaker at Angell Animal Medical Center has ever seen.

"I was so sad for her. She was in so much pain. She had so much infection and she was so itchy," Andrea Bessler told WBZ.

In fact, when her unknown owner abandoned her on a Dorchester street three weeks ago, she was covered in oozing, infected wounds and scabs -- too weak to even stand.

"More likely than not, somebody was probably overwhelmed, like didn't know what to do or how to get her help," Krieger said.

Enter Angell with a revolutionary treatment.

"Sheba" is battling demodectic mange, a skin infection caused by mites.

She's being treated with a special drug that is super-charging her immune system to fight it.

"It is an injection that goes underneath the skin. And basically, it stops the receptors that make her itchy," Bessler said.

That way, the puppy didn't scratch herself into a bloody mess -- giving the regimen of antibiotics and other meds a chance to kill off the tiny intruders and heal the skin.

The sweater "Sheba" now wears protects her pink, tender, hairless body.

"My heart just broke for her," Bessler said.

But now, "Sheba's" not contagious and getting better every day.

She's even making friends with the shelter cat and playing with dog-loving reporters.

"And hopefully, she'll make a full recovery and her fur will grow back and she'll be a happy, healthy dog," Bessler said.

No surprise, the phone is already ringing with folks interested in adoption.