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Rescued Dog's Photo Generates Over $12,000 To Help With Medical Bills, Adoption

CHICAGO (CBS)-- Parmesan, the dog, had a bit of a difficult past, but as soon as pictures of her circulated on social media the rescue shelter that took her in saw donations increase by $12,000.

One Tail at a Time posts pictures of its rescued dogs up for adoption, but the one of Parmesan hit a chord.

The picture shows the mixed breed pup with sores on her face and sitting kind of sullen.  The dog was reportedly found Saturday by a construction worker, cowering near a job site on the South Side.

On Facebook, alone over 200 people decided to contribute more than $5,000 to pay her medical bills.

"She was clearly suffering from some kind of infection with the scabs on her face and swollen paws," Clara Schwalbach, of One Tail at a Time, said.

More pictures brought in about $7,000 on the charity's website.

Vets said she's suffering from an autoimmune disorder that caused her skin to bleed and her paws to swell.

"When she showed up at the shelter she was clearly in pain, she was digging a lot at her face," Schwalbach.

Placed with a foster family now and taking daily medicinal baths, Parmesan is on the mend, but her connection with the online community remains explainable.

Parmesan is just one of the 170 dogs currently placed in foster care through One Tail at a Time. Hundreds more have been adopted.

Her donations may surpass her medical bills, and the rest will help the charity reach even more dogs in troubling situations.

Doctors said Parmesan's wounds should heal and she should be fine.

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