This is a sad tale, indeed. A shelter some miles away had just received three Dobers that had come in as strays, and they were hoping we could take them. We did, but the story is much more complicated.
Apparently they were a family - young father, mother, and eight-and-a-half-month-old pup. One hind leg of the pup was deformed from birth, and then as the three of them were running loose and unattended, both parents had been struck by a car, each receiving leg injuries. Thankfully, a witness to the accident stopped to help and see that they made it safely to the shelter. Once they were transported to us, we went to work immediately, seeing that each one was properly assessed by our vet and received any needed treatment.
Jingles, the pup, is in foster care for for now. Jangles, the mom, had a shattered wrist bone that will heal with rest; DRT had her spayed and she’s able to go home, provided she “stays quiet for another month.”
Jolly is the dad, and unfortunately, his injured leg had to be amputated. Broken bones were coming through the skin, and radiographs showed multiple fractures. Splinting was not an option, and the probability of infection was too great. Following amputation, he‘s already active, learning how to pee on three legs, and jogging around our field.
As if all that weren’t enough, he also has heart worms; so between the cost of surgery and the very expensive (and risky) heart worm treatment, he has cost a great deal more to restore to health than our average shelters. If you are able to help with the expense of saving this innocent, neglected, and recovering-from-surgery young fellow, please donate in his name. You will be contributing to saving a life, if you do.
Observations from our volunteers:
“Jolly is my first experience with a three-legged Dobe. At first I put my sympathy hat on and started feeling sorry for him; then I saw him running around without any trouble. Not gonna lie, I was shocked to see him moving around with no extra effort. Jolly is certainly a resilient Dobe, and he is just as sweet as can be! Every thing I’ve observed suggests that he’s an excellent fellow all around, and that neither his past nor the amputation has diminished him in any way.”
“Jolly likes the human touch. He stayed pretty close to me the whole time in the corral, and I could tell he really liked all the attention I was giving him. It amazes me just how quickly he has adapted to the loss of his back leg. It hasn’t slowed him down or seemed to have much impact on him at all.”
Jolly is a young adult who has experienced more hardship than a dog ought to go through, but his buoyant personality keep him going, unphased by the past and living in the joy of the moment. If you think your family may be a fit for this fine young fellow, make an appointment to meet him once your application is approved, and come see for yourself what a remarkable fellow he is. |
