A Roadside Rescue in Texas

One afternoon in early 2005, a woman drove past a very large, dark dog body in a ditch along a busy highway. Distractedly, she wondered what happened to it. A few hours later, she approached the dog body coming from the other direction and his head popped up just as she passed. "That dog is alive," she thought. She pulled her car over and got out.

The dog was alive. An emaciated and weakened Great Dane mix, he was a stray who had been hit by a vehicle and left to die.

Another car pulled up. A man stepped out to help. He said, "I've been seeing this dog for days, but I thought it was dead!"

Off to The Vet


Despite the risks involved with handling a heavy, badly injured, and potentially dangerous stray dog, they were determined to help.

The rescuers gently lifted the Great Dane into the back of the woman's SUV, and drove to a nearby veterinarian, who immediately began care. The dog had two broken forelegs, a broken pelvis, and a badly scraped and abraded muzzle and nose. He was starving and dehydrated.

Because the bones had started to knit, the vet guessed that the dog had been hit by a vehicle at least a week previously.

Muzzle-Walking


What about the scraped mouth and nose? The dog with two broken forelegs was attempting to walk on his muzzle, until he became too weak to move, the vet guessed.

The Specialist Helps


The vet called in a orthopedic specialist from a vet school several hours away. This specialist reduced his fees, because "a dog that wanted to live so badly" that he walked on his muzzle deserved special treatment.

After examining the x-rays and the dog, the specialist guessed that the injuries had occurred up to two weeks earlier. Probably Duke was near death when he was finally rescued, after laying beside the highway for many days without food, water, or treatment, while thousands of cars passed.

Duke’s Suffering


Did he raise his head and look at traffic, desperate for food and water? Starvation is painful. Did he attempt to reposition himself on the hard ground, as his multiple broken bones throbbed? Did anyone see him walk on his muzzle?

Apparently not one passerby saw him move during all those days of laying in the ditch. For who is hard-hearted enough to drive past, see a dog in distress, and not make even one phone call for help?

The Happy Ending


Surgeries and treatment began, and Duke's veterinarian continued to treat him for free, but the expenses were steep. A friend sent notices to Great Dane discussion lists across the nation asking for donations for Duke's medical expenses. Responses flooded in. Duke gained weight, had physical therapy, and was adopted.

Duke was a very, very lucky dog. By moving at the right moment, he connected with the brave heart of a woman who couldn't pass him by. For her rescue of Duke, Sunbear Squad presented the woman with a Gene Fields Humane Award.

For more rescue stories: http://www.sunbearsquad.org