We got a desperate plea from a Shelter outside Atlanta, GA to help a 16 week old puppy 5 months ago that they believed had a broken back, rear leg and a mangled front leg. No one was stepping up because of all the medical issues sweet Hushpuppy had. It appeared she was picked up as a stray after being hit by a car. No one saw this but her injuries indicate something like this had happened to her. We already had our hands full with some major abuse cases at the time and did not have any more resources or time to take on a new pup with these kind of injuries. After waiting several days for someone to step up, I realized that was not going to happen. I gave myself the normal talking to that I have to do several times a day, "You can't take them all. You do the best you can but there is only so much one person can do, etc, etc." Needless to say, the lecture to myself went on for several days. I finally realized late one night when I couldn't sleep that I couldn't live with not helping this little pup. I was literally haunted by her face. I contacted the Shelter and let them know I would take Hushpuppy and would work out the details in the morning. Getting this pup to us proved to be a nightmare. I sent a driver 4 hours the next day to pick up the dog at the shelter at the designated time. No one was there and no one would return any phone calls. This was Friday and the week-end was going to be terrible for this little pup. The shelter arranged for one of their transporters to bring the pup to the hospital in Charlotte. That fell through. I had Neurologist on call 24 hours a day for a little dog that never seemed to show up. We finally made other arrangements and got Hushpuppy to the hospital one week later than we had expected. Neurological injuries need to be taken care of ASAP to get the best possible outcome. Once we finally got Hushpuppy seen, her front leg had developed significant Radial Nerve paralysis. We decided we would do intensive physical therapy to see if we could save the leg. In the meantime, her rear leg had a tibia fracture and had to be plated. What they thought was a broken back turned out to be a combination of things that gave the appearance of her back being broken. Our little girl remained in the hospital doing lots of rehab to get over her rear leg injury and to restore function in her front leg. After one month of this, our little girl decided the front leg had to go and she started the process of chewing on the leg. At that point, we knew we had no choice but to amputate her front leg. Her rear leg had healed and she would do great as a tripod. Hushpuppy has been nothing but sweet, sweet, sweet during all of this. She never complained once. She only barked when she wanted out to play which is why I named her Hushpuppy. We had the front leg amputated at the surgical facility in Charleston. All went well, except she developed a nasty infection that required several more stays in the hospital and more surgery. Our little wonder girl has done amazing since we finally got rid of the infection. Hushpuppy was placed in an incredible home in New Jersey where she has been loved and pampered. Recently she has developed problems with the leg we put the plate on. We immediately got her back and discovered she has a Luxating Patella or floating kneecap on the original injured leg. She is in surgery right now having the plate thoroughly evaluated and doing surgery to correct her kneecap. We are hopeful our little bundle of pure joy will soon be able to go back to her new Family in New Jersey once she has recovered and has had extensive rehab. We have extensive bills with this amazing little girl and would greatly appreciate help with her medical bills.
