Hi there,
Some of you know me, some of you I've worked with. I have
another sad case of cruelty that will make your eyes tear and
your blood boil. A few weeks ago, I got a call from Animal
Control in the Minneapolis area asking if I could take a badly
neglected 2 yr old Rottie. The story was that he had been left
in an apartment for about a month, when someone finally
noticed that he was there. They pulled him out, all 54 lbs of
him, and had him checked out by a vet. Other than his
condition being skin and bones, he seemed ok healthwise. We
figured at ideal weight, he'd be pushing about 110 lbs, so
this gives you an idea how bad he was. He was also pretty
scared if a voice was raised, and would sit and shiver in his
kennel until you assured him he was ok. He had a very kind
personality, which attributed to AC not putting him down right
away, but rather opting to call me to see if I could help with
him.
My first thought was as full as I was, where was I going to
put him, as he needed a lot of TLC. At AC they were keeping a
sweater on him in order to keep body heat in, and feeding him
small meals a few times per day. I told her I would take him
if they could hold him for a few days until I got things
wrapped up at home. Well, about 2 days later she called and
said it looked as if he had a broken rib, so asked permission
to take him to the vet. There was lump on his side, and even
the vet thought it was broken- but to just leave it to heal on
its own.
A few days pass and she calls me again to say his side is now
bleeding, it looked as if the rib had protruded through his
side. At the vet clinic it was found that it was not a rib,
but instead a piece of metal that had worked through. He was
taken into surgery and the object found was an 8 inch arrow!
It looked like an arrow from a crossbow. As if this poor guy
had not been through enough, now the situation got even
sadder. He was shaved several places to try and find where the
arrow entered, and was found to have gone in through the back
of his neck. It had luckily missed all major organs and
just lodged there inside. Our possible conclusion to this is
that he was probably shot before the people took off and then
was left to die. So, this means that he was left lonely and
scared , without food, and very much in pain. Rather than
dying, he survived for a month living on toilet water waiting
for someone to find him.
I just am amazed at how far he has come, not only in his
condition , but also his faith in the human race. He has come
to love everyone he meets and wants to be close and
affectionate. He is learning that there are always hugs and
friendly pats waiting for him. It just makes my heart ache to
think that people could do this to him, and not have a
conscience about it. I pray that "what comes around ,
goes around " is true. I am thankful that I took on a
dog, sight unseen , and opted to put myself in debt to help
him. I know he will someday have a new home where he will be
appreciated and cherished as a family member. He deserves that
a hundred times over. He has been neutered, vaccd, HW tested,
and is up to 74 lbs. He had drain tubes in his side until
last week, and now we are just keeping his surgery wounds
clean.
Because of his strong heart and perseverance, we have named
him "Will". I think it is very fitting for this
handsome boy. This is just another experience to add to my
"lessons I've learned" mental notebook. One more dog
has made me a slightly better person......they teach us so
much.
"Will" is up for adoption and we are taking apps on
him until he is all better.
His initial boarding, medical expenses and aftercare have
depleted our funds drastically. If you would like to make a
donation or sponsor Will, please contact me and I will let you
know how.
Jen Wold
Gemini
Rottweiler/Pitbull Rescue
Our Comments:
Thank you Rebecca for sending us this beautiful story of
courage!
