I wanted to share my morning with you……not a good one I must say. Off I was to work when I came upon 2 North Ridgeville Cop cars and a dog laying on the side of the road. The image was too clear in mind of what had happened not to stop. Mike and I have befriended the North Ridgeville K9 Unit as they do training in our new building so I pulled alongside of them and asked if I could inquire about what happened. They got a call about a dog laying on the side of the road unable to stand and injured. So they came to evaluate the situation. This boy was sooooo good looking – a handsome purebred Chocolate Lab indeed but man was he torn up. He had open gashes all over his body and appeared to be dazed in shock and pain. He allowed me to come down to him and sit with him and look him all over. I looked at his gums, eyes, ears and opened his mouth. I even pulled up his leg to get a look at his underside. I told him he would be okay….I was there to help him. He looked at me with those golden eyes as if he understood. My heart bleeds for an animal in distress. I had to get him to a vet immediately.
I prayed for a best case scenario of just a broken leg but when he arrived at our local vets and Xrays were taken, the bad news began. I was called and this dog I named Ozzie had a fractured pelvis and hip bones. Fox Vet could not do this extensive of a surgery so off I sent my dad to go get this big boy and take him to West Park Animal Hospital where Dr. Kane the Ortho doc is. Dr. Kane did Morty’s surgery back in Jan; the other choc. lab that was terribly injured from the pound.
Dr. Kane confirmed my worst fears….Ozzie was bad off, but we talked about options and prognosis and with my FIDO team supporting me, we decided to move forward with treatment. Ozzie is a young boy only about 3 years old and we felt he deserved a fighting chance since his bloodwork and bladder ultrasound came back looking good. Also, Dr. Kane felt with the surgery we opted for that he would have the majority of his normal mobility back about 2-3 months out post op. He will require hospitalization for at least 1 month since he will not be able to stand on his own and then will go thru at least 1 month of rehab at the vets.
Surgery, pre-op tests, neuter and vaccinations will cost our rescue about 3,100.00. This just after Morty’s 5,000.00 surgical and hospitalization bills. I wondered this morning how we could pull this off again. I have to believe with faith and perseverance anything is possible. And when I reflected on Morty taking a walk out in the woods for the first time this past Easter weekend with his Uncle Mike, I knew we did the right thing by helping him. He walked around very happily with his nose to the ground like a good hunting lab does and lifted his once lifeless leg to mark his territory all around the wooded area. He made me proud to have given him a 2nd chance, so I believe we are doing the right thing by giving Ozzie the same chance.
If anyone would like to donate to Ozzie’s care, you can do so in 1 of 3 ways: We could greatly use the help.
1. Call Ellen at West Park Animal Hospital at 216-252-4500 and make a donation via credit card over the phone in care of Ozzie.
2. Write a check payable to FIDO’s Companion Rescue in care of Ozzie and Mail to: PO Box 518, Avon 44011
Thanks to everyone for your continued support and compassion for our babies! Photos of Ozzie coming soon.