DEMOPOLIS, ALABAMA......We have helped a lot of pups from this neck of the woods. The ones we take on have had a terrible start in Life. This is where Archer and Brennah came from. We got a call to help a one-year-old white Dachshund Mix. We believe Nugget is a Dapple Dachshund Mixed with a Jack Russel. It appeared someone had thrown him from a car and he was found curled up in the bushes next to the road.
We were sent pics and told how extensive his injuries were, and were told they would have to put him down when his stray hold was up if no one came for him. We said we would definitely take him since he had two femurs that were broken in several places. His rear legs were a mess, and on top of that, he had terrible Demodex and was Emaciated.
We were making plans to get him transported when we got a call. The Owner had come forth and wanted their dog. I was very skeptical of this and did not think he should go back to the Owners based on his condition. I let it go and moved on to save other pups that were scheduled to be put down because of injuries. Several days later, I got a call saying the Owners came by and after talking to the Vet said they could not afford to do any surgery and decided to put him down.
The Vets office wanted to know if I would consider taking him since the Owner had signed him over to them. I already knew these people were not going to spend one penny on him based on how he looked after he had been injured. Poor Nugget finally got his first break when we said YES, YES, YES for the second time.
I have been saving animals so long that when people say a dog was hit by a car, I assume it is more than a week old. Over 70% of the HBC cases we see are from old injuries that are over a month past. Poor Nuggets injuries were so old that bones had calcified and lots of fibrous tissue had developed in all the wrong places.
The note I got from his Surgeon, Dr. Nanfelt was that the fracture was horrendous and very old with inches of thick, fibrous, scar tissue around the end of the femur. The fractured bones were encased in a dense capsular structure that had been forming over time. Dr. Nanfelt had to break through all of that tissue to even locate the bone ends before she could tackle reduction of the fracture. She was finally able to restore the anatomy, put the implants in and restore the patella in the groove and close him up.
The problem now was that Nugget had a break on the other rear leg that was even more complicated. Dr. Nanfelt felt amputation was the best option but wanted to wait until the surgical leg had healed. I was not in favor of amputation and was committed to doing everything possible to save his leg. My gut told me to hold off, and that is what I did.
Nugget is the sweetest pup that has the most beautiful blue eyes. A lot of mixes have one blue eye and one brown eye. He has two beautiful blue eyes that will melt your heart. Sweet does not even begin to describe this wonderful Stubby Pup. He loves everyone and thinks Tibby is one of the best playmates he could have ever imagined. We know Life is good in the World of Tibby and it appears her charm has rubbed off on Nugget.
We have all been in a Tail Spin since Florence decided to pay us a visit. Please, Donate whatever you can so we can get back on track with all of the dogs we took in over the past two weeks. Storms come, and Storms go, but Life in Rescue continues no matter what the weather is. Thanks for caring about us and our wonderful pups. Your support and generosity are appreciated and needed more than you realize.
