DALZELL, SC.....On Friday evening at 6:05 I got an e-mail with a desperate plea to help a Jack Russel that had just been hit by a car and was writhing in pain in the middle of the road.  The good Samaritan had stopped along with several other people that helped pick up the dog to put in her car.  She started calling and e-mailing around to find someone to help her with this pup.   No Animal Control was around to help, and she was desperate.  I got the e-mail, looked at the pictures and called her back.   It was now or never with this small dog we think is around three years old.  We have named him Petey.  He was alive but was in terrible distress.  I made arrangements for one of my transporters to meet her so he could take Petey to the ER Hospital in Charleston, SC.

Petey was checked for microchips and any form of identification.  There was nothing on him.  He was an intact make that was covered with fleas, ticks, etc.   He was in respiratory distress, had several fractured, his eye was bleeding and he had a head injury.  Petey was not my dog.   There was no one to contact and no Animal Control.  If I did not do something right now, Petey was going to be dead because of the brain swelling he was experiencing.  I decided to go ahead and admit him to the ER and hope he improves.   Tests were done, and our sweet boy had to go immediately into oxygen since his lungs were compromised.  Today, I spoke to our Neurologist, and he told me we had to do an MRI to see if he has a bleed or something else.   If my intention was to save him, then I needed to find out exactly what was damaged.  I let him do the MRI and the other tests he needed.    He has bruises in his lungs, so he's in oxygen to make it easier for him to breathe.  He's suffered trauma to his spinal cord in his neck and his brain.  He is currently bleeding into the spinal-fluid-filled-space around his brain.  This is called subarachnoid hemorrhage and is 'the worst headache of your life' when it happens in people.   He is on pain medications for the fractures and the bleeding.  We started him on anti-seizure drugs because seizures are common following this condition.   

I decided that if one of my dogs had gotten run over, I would want to know someone was doing their best to save his Life.   Petey had not had the best of care prior to his accident.  He is heartworm positive and also has several tick-borne diseases.   He is an intact male that was roaming around.   To wait out a ten day hold would be a death sentence.  If he had been taken to AC, he would have been euthanized immediately because he was suffering.  I have let the Police know he was picked up at 441 and Fish Road in Dalzell, SC.  I sent them pics and all the information I had for them and the Animal Control Officers.     People do not help animals anymore because of legal reasons.   I decided to follow my heart and do my best to save this sweet pup.  If an Owner surfaces and they are upset, then so be it.   He was in terrible shape and needed help.   I do not know if we can pull Petey out of this.   What I do know, is that I have done everything humanly possible to give him the best possible chance.    Petey is in ICU in Critical Care.   He is being monitored closely for any signs of distress.  He is sedated and is comfortable.  He will remain this way until the swelling in his brain goes down.   His fractures are not Life-Threatening.   His brain and lungs are, and these are the areas we are focusing all of our attention right now.

Please, help us with his medical bills by DONATING.  There are a lot of unknowns surrounding Petey.   I can't worry about those right now, when he is suffering.   Keep Petey in your prayers that he survives this.