Caring creates miracles. Lab Rescue – and Other Dog Rescues – at Their Collective Best!
Labrador Retriever Rescue of Florida (LRRoF) spotted a Facebook post just three days before Christmas – and it was a very bad and sad post. A young Labrador Retriever mom had been shot in the leg, and it was horribly shattered. Found in Hamilton County, FL, the mom had wandered into a yard. She was spotted by a good Samaritan who realized she was badly injured and needed immediate help. They fed her and then found her 8 young pups, probably just 4 or 5 weeks old, under the house in the yard where the mom was found! They reached out to Hamilton County Animal Control, which took in all nine dogs and started care immediately. After LRRoF saw the post, the District Coordinator for that area sprang to action and became involved.
LRRoF discussed the situation with Animal Services, which was already working with Companion Animal Hospital in Live Oak, FL (thank you, Dorothy and the vets and others at Companion!) that had all of the dogs at that point and had done the initial vetting. The leg was the more pressing matter. After significant discussion at the vet, they decided to try to save the mom’s leg and put it in a splint, in the hope that the bones would fuse properly (only time will tell on this). The mom was determined to also be HW+ so there’s a long road ahead for her. She is estimated at just two years old. In good news the 8 pups appear to be in very good shape!
Next: finding a foster who can take them all in (a tough ask – to put it mildly – given it was Christmas). But an amazing, long-term LRRoF volunteer and foster (thank you, uber volunteer and current Vice President of LRRoF, Sooz Wooley!) stepped up. Unfortunately, she was 540 miles away! Next up: arranging transport. After 10,000 emails and texts and in a Christmas miracle, over 48 hours, all nine dogs were transported from Jennings, Fl to Blackshear, GA (thank you, Rose, from Hamilton County Animal Services, who on her own personal time transported the dogs on the first first leg!). Then from Blackshear, GA to Dublin, GA and then to Beaufort, SC (thank you, Mary Della Bell and Michelle McLendon Evans, with Diamonds in the Ruff, Tarrytown, GA!). Then a doggie overnight in Beaufort with Diane Kaufman, Head Mermaid at Mermaid Cottages. (thank you, Diane!). Then a transport the next day to Beech Island, SC with Phil Kinzer (Phil – thank you!) and finally, Sooz Wooley driving on leg number #5, to the ultimate destination, Boone, NC.
Also involved in the huge rescue effort: Nancy MacDonald and Barbara Peason (Diamonds in the Ruff – thank you!) and Karrie Bulski (One Love Animal Rescue, Savannah, GA).
It’s stories like these that are due to our amazing volunteers and donors. Thank you to everyone involved in this massive rescue effort! To donate to LRRoF.org please go to https://lrrof.org/donate/. To donate to One Love Animal Rescue, go to https://oneloveanimalrescue.com/donate.
Caring creates miracles. Thank goodness for the goodness of good people.
