This is Ella, the other disabled dog in Shreveport who was scheduled to fly out to us on Friday. We've been working with Rebecca Y. from Animal Welfare, Inc., a rescue group in Shreveport that tries to save animals at risk in the local municipal shelter. (Rebecca had been the one who sent us Timmy and, a few years ago, Trooper.) Ella had just arrived earlier this week at the shelter, along with three puppies. The shelter was not going put her up for adoption, given her disability, though they are going to make her puppies available for adoption.
Well, the shelter staff told Rebecca on Tuesday afternoon that Ella's crippled front leg was sore, infected and appeared very painful. This is a photo taken at the shelter on Monday:
Here's another view:
So when Rebecca called me late Tuesday with the news, we decided to pull Ella out of the shelter immediately and get her to a vet clinic in Shreveport. Yesterday morning, Rebecca picked up Ella and took her to a local vet. I gave the clinic our credit card information to pay for whatever care she needed.
And what she needs, the vet determined after examining her leg, is to have it amputated — and quickly. The nub of her leg is infected and swollen, and has a raw, open wound. In the photo at the top of this post, which Rebecca took at the vet clinic, you can see what the end of her leg looks like. Here's a close-up of the open sore:
The vet thinks her leg is most likely a birth defect, born with a missing foot — though there appears to be some kind of paw pad or dew claw near the nub. She's been dragging the stump on the ground and banging it around, and the chronic trauma to the end of the stump has allowed infection to take hold. The vet did not want to operate on her leg until he brought the infection under control, so the surgery is now scheduled for Friday.
I spoke to one of the clinic staff members today, and Ella is doing okay. She's on pain medications and antibiotics, and is now comfortable. She will stay in the hospital over the weekend, and then Rebecca will be taking her home to recuperate for a week or two before sending her on to us.
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One of our blog readers posted a comment about another volunteer air transport group, Animal Rescue Flights. Yes, we know about them, too. From their Web site: "Long transports present special challenges.
Transports of over 500 miles require special planning and may require
ground transportation for intermediate stops. Many times, the best way
to transport an animal is by a combination of ground and air." Again, there are reasons we use commercial airlines. 500 miles from Shreveport would have gotten Timmy to … Kansas.
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Please vote for the ranch in the Shelter Challenge — and you can
vote every day! We're currently in third place, putting us on track to win $3,000 for the animals. Enter "Rolling Dog Ranch" and our state postal code,
MT, for Montana, and it will bring up our listing.
Vote in the Shelter Challenge here.
Last
year we won $3,000 in the first round and then won the $20,000 Grand
Prize in the second round, so your votes really do add up and make for
a wonderful gift for the animals here.
Thank you!
Rolling Dog Farm Blog 
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