Charity

Well, I have been saying for a long time now that I need to get back into blogging and I saw Charity as my perfect opportunity to just jump back in. I have tons of pictures to upload of the fosters in between Chance and Charity, perhaps that will come later this week! For now I wanted to introduce Charity, a dog who is thriving against the odds that some pretty shitty people tried to give her.

A good friend and fellow rescuer sent me an urgent email with a listing she saw on Craigslist. The listing read "Last evening this sweet young female dog was in a dogfight. It was being videotaped to put on youtube. The dog was able to escape the fight with minor wounds only to be immediatly hit by a car. The poor baby now has a broken leg, and numerous wounds to her body. No one at the scene would claim this dog. We took the dog to the Pet ER and had her evaluated, she needs surgery for the leg and treatment for her wounds, this will cost at least $1200, on top of the $600 that was spent for last nights treatment. Due to the expense at the PET+ ER the dog has been moved to the Dundalk Animal Hospital 410-282-2250. We are reaching out to anyone that has the means to donate to this sweet dog's much needed surgery. Despite her condition and cruel treatment, all she wants is to give hugs and kisses to everyone that is helping her. Everyone that has had contact with her wants to help her and cannot believe how sweet and lovable she is, they were even able to give her a bath at the PET+ER last night. Any amount that you could donate would be greatly appreciated! The 1st step is her surgery, and the next step is to help her recover and find her a loving forever home. I know we "can't save them all" but this sweet girl at least deserves a chance at a happy life. If she does not get the surgery she needs by Saturday Oct. 22 she will have to be put down. She is less than 1 year old."

I read the posting in tears. Working at BARCS has shown me all too well just how horrific people can be to animals. Now is not ideal for us to foster, I promised Nick we'd take a break due to all the traveling I have coming up, but someone needed to save this girl so without hesitation I called the poster and told her MidAtlantic BullyBuddies would help. After some talking and planning I met Kim, the officer who found Charity that night, at North Laurel Animal Hospital. Kim was in communication with a surgeon there who saw the posting on Craigslist and offered to do Charity's surgery at minimal cost.

On October 25th Charity arrived at NLAH for her surgery. This was the first time I saw Charity and seeing the hurt and pain in her eyes made me cry all over again. She clearly was not comfortable at all, both of her legs were in bad shape, but she still greeted me with kisses and a steady tail wag.
 

The leg with red puncture wounds on it is where she was bitten multiple times by another dog. Her inner thigh was horrible bruised on that leg and it was very swollen. Her other leg, the one that took the most injury from being hit by the car, was not swollen but obviously not weight bearing.

I was able to pick Charity up from the vet on Friday the 28th. I met Kim there and we were both so happy to see the noticeable change in Charity's face. While still in a decent amount of pain she was happier, her eyes didn't look so sad, and she knew she was on her way to recovery! I cannot say enough about Dr. Cohn and the entire staff of North Laurel Animal Hospital. Dr. Cohn told us about his own rescued pit bull, his love for them, and his efforts to help dogs in need as much as possible. Everyone in the office wanted to tell us about Charity and wish her goodbye as she was carried out the front door. And we were off!

Charity had a buddy for the car ride. Milton, a dog I picked up from BARCS on the way to get Charity who has a moderate case of mange, entered MABB's foster program as well.

Charity has settled in nicely at her recovery house. She has met my dogs and loves them, constantly licking their faces and even licking the cats. Her pain patch came off yesterday so she is a bit uncomfortable right now but otherwise very happy. We go back early next week to have her staples removed and from there Charity will begin swim therapy to help the mobility of both back legs. To help her heal Charity will be receiving laser therapy to help with circulation, blood flow, and inflammation at her surgery spot.

Charity is a perfect example of why every dog deserves a chance and a show of how resilient dogs truly are. There are still signs of her past life; Charity cowers to me if I stand too close over her, she still runs from Nick completely and will hide in her crate, and she shakes quite a bit when meeting someone new. She has come so far already, there is no doubt in my mind that she will make a fantastic family dog once she is healed.

 Above: Shortly after surgery. Below: Charity's first hour home and she's kissing everyone.

 Below, Charity's first night home. I slept on the couch with her to make sure she was ok and I realized very soon that she is a typical pit bull- she can't get close enough!

 A little break from the cone! She has since gotten a soft cone. Charity is making herself right at home like a typical foster dog would!

I have no idea what the status of the case is against the people who were fighting her. All I can do is think what would have happened had Kim not taken her in and it really makes me sick to think of her "other" outcome so I try and focus on where she is now. I could go on and on about people who abuse dogs, how statistically they will go on to harm people, how sick some is mentally to force their loyal companions to fight until death but that will be a post coming later, I want to keep this post focused on the positive. Charity is why I spend every ounce of my energy saving dogs because each and every dog saved deserves it, they all deserve their "happily ever after". Charity is saved, she did not become some kids medal or some kids loser that night, she will go on to be someone's beloved family pet and she will surely love every second of it. This is what a dogs life is meant to be like.