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Pets, Pets, Pets...
by Joanne Anderson They say each of us has a soul mate. Hope is looking but she just hasn’t found hers yet. Perhaps she was searching the summer night she got hit by a car on Wantagh Parkway. The right match for this disabled, but healing Beagle is out there. I’m sure of this. They just haven’t connected yet, so it’s time to broaden Hope’s reach. You may recall Hope’s story in the BEACON at Thanksgiving. This Beagle pup was rescued by a state trooper, after her close encounter with a car, and taken to the Oyster Bay Town Shelter where a vet was summoned to put her to sleep because of severe back injuries. He couldn’t do it when he looked into her soulful eyes. He called Last Hope Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation instead. Last Hope got the pup expensive state of the art medical care- back decompression surgery by a veterinary specialist. Her prognosis was promising but her recuperation slowed when Hope stayed several months at another hospital without follow-up therapy. She couldn’t stand and could only drag herself around.
Since October Hope has been at the Last Hope Dog Center at Basic Pet Care where the staff dotes on her. One Last Hope guardian angel takes her to therapy twice a week at the Center for Specialized Care in Westbury. Hope’s physical therapist manipulates her small frame in a ferno hydro therapy tank. Hope swims and runs on the underwater treadmill. Her muscles and nerves are relearning how to walk. Last Hope volunteers follow up with more therapy at the Center while a loving benefactor pays for a private room and additional care on weekends. Hope has made remarkable progress. She used to scoot around in her K-9 cart all the time like a spunky Spartacus. Now she doesn’t need it as much. She can stand by herself, and walk when her back legs are placed in position. A podiatrist is talking about designing orthotic shoes for support and so she doesn’t scrape her feet. Hope’s a speedster even when her legs cross. Hope is still in a doggy diaper. The vet techs express her. She is beginning to make an effort to toilet herself outdoors. As her back legs get stronger, this skill should improve too. Hope loves attention and is amazing with other dogs and cats. It’s a new year; Hope’s a new dog. It’s time that Hope makes the next step- a step into that special home. Although she’s surrounded by people who love her, her home is still a cage at the vet. This valiant Beagle who’s overcome so many obstacles deserves so much more. She needs that certain person or family to cuddle her. She needs a home and yard where she can stretch and strengthen these legs, now reborn. She needs someone who will cherish and care for her as she is now, for this may be the way she stays. Only time and persistence will tell. Proper placements for disabled dogs are few and far between, but all those I’ve had the pleasure to play a part in - a Yorkie with a pinned leg; a Rottie born with deformed hips, an epileptic Beagle retired from the FDA; a one-eyed Terrier with heartworm - to name a few.... they are among the best. They were matches made in heaven. If you think you might be Hope’s soul mate, please call-631-661-6164. She just might sashay into your heart....for good.
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