At just 10 months old, Holly’s future couldn’t have been bleaker. Fortunately for this hound puppy,
people like you change—and save—lives through your contributions to Second Chance Pet Adoptions.
In November 2019, a good Samaritan spotted three dogs running loose around the grounds of a local business. Rather, one was running loose… another was walking, but limping… and one was merely dragging the lower half of her body along the coarse ground, scraping her belly, back legs, and tail on sticks, gravel, and dirt. The most injured of the three was visibly emaciated even from a distance. We would soon come to know this girl as Holly.
The good Samaritan called Second Chance’s Dog Program Manager, Laura, and described the dogs and their dire situation. Laura asked this kind stranger to bring Holly straight to a veterinarian once she caught her, and we would cover the bill and take Holly into our rescue program. (The good Samaritan was able to catch all three dogs over time, and all three are now safe with Second Chance.) Predictably, the vet did not deliver the best of news about Holly’s condition.
Holly’s pelvis was fractured and the muscles on her back legs were practically useless. She couldn’t stand without assistance and there was evidence of trauma along her spine. Holly had likely been hit by a car more than a week before she was found. The severe hookworm infestation raging in her intestines rendered her anemic and the scraping wounds along her body needed cleaning and care.
Fostering a dog like Holly is physically demanding and labor-intensive: lack of control over her bladder and bowels, paired with the assistance Holly needs for every literal step she takes, is matched only by the demands of vet appointments and physical therapy. One look at Holly was all it took for our Assistant Treasurer, Carol, to convince her husband—the President of our Board of Directors, Dave—that Holly needed to come home with them and soak up all the TLC they had to offer. It is impossible to imagine a better place for Holly to have landed.
It will take time for Holly’s injuries to heal, and there will be no shortage of vet bills that will come of her time with us. But we know that one day in the not-too-distant future, Holly will meet her forever family. And she will have made it there because generous supporters like you know that every animal deserves a second chance to find love.
As of January 1, 2020, Holly’s been with us almost 2 months now, and already, we’ve lost track of the number of medical appointments she’s had with various veterinarians around the Triangle. Her endurance (and that of her sweet foster parents) is paying off—earlier this week, Holly took 4 steps on her own (spontaneously, and faster than foster mama could grab her phone to video it)! Four is such a small number, but it represents huge progress after acupuncture, hydrotherapy, and at-home exercises.
You gave so generously to our animals this giving season that we just couldn’t help showing you Holly’s new wheels and, at long last, her smile! Ever since we rescued her, she’s been sad-doggin’ her way through hydrotherapy and snuggles alike. We get it—her world was upended when she quite suddenly found herself living in a strange house with new people and a different pack of dogs than the ones she’d been roaming with… and everyone in various vets’ offices needed to poke and prod her for reasons she can’t understand. When we got her wheels assembled, we figured the gear might overwhelm her and that she’d need some time to understand the freedom this new contraption allowed her.
We couldn’t have been more wrong! Holly was FULL OF ZOOMIES and took off “running” right away! In an instant, she blossomed into a confident dog with places. to. GO! Perhaps best of all, strapped as they were onto her device, her little back legs (fruitlessly) kicked around, demonstrating the promise of ability down the road. Change might make Holly a little nervous, but we know the best change of all is coming in 2020: Holly will walk into her forever home in due time. Because of you.
Thank you for helping Holly find her smile. She is exhausted from the exercise, but she is happy. We are grateful for your support and wish you all the best that 2020 has to offer!
