Hope's Chance at Life

This is Hope - A stray found with 2 broken legs and her journey to a new life

I saw this FB post in January 2016. I am an animal lover, but I already had 5 dogs at that time. I shared the post and kept scrolling. Days later it was still eating at me. The friend who posted had tried to catch Hope several times with no luck. The temperature was about 25 degrees at night that week. We just couldn't shake the worry, so my husband went looking for her. When he found her she was terrified. She was barking and growling, and she dragged herself down into a wooded area and crawled underneath a log. He spent about an hour coaxing her out and gaining her trust with the help of beef jerky bits.

He finally got her into the car and headed toward the vet's office. She was shivering, underweight, and her back legs were clearly disabled. She could use her front legs to drag them but that was all.

While waiting for the vet, we looked her over. She was covered with ticks. We found these scars around her neck where she had obviously been tied up too tightly.

We asked the vet to take x-rays of her back legs to see the extent of the damage. We had previously worked with a rescue dog who had back leg weakness from malnutrition that healed itself overtime, so we were optimistic. Hope was sedated and she went back for her x-rays. I will never forget the feeling in my stomach when the vet walked back in. She had tears in her eyes and was shaking her head. She said, "It's really bad. I'm so sorry".

Both legs were severely broken to an extent that she could not even begin to fix it in her office. We had only met this dog an hour ago, so the result was pretty clear. Out vet tried to console us. She was already sedated, so if we put her to sleep she wouldn't even feel it. She would just drift away peacefully. Tears rolled down our faces. She would drift away and die peacefully, but her life had only been one of suffering and fear. How could that be all she ever knew? I looked at my husband and he was already shaking his head. "No", he said, "we can't do that to her".

We asked our vet for options and she said we could pursue some type of surgery, but she was clueless as to what it might cost or how successful it might be. We loaded up Hope to take her home and our vet started calling specialists for a referral. She called us back that night with a recommendation of an orthopedic surgeon and an initial quote of around $8000. That was more money than we could possibly pay, but we were already invested in her life. We had no clue how we would do it, but we were determined. Several people recommended I start a GoFundMe campaign, so I did. It was shared on Facebook, Instagram, Imgur, and Reddit.

The next morning, Hope and I headed out on our 1.5 hour drive to the orthopedic specialist. The consultation there was very similar to the first. Both legs were shattered. They said it had happened weeks or months prior so the bones had begun to heal back together incorrectly and scar. The specialist was optimistic that he could complete the surgery. He gave no promise of her life afterward, but it would be better than it was now. We had come too far to look back, so I put a huge deposit on my credit card and left her in their hands.

We visited her after her first surgery and she was already trying to put weight on her new leg!

In this photo her left leg had been operated on only two days prior. Her right leg was still broken at this time.

She definitely remembered us. She was overjoyed to see us and wanted to come home with us so badly. It broke our heart to leave her there for another surgery.

Trying her best to walk and doing a pretty good job!

Hope stayed in the hospital for about a week with her double leg surgery. It ended up being much harder to complete than the surgeon expected. Her bones had healed so improperly that he had to break them again. She had several rods and plates placed in both legs. This is the x-ray post surgery.

Here we are heading home after both surgeries. You can clearly see one huge incision site with staples. The other is covered by a bandage.

Finally in her bed with an electric blanket. She was still very thin and weak at this time, so she basically just laid around and slept. The shaved spots on her front legs are where they had to put her IV.

Standing on 4 legs and getting a bite to eat. You can see here how skinny she actually was.

This is a close-up of the incision site on her broken femur.

This is an update from a few weeks later. You can see she is putting weight on her legs, but is still very hesitant with her right leg.

Due to the severity of her injuries and the extent of the surgery, Hope was on very limited use for eight weeks. For the first month she was only supposed to go outside to use the bathroom. After four weeks she was allowed to go for very short walks, maybe 50 feet maximum. Here she is enjoying some sunshine during her recovery.

Side-by-side comparison of the two photos above

This is around 8 weeks post surgery. You can see the bruising that a shattered femur surgery causes. By this time, Hope was a totally different dog. She was still supposed to be on limited use but we could not keep her still. Her legs were getting stronger and her spirits were getting brighter. She was already trying to run and jump at this point and even stand up on her back legs.

During this entire time we were just taking it one day at a time with her medical bills. Her surgical bill was $8800 and then we had the initial X-ray visit, her followup visits, and her physical therapy. We shared her GoFundMe across social media. I posted it here on Imgur and on Reddit. We were featured on an Atlanta news station, as well. Throughout the journey donations poured in from everywhere. We had a total of 145 donors and raised $8,838! The amazing part: Of those 145 donors, we knew maybe 10 of them personally. The vast majority were total strangers. Strangers who saw her story and believed in what we were doing enough to trust us with their money. There were a few amazing Redditors that gave $500 each. It completely blew our minds. I can't tell you how many times I cried over the kind words and continuing support we got. We were truly humbled that anyone would help, especially a complete stranger.

Fast forward to happier times... Look at her go!!

This is Hope much fatter and healthier! You can still see her femur scar, but it is completely healed. She is comfortable on 4 legs here.

Look at this happy face! Compare that to the first pictures... It's amazing what love can do!

She never got over her timidness, but it's pretty cute so I'll allow it

Hanging with 2 of her packmates

I share this story for 2 reasons. First, I hope it was uplifting and brought a smile to your face. Second, I share to remind you of the good in the world. There are still good people out there that care. People like those that donated to give Hope this chance. We couldn't have done it without them. So maybe you will see this and know that anything is possible, and one day you might step out and save life.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has" - Margaret Mead