Gus Needs a Leg to Stand On

On Aug. 27, I saw his picture on Facebook. He was in bad shape and looked like he was fading fast. He was picked up as a stray in Memphis and set to be destroyed. A rescue group offered to take him under their wing, and all they needed was a foster—sold! Grant and I drove to the Memphis Animal Shelter (MAS) the next day to save him. He actually came out of those doors looking worse than when he went in—he was giving up and it was taking a toll, fast. I was prepared for older and heartworms. I was not prepared for what this poor dog is really going through: scarcoptic mange, heartworms, infected skin, massive hematoma on his ear, and a bum back leg. I rushed him straight to the vet and we worked on getting him comfortable immediately. He fell asleep with his head, which was wrapped and bandaged like a wounded soldier, in Grant’s hand. He later collapsed onto the floor, took a nap, and had to be carried out of the room like a baby after the exam.

We named him Gus. He moves really slow, likes to nap in odd places at odd times, is quiet as a church mouse, as gentle as can be. So, well, the name just stuck. As if things couldn’t have gotten worse for Gus, a preliminary review of the hip x-ray looked like bone cancer. I almost puked. More x-rays were taken and sent off immediately to a radiologist. I prayed so hard my head almost exploded--to St. Francis, Jesus, my fairy godmother, the stars above, and everything in between--while I waited for the results the next day. And… my prayers were answered: NOT CANCER! I was so ecstatic I could have peed glitter. That made the next discussion a bit more bearable yet totally surreal: the leg needs to go. Full on amputation. I’ve been chasing after stray dogs for years, and usually end up with some pretty pathetic foster dogs. But never in my life did I think I would be happy about a total leg amputation. But I am.  It means we didn’t have to say goodbye to sweet Gus before he knew what love is. It means Gus is alive and has a REAL shot at a GREAT life. It means Gus will be free from pain-- pain caused by a very, very old trauma that was never treated-- and literally hopping his way into a new life.

I mentioned earlier that a rescue group offered to take him under their wing, and they have. But they were also hoping to pull several other dogs from MAS this week. I don’t want that to stop because of Gus’s condition. Gus’s vetting is extensive and will put a lot of things on hold for this group.  No one had any idea how bad things truly were for Gus when he was brought into MAS. But truth be told, that’s rescue. You take one look at these poor souls, and sometimes you have to take a leap of faith. I want to raise money towards Gus’s vetting so that more dogs can be saved. For every dog that this rescue group can pull from MAS, that is one more empty kennel that can house another stray and give him the second chance at the life that they all deserve.

Please help me get the leg (or lack thereof) Gus needs to stand on. Your donations will cover his vetting in this order: clear up the mange and (unfortunately) board him until he is not contagious, deworm, treat the hematoma, amputate the leg, neuter and eventually (once he is recovered from surgery) treat the heartworms. None of this is easy. None of this is cheap. But all of this will save his life, a life that he is very capable of having, and by damn I’m going to be his biggest cheer leader every step of the way. Thank you in advance, from the bottom of my heart, for any support you can provide.