Urgent! Help Joey Walk!

Joey got struck by a car on Friday, January 25, 2019 and he is in urgent need of surgery to save his front left leg. We need your help immediately (now through January 31) to cover all the medical costs involved. We are grateful to everyone who wants to help us, as we are not in a financial position to pay for all these expenses.  We are appealing to your love for animals, like Joey, and your understanding of what it means love and care for someone so much, but not being able to help them when they are in need.

Joey, a Labrador mix, is a very lively and active rescue dog. After this accident, he was badly injured (bruises, scrapes, a dislocated shoulder). The serious issue is his front left leg, as he is missing all skin, including all ligaments, and all that is left is bare bone. We are looking for financial support to cope with the cost of his surgeries, bandage changes, sedation, and medication that are needed to save his leg. Joey is a strong and energetic dog and we would like to keep him this way! He is full of life and he deserves the opportunity to keep on going.


The Joey Story

When I first decided I wanted a dog, it was a rough time for my family, as my grandma had passed away in October 2009. I am a very spiritual person and had always loved animals and I wanted something to connect with my grandma after her death, especially since she loved animals and raised many of them.

After visiting several animal shelters and having looked at 3 or 4 dogs, Joey is the one we decided to get. His picture on the Animal Shelter website had him looking scared, but adorable all at the same time and we decided to check him out, as my dad explained that Labradors were some of the best dogs to have. We went to the front desk at the Animal Services center and asked to see him. The man at the desk asked if we knew of his condition which was not stated on the website. We didn't but he explained that he had a broken hip and a red eye and was in the infirmary. We asked to see him anyway. As he was in a lot of pain, he was on a lot of sedative pain medication. He slowly got up and out of his cage and it was easy to tell that he was excited despite the lack of a tail. My dad and I both wore sandals that day unfortunately because Joey decided to lick my dad's feet and then proceeded to pee on my feet. That is the moment when I knew I wanted this 4-month-old puppy.

My dad tried to stir me away because of his broken hip that would need to be fixed eventually, but he couldn't say no to this one because Joey was scheduled to be put down that week. He asked me what I would name him and I said “Joey” because when he walked with his broken hip, he hopped a little bit as if he were a baby kangaroo or a joey. We have cared for him as if he were the baby of the family ever since for 10 years now, as he was our first family dog. 

We adopted him at 4 months, but although we don't know anything about his past before that, he has pushed to live a happy life as any other dog would and would never do anything to lose that. Ten years later, he has been seriously hurt again and I want to do everything to keep him happy. This is my Joey!