On New Year’s Day, a young crippled puppy wandered up to a home to get a drink of water from a muddy pool. She was scared, hungry and thirsty.
Cassidy – starved and crippled.
For 10 days, the homeowner left food and water but couldn’t get close enough to even tell if the pup was male or female. She named the pup “Hopalong.”
Loving hands create miracles.
On the 11th day, another rescuer came and spent hours luring the pup with tasty bits of jerky and other irresistible treats. Hopalong mustered up the courage to limp up the road and finally took a bit of food from a loving hand. Once she took the food, she accepted a chin scratch and, feeling the love of a human touch, she literally melted into her rescuer’s lap. She enjoyed love and rubs and was happy to be loaded into a crate on her way to a safe, warm home where she would get three squares a day. At that point, her name was changed to Cassidy.
After hours of work, Cassidy is finally rescued and safe.
A vet exam revealed that Cassidy was between 10 and 12 months old and had been injured as a tiny pup. Her hip had been broken and never repaired. She had no muscle tone in her bad leg, but was a candidate for surgery.
Cassidy had her surgery on January 15th. Because the injury was so old, there was a lot of fusion that could not be fixed. However, she is no longer dealing with a bone-on-bone injury. Our prayer is that she will try to put weight on her injured leg. To help her do that, she will undergo range of motion exercises.
Cassidy – surgey is finished and now she can heal.
Cassidy LOVES life in her foster home. She loves the other dogs, loves all people, adores the cats and is delighted to have a warm soft bed to rest on.
Never underestimate the power of a loving hand reaching out to help someone in need. Cassidy is now destined for a wonderful life. It warms our hearts.
Update from Debbie B. (Jan. 20, 2019)
“Retired” Doctor Barbara Page demonstrates range-of-motion exercises for Cassidy. THANK YOU!
Dr. Page came to our Warm Hearts’ meeting today and demonstrated how to do range of motion therapy on Cassidy’s leg. We are always learning. Many thanks to her for being in the wings to help us, even though she is retired.