Please help Coura

Coura was brought to the Lancaster Animal Shelter on February 27,2013. She had a prolapsed uterus and vagina that according to the vet was probably caused by a brutal rape from a human male. Her eyes were severely blood shot from strangulation, she had cuts and abrasions from being beaten, and she was emaciated. They performed emergency surgery and she was given antibiotics and pain medication to treat her injuries.

On the day that we rescued her she was so terrified that we had to coax her to leave the security of her cage. This was surely going to be one of our most challenging rescues to date and we didn't know if she would ever recover physically or emotionally from the horror that she had endured.



That night when we brought her home she collapsed on our front lawn so paralyzed with fear that it broke our hearts. I guess I can only imagine what was going through her thoughts at that moment. What awful fate was she going to endure next?



We brought her inside and laid her down in the corner of the room where she could feel safe. She stayed there for a time but then slowly began to walk around the room discovering her new surroundings. I sat on the floor trying not to look at her or appear threatening in any way and after a while she began to work her way over toward me, that is when something incredible happened. She laid down next to me and put her head in my lap and I began to pet her. I could feel her relax more and more with each stroke and it was at that moment I knew that even with all she had been through her spirit was not broken. Even though she had been so traumatized and abused by humans it was human love and compassion that she needed most.



Coura needed treatment for an Upper Respiratory Infection and follow up visits for her injuries from her attack. As the weeks went by she grew stronger and healthier. She was accepted by all of our other dogs but her special friend was our 4 year old Golden Retriever, Cassie.



We began to see symptoms in Coura that we had not seen before. She was vomiting, disoriented, lethargic and weak. We brought her back to the vet for examination and testing and it turned out that the antibiotics she had been taking for her infections had inadvertantly been masking a serious liver condition. To date we have spent over $1000 in medical bills and she still needs additional testing and possible surgery.

My husband and I have been fostering and rescuing dogs for several years and have always paid for their pull fees and vet bills out of our own pocket. Coura's vet bills are continuing to climb and we cannot provide the care she desparately needs without your help.

Thank you,

Gayle and Robert Lloyd