Sometime around New Years Eve, a 10-month-old Siberian Husky puppy was being attacked by some animal(s). While fleeing for her life, she was struck and run over by a car and left for dead on an isolated road in Fontana, CA. On January 3rd, a passer-by noticed her and stopped. They immediately called the emergency Animal Control number to request immediate service. When the Animal Control Officer arrived on scene, they took the photo in the intro section. She was limp, lifeless, filthy, bloody, dehydrated, and starving. We are not sure how long she was there, but it was at least several days exposed to the elements, injured, bleeding, and without food or water. She only had enough energy to slightly blink her eyelids to indicate she was alive. The Animal Control Officer urgently took her to the local shelter and due to the severity of her condition, she was transferred to the Riverside County Animal Shelter for immediate care. She was on death’s doorstep…

While at the shelter, she went through extensive examinations, x-rays, procedures, IV’s, and a slew of medications to try and nurse her back to health. She had sustained massive trauma including cuts, abrasions, puncture wounds, possible nerve damage, and extensive muscle and tissue damage, with her left front leg completely limp. On three separate occasions she was recommended for euthanasia but one of the attending Veterinarians saw something special in her, a strong determination and will to live. Because of this, the Veterinarian did not want to give up on her and over-rode the recommendations every time. Everyday, they saw small little improvements, but time, was not on her side. They did all they could for her but only had a four-day window to work with. After that, if no one adopted her in the next 48 hours, they would have no option but to put her down.

While the puppy was in the shelter the story was posted to Nextdoor, where it went viral with people willing to help support her, but no one was willing to step up and adopt to save her from the euthanasia order. My wife and I came across the post several days later and our hearts sank. We had to stop the euthanasia process and immediately put an adoption request into the shelter to stop the euthanasia, just in time. The moment she was available for adoption, we were there. We wanted to give her a fighting chance. The moment I saw her, we immediately bonded. Knowing the challenges she would face in her recovery and the dedication it would take to support her, we adopted her. The community has come forward and the outpouring of support tugs on your heartstrings. People have donated both funds and equipment to help us with her movements, bedding, blankets, supplements, even made meals for her, which has helped so much.

I am happy to report that each day she is making miraculous strides toward her recovery. She has a fighting spirit, determination, and will to live, like I have never seen before. She is now in a home where she is protected, safe, and loved. Her appetite is returning, and her wounds are healing, however she still has a long road to recovery. She is still struggling to stand up, struggling to walk, but determined to fight through and figure it out.

Although the community has helped, we are entering the next step of her journey to full recovery, which will be extremely expensive. We are raising funds to pay for the next phase of her treatment. She needs CT scans to determine the extent of damage to her spinal column, internal soft tissue structures, and specifically the injury to her left-front leg to see if she will be able to keep it. We are hoping she will not lose her leg to amputation. TIME IS CRITICAL. Once we find out the severity of the damage, she will likely require additional medical care including surgery, physical therapy, and possibly amputation.

We will continue to update you with her status and progress. We will also update the funding goal depending on the cost of her urgent medical care.

Please help us to get Lucky a second chance at life.