Lady's Survival is a Miracle

Lady was discovered suffering in an animal control holding facility on the Navajo Reservation in Fort Defiance, Arizona on April 22, 2017. In a desperate last minute attempt to save 40+ dogs' lives from euthanasia , a local rescue  loaded up two vans full of animals to transport back to the Denver metro area. My fiance', Gregg Bartlett, was onsight to help with the massive transfer and as he began to load dogs, many of which were crammed into dog runs with multiple other dogs and no food or water, he noticed an injured Border Collie lying in the corner. She raised her head and slowly got up and made her way over to Gregg. She was clearly injured and in need of medical attention. Unfortunately, the rescue couldn't take her but Gregg knew he could not leave her behind. After getting her back to Denver, we took her to a vet who took an X-ray that revealed more than 300 buckshot riddled throughout her body. She had also been hit by a car (when the animal control officer was chasing her) causing her spleen, part of her small intestine, and two lobes of her liver to perforate her diaphragm. This lessened her lung capacity making breathing quite labored. Euthanasia was recommended, but Gregg and I saw a fighting spirit in this sweet girl's eyes and knew we had to try to save her life. We took her to Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital where she underwent an extensive surgery to repair the damage to her body. The surgeons were not able to remove the buckshot but were able to move her organs back into her abdomen and repair her diaphragm. Lady spent three days in recovery and is finally back home and healing more and more each day. We have decided to keep her and make her a special part of our "pack". 

Gregg and I spend much of our time involved in animal rescue in the metro area; weekend dog adoption events, regular transports from high-kill shelters in both south Texas and New Mexico, driving the spay/neuter mobile unit, etc. We LOVE what we do but our decision to help Lady survive has been a huge financial undertaking for us. The total bill from her previous vet visits and her surgery at Wheat Ridge is around $8800. Any monetary donation, large or small, would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you! Melissa and Gregg