It started with a dog named Emily, who cared more for her family than her family did for her. Emily and her family lived in a rural part of Oklahoma, where strays are abundant and compassion is sometimes in short supply. Emily was never spayed or vaccinated, and as loose dogs often do, she wandered a bit – apparently straying a bit too far from time to time – and she bore the scars from bb guns and at least one bullet to prove it.
Emily had a litter of puppies in the winter in 2009. Her family didn't mind the puppies, but one day they decided they simply didn’t want Emily anymore. So they took Emily to the tiny animal shelter in Burns Flat, Oklahoma and dumped her there, keeping the puppies to sell or give away. Her family may have abandoned her, but Emily was not about to abandon her puppies. The first day at the shelter, she slipped loose from one of the workers and took off to find them.
It was a week later when Emily showed up at her former home looking for her puppies. Somewhere between the shelter and her home, she’d been shot in the face – and it appeared she’d been kicked by a horse as well. She was literally missing the lower half of her jaw and still bleeding from her injuries. But the family took no pity on her. They weren’t going to change their mind. They refused to let her in the house, and when asked, would not even consider fostering her short-term so she could get proper veterinary care and eventually a new home. The same day Emily finally made it home, the family loaded her up and drove her right back to the shelter.
Because of her injury, and since her family no longer cared about her, Emily quickly found herself facing euthanasia. That’s when Terry Lynn Fisher, an independent rescuer who works closely with the Burns Flat town shelter, stepped in. Terry Lynn immediately began contacting rescue groups and anyone who might be able to help. But it wasn’t until she contacted Larry Powell, who featured Emily in his animal-friendly blog, ReadLarryPowell.com, that things started to turn around for Emily. Nancy Underwood of August Dog Rescue contacted Terry Lynn saying ADR would step up to take responsibility for Emily. They brought her to Dallas, got her the vet care she needed, and worked with North Dallas Dog Rescue to get her into a foster home. By April, Emily was adopted and living happily ever after with a family who adores her.
That should have been the end of the story, but it wasn’t. About two months ago, Terry Lynn contacted Nancy again. Emily’s family had allowed one of Emily’s babies to get pregnant, kept those puppies, and dumped Emily’s daughter at the shelter. But August Dog Rescue had closed, and while Nancy no longer had the resources to help, she still had a network of animal rescue friends to call on. It wasn’t long before Animal Rescue of Texas answered Nancy’s plea and came to the rescue of Emily’s daughter – a slightly smaller carbon copy of Emily, whom they named Edna.
Hoping to finally stop the tragic cycle that kept playing out in Burns Flat, Terry Lynn and the local police officer responsible for animal control paid a visit to the former home of Emily and Edna. They checked the house and insured the rest of the puppies were out and there were no more dogs in the family’s care.
Tragically, Terry Lynn got a tip from a neighbor the very next week that there were in fact more puppies. She went back to the family’s home, and despite the owner’s initial declarations to the contrary, Terry Lynn indeed found two more puppies. Both were so infested with ticks she feared they might die, and when the owner eventually admitted that she hadn’t fed the puppies in days because she didn’t want to spend the money on food, Terry Lynn knew she had to act quickly. But the Burns Flat shelter was closed, Terry’s own home wasn’t able to accommodate the puppies, one nearby vet had already closed for the day, and like so many rescuers, Terry had a large outstanding bill with the other. She had no choice but to leave the puppies with the family until morning.
That evening Terry Lynn called Nancy a third time - this time nearly in tears. Nancy contacted Animal Rescue of Texas once again, and in less than 24 hours, ART had located fosters for the puppies, and their supporters had called the vet and donated funds to pay not just the entire balance Terry owed, but more than enough money to cover the immediate treatment the puppies needed. And two volunteers were on their way from Dallas to Burns Flat, Oklahoma to pick up the puppies and bring them to safety.
Arriving back in Dallas the next evening, Animal Rescue of Texas volunteers spent three hours with the puppies at an Emergency Vet Clinic. They'd been dipped while still in Oklahoma, but even so, it took that long to completely remove the numerous ticks that remained. Both puppies were emaciated and sickly, and the vets who treated them here, and in Oklahoma, concurred – the puppies wouldn't have made it much longer without help.
Even after all the ticks were pulled, the puppies, now named Edward and Ernst, still had wounds where all those ticks had bitten them - in their ears, on their bellies, under their arms, on their groin – literally everywhere. For the next few weeks, the wounds had to be rubbed with Neosporin each day, and the puppies were put on antibiotics to prevent infection. Not surprisingly, they also had to be treated for a bad hookworm infestation, as well as other parasites. But the medicine, combined with lots of good food and the love of a caring foster family, saved their lives.
Ernst and Edward are doing great now and are available for adoption from Animal Rescue of Texas. Edna is safe as well, in a wonderful foster home, but all three really need the unconditional love and commitment a permanent home can provide. If you are interested in adopting, you can find out more on the Animal Rescue of Texas website.
And Terry Lynn Fisher isn’t about to give up trying to put a stop to the pain this family is causing. The day she rescued the puppies, she’d stopped off at City Hall on the way to the vet. The police officer responsible for animal control was so horrified by the number of ticks on the puppies, and how emaciated they were, he became physically ill. As soon as he recovered, he started working to bring cruelty charges against the family. Only time will tell if they’ll ever pay for their callous acts, but Terry Lynn plans to continue to monitor the situation and encourage officials to seek the most severe punishment available under Oklahoma law.
For more information on Edna, Edward or Ernst, visit the Animal Rescue of Texas website.
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Copyright Rebecca Poling 2011. All rights reserved. Email DFWAnimalRescue@att.net if you have a story you’d like to share.
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