Driving to church one night I saw a beautiful beagle running in the median of the highway. Afraid he would be hit by a car, I turned around at the next light, hoping I could pull over and coax him into my car.
Possibly a minute passed, the dog was hit and was lying in the median, thrashing. I stopped & some other people stopped, too. I was afraid he was critically hurt & offered to take him to an emergency animal clinic to have him put down. A man put him in my car wrapped in an afghan I keep for emergencies.
At the vet's office when lifted out of my car, he walked around & seemed OK. The vet said he was 5-years-old & had no broken bones. I took him home where I have two cats (also rescued).
"Sport" had a tattoo in his ear. We put an ad in the paper & notified local vets, but no one ever claimed him. He had been either horribly abused, neglected,or both. We discovered later he had two b.b.'s in his back, & the vet said he had been shot at close range. He was scared of his own toenails clicking on concrete. It's taken us over a year to get him to a point where he will no longer hide under the bushes. Last winter we let him sleep inside in front of the fireplace at night. He did not know how to play with a toy, be petted, or be brushed. His tail wags now when he sees us, & he races around the yard with a "smile" on his face. Occasionally he comes with head lowered & wants to be petted. What progress! He has become VERY spoiled, which is just fine with us.
Brandon, MS
