Two-year-old Petey is a sweet spotted pooch who arrived at Cleveland Animal Care and Control in Ohio. On the outside, it appeared that he had no wounds or broken bones; but it soon became apparent that this pup was harboring more pain than anyone could have imagined.
While shelters are scary, stressful places for most pups, Petey had a particularly hard time adjusting. They realized that there must be something else wrong beneath the surface and that he’d need extra care. Luckily, the Forget Me Not Animal Rescue in Strongsville, Ohio was able to take Petey in.
“Something wasn’t right and he kept hurting his paw in the cage and [he] just didn’t seem right to one of the volunteers,” Dorian Lansky, the acting director of the rescue, told iHeartDogs. “He walked funny, was fearful, and just really having a rough time. One of the volunteers fell in love with him and was positive that he needed more help than could be given to him in the kennel.”
The folks from Forget Me Not took Petey to the vet, and it still appeared that he was fine. But once he was placed in his foster home, his loving foster mom insisted that something was causing him pain beneath the surface. Additionally, many every day occurrences were triggers that caused him immense distress: cars, groups of people, even certain items of clothing. It had become clear that this poor sweetheart had been severely abused.
After so many unanswered questions, a more thorough examination finally revealed some of the answers that they were searching for.
“We discovered that he has suffered blunt force trauma so severe that it has left him with neurological damage that causes a persistent shake and lack of feeling in his rear end,” Lansky explained to us. “He has two shattered knee caps and now, while under anesthetic and X-ray, [we] discovered even more heartbreaking news….his hips are blown out and need to be repaired or replaced.”
At only two years old, Petey’s extensive injuries were not from old age or degeneration. They could only be attributed to one thing: abuse.
But the most miraculous thing about this dog is that, despite all that he’s been through and all the things he’s afraid of, he loves people. According to his adoption profile, he even passed his temperament test with flying colors!
“He’s very sweet, loves kids, loves people and just wants to cuddle with his [foster] mom and play,” Lansky said. They are bound and determined to help Petey recover as best as he can–because that’s what he deserves.
They are currently working on raising the funds to cover his surgery, which is upwards of $8,000. While the bill is a huge burden to bear for a small, non-profit rescue, Lansky explains that they would never, ever, let that deter them from helping a pup like Petey.
“People ask us why we would do this. We ask…’Why wouldn’t we?’ We are picking up the pieces to give this boy a life. A life he should have always had. A life he can…with help,” Lansky said. “Petey matters.”
If you’d like to help give Petey his second chance, click here to donate. You can also donate on a joint GoFundMe page for Petey and a dog in hospice named Kaiser.
Also, check out this list of companies that match 501c3 organization donations–you may work for one of them! (All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extend allowable by the law.) Any leftover funds will be used to help more animals in need.
This story shows just a glimpse of what shelters, rescues, staff, and volunteers are up against on a daily basis. But without them, these animals would never have a second chance. And without the generosity of us animal lovers, donating and sharing these stories, they wouldn’t be able to save as many lives as they do!
